Introduction :

Antenna can be described as a transducer that converts electrical signal ( voltage & currents )
into electromagnetic waves or vice versa.

Aperture antennas are commonly used for satellite communications applications because of
their ability to focus energy within desired areas and provide high gain and desirable side lobe
characteristics

An antenna (or aerial) is a transducer that transmits or receives electromagnetic waves.

In other words, antennas convert electromagnetic radiation into electric current, or vice
versa. Antennas generally deal in the transmission and reception of radio waves, and are a
necessary part of all radio equipment. Antennas are used in systems such as radio and
television broadcasting, point-to-point radio communication, wireless LAN, cell phones,
radar, and spacecraft communication. Antennas are most commonly employed in air or
outer space, but can also be operated under water or even through soil and rock at certain
frequencies for short distances.

It consists of : 1.parabolic reflector which is illuminated by a primary radiator ( horn)

2.reflector diameter(30m STDA to 60cm DBS)

Radiation pattern:

There are two fundamental types of antenna directional patterns, which, with reference to
a specific two dimensional plane (usually horizontal [parallel to the ground] or vertical
[perpendicular to the ground]), are either:

1. Omni-directional (radiates equally in all directions), such as a vertical rod (in the
horizontal plane) or
2. Directional (radiates more in one direction than in the other).

All antennas have directional qualities. They do not radiate power equally in
all directions. Therefore, antenna radiation patterns or plots are a very
important tool to both the antenna designer and the end user. These plots
show a quick picture of the overall antenna response. However, radiation
patterns can be confusing. Each antenna supplier/user has different standards as
well as plotting formats. Each format has its own pluses and minuses.
Antenna radiation plots can be quite complex because in the real world they are
three-dimensional. However, to simplify them a Cartesian coordinate system (a
two-dimensional system which refers to points in free space) is often used.
Radiation plots are most often shown in either the plane of the axis of the
antenna or the plane perpendicular to the axis and are referred to as the azimuth
or "E-plane" and the elevation or "H-plane" respectively.

An antenna feed refers to the components of an antenna which feed the radio waves to the rest
of the antenna structure, or in receiving antennas collect the incoming radio waves, convert
them to electric currents and transmit them to the receiver. Antennas typically consist of a feed
and additional reflecting or directive structures (such as a parabolic dish or parasitic elements)
whose function is to form the radio waves from the feed into a beam or other desired radiation
pattern. The antenna feed is usually considered to be all the components between the beam-
shaping part of the antenna and the first amplifier, (called the RF front end, the LNB or LNA). For
a transmitting antenna, the feed consists of everything after the last power amplifier.

For example, for a Yagi antenna (such as a television antenna) the feed consists of the driven
element and the transmission line to the receiver. For a satellite communications antenna the
feed might consist of a feed horn, orthomode transducer, polarizer, frequency diplexer,
waveguide, waveguide switches, rotary joint, etc.
Antenna gain relates the intensity of an antenna in a given direction to the intensity
that would be produced by a hypothetical ideal antenna that radiates equally in all
directions (isotropically) and has no losses. Since the radiation intensity from a lossless
isotropic antenna equals the power into the antenna divided by a solid angle of 4π
steradians, we can write the following equation:

Although the gain of an antenna is directly related to its directivity, the antenna gain is a
measure that also takes into account the efficiency of the antenna, that is, the fraction of
the input power dissipated in losses such as resistance. In contrast, directivity is defined
as a measure that takes into account only the directional properties of the antenna and
therefore it is only influenced by the antenna pattern. However, if we assumed an ideal
antenna without losses then antenna gain will equal directivity as the antenna efficiency
factor equals 1 (100% efficiency). Therefore, for real antennas, the gain of an antenna is
always less than its directivity

Antenna Directivity
Directivity is defined by direction to the radiation intensity averaged over all directions.

A more general expression of directivity includes sources with radiation patterns as

functions of spherical coordinate angles θ and φ.
Where ΩA is the beam solid angle and is defined as the solid angle in which if the
antenna radiation intensity is constant (and maximum value), all power would flow
through it. In the case of antennas with one narrow major lobe and very negligible minor
lobes, the beam solid angle can be approximated as the product of the half-power
beamwidths in 2 perpendicular planes.

ΩA = Θ1rΘ2r

Where, Θ1r is the half-power beamwidth in one plane (radians) and Θ2r is the half-power
beamwidth in a plane at a right angle to the other (radians). The same approximation can
used for angles given in degrees as follows:

Where, Θ1d is the half-power beamwidth in one plane (degrees) and Θ2d is the half-
power beamwidth in a plane at a right angle to the other (degrees). In planar arrays, a
better approximation is:

Most of the time, it is desirable to express directivity in decibels instead of dimensionless

quantities. Therefore:

DdB = 10log10(Ddimensionless)
In antenna engineering, side lobes are the lobes of the far field radiation pattern that are not
the main beam, where the terms "beam" and "lobe" are synonyms. An antenna radiation
pattern is more commonly called a beam pattern. The power density in the side lobes is
generally much less than that in the main beam. It is generally desirable to minimize the
sidelobe level (SLL), which is measured in decibels relative to the peak of the main beam