An Antenna is a structure affiliated with the region of transition between the “guided wave” and

“free space

An Antenna (or sometimes called as an Aerial), is an electrical device that converts electric
power into electromagnetic waves (or simply radio waves) and vice-versa

A signal from a transmission line or the guiding device (hence the term guided wave) like a co-
axial cable, is given to an antenna, which then converts the signal into electromagnetic energy to
be transmitted through space (hence the term free space).

Radiation

The process of transmitting electromagnetic waves in the space is called as

radiation.I

Near and far field region

When a signal from a transmitter is applied to an antenna, it sends out electromagnetic waves in
to free space. The EM field characteristics vary as a function of distance from the antenna. They
are broadly divided into two regions, the near-field region, and the far field region.

The Near Field Region is the region right next to the antenna. It is defined by the following
equation:

In this region, the fields are sort of unpredictable and therefore no measurements are usually
made in this region.

This region is further divided into two parts:

Reactive Near Field: This is the region that is adjacent to the antenna. In this region, the E-Field
and H-Field are 90 degrees out of phase with each other and are therefore reactive. To radiate or
propagate the E/H fields need to be orthogonal (perpendicular) and in phase with each other.

Radiative Near Field: This region is also known as the Fresnel Region. It is the region between
the reactive near field and the far field. This is the region where the EM fields start to transition
from reactive to radiating fields. However, since they have not completely transitioned, the shape
of the radiation pattern still varies with distance.
The Far Field Region is the region that comes after the near radiative near field. In this region,
the EM fields are dominated by radiating fields. The E and H-fields are orthogonal to each other
and to the direction of propagation as with plane waves. The far-field region is represented by
the following equation:

Antennas are usually used to transfer signals at large distances which are considered to be in the
far-field region. One condition that must be met when making measurements in the far field
region is that the distance from the antenna must be much greater than the size of the antenna and
the wavelength.

What is EIRP?
Effective, or Equivalent, Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) is the maximum amount of power
that could be radiated from an antenna, given its antenna gain and the transmitter power of the
RF system. EIRP is most commonly given in decibels over isotropic, dBi.

The IEEE definition for effective radiated power (ERP), which is similar to EIRP, is used to
measure RF frequency sources, such as transmitters, and indicate the power of the mainlobe of
the antenna that the system would radiate transmitting over a half-wave dipole antenna. The ERP
measurement is equivalent to the input power of the antenna multiplied by the antenna gain.
EIRP and ERP are different, in that EIRP is based on a hypothetical isotropic antenna, for which
a half-wave dipole antenna has an antenna gain 1.64 times, or 2.15 decibels, that of an isotropic
antenna.

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power or Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) is a

measurement of radiated output power from an ideal isotropic antenna in a single direction.
An isotropic antenna is meant to distribute power equally in all directions – When we channel
that power into a single direction and calculate the power it is known as EIRP. It will be the
maximum power emitted by the antenna in the direction with highest antenna gain. When
calculating EIRP we must take in to account the losses in the transmission line and the loss of
power due to the connectors.

EIRP can be used to compare any two emitters regardless of type, size or form. Its unit is dBi.

EIRP is calculated using the following formula.

What is dBi?
Antenna gain is measured in decibels. It is the ratio between the gain of the antenna compared to
the gain of an isotropic antenna. An isotropic antenna is a theoretical antenna which radiates
power uniformly in all directions. When we calculate the gain of an antenna and compare it to an
isotropic antenna the unit of the gain is dBi (i stands for Isotropic antenna). An Isotropic antenna
has a 0 dB power rating, i.e it has no gain/loss when compared to it self.
 Isotropic Antenna Pattern

So if an antenna has a gain of 5 dBi in a particular direction, that means when compared to an
Isotropic antenna (which will have a gain of 0 dB in that direction), that antenna has a gain of 5
dB.

What is the difference between EIRP and ERP?

EIRP is the Effective isotropic radiated power is the total power radiated by a hypothetical
isotropic antenna in a single direction. It gives the signal strength in the direction of the antenna's
strongest beam.

ERP is Effective Radiated Power is the total power radiated by an actual antenna relative to a
half-wave dipole rather than a theoretical isotropic antenna. A half-wave dipole has a gain of
2.15 dB compared to an isotropic antenna.

The relation between EIRP and ERP can be seen in the equation below:
What is Antenna Directivity?
Directivity is the measure of the concentration of an antennas's radiation pattern in a particular
direction. Directivity is expressed in dB. The higher the directivity, the more concentrated or
focussed is the beam radiated by an antenna. A higher directivity also means that the beam will
travel further.

An antenna that radiated equally well in all directions would be omni-directional and have a
directivity of 1 (0 dB).

Gain is the product of directivity and efficiency. Where efficiency accounts for the losses on the
antenna such as manufacturing faults, surface coating losses, dielectric, resistance, VSWR, or
any other factor.
A high directivity is not always better, for example, many applications like mobile devices
require omni-directional antennas and thus require antennas with a low/no directivity. High-
directivity antennas are used in permanent installations such as satellite television, wireless
backhaul etc. as they need to transmit and receive information over longer distances, in a
particular direction.

What is Antenna Gain?

Antenna gain tells us the power transmitted by an antenna in a specific direction as compared to
an isotropic antenna. This specification describes how strong a signal an antenna can send out or
receive in a specified direction. Antenna Gain is a more important specification than directivity,
as it takes in account all the losses.

Antenna gain = Directivity x Efficiency

Technically, Antenna Gain is the product of directivity and efficiency. Where Directivity is the
measure of the concentration of an antenna’s radiation pattern in a particular direction and
efficiency accounts for the losses of the antenna due to manufacturing faults, surface coating
irregularities, dielectric, resistance, VSWR, or any other factor.

What is Antenna Efficiency?

Antenna Efficiency is the ratio of power radiated (Prad) by the antenna to the power supplied
(Ps) to the antenna. The efficiency of an antenna is usually measured in an anechoic chamber
where an antenna is fed with some power and the strength of the radiated electromagnetic field in
the surrounding space is measured.

An ideal antenna has 100% antenna efficiency i.e., it transmits all the power fed to it. But in the
real world, a good antenna radiates only 50 to 60% of power supplied to it.

Log-Periodic Antennas vs Yagi Antennas

Both Log-Periodic Antennas and Yagi antennas are high gain directional antennas. The main
difference between these antennas is that Log-Periodic Antennas support wider frequency
bandwidths and are physically much larger than Yagi antennas.

Conceptually, Log-Periodic Antennas are similar to Yagi Antennas. They can be thought of as
two or three element Yagi antennas connected together, each tuned to a different frequency. This
gives Log-periodic antennas the ability to work across a wide range of frequencies, whereas
Yagi-Uda antennas are optimized for one particular frequency range.
What is Front to Back Ratio in an Antenna?
The Front to Back Ratio (F/B Ratio) of an antenna is the ratio of power radiated in the
front/main radiation lobe and the power radiated in the opposite direction (180 degrees from the
main beam).

This ratio tells us the extent of backward radiation and is normally expressed in dB. This
parameter is important in circumstances where interference or coverage in the reverse direction
needs to be minimized.

How do you measure Antenna Gain?

While antenna simulations can be an accurate predictor of gain, and duplication of known
antennas can produce clones with predictable gain, these methods do not actually measure
antenna gain. There are methods of measuring fields close to an RF excited around an antenna,
called “near field scanning”, that simulate and predict the gain of an antenna.

However, all true measurements of antenna gain come back to the Friis Transmission Equation. I
have written the equation here in the form of path loss, with units of decibels.
It says that the path loss between two antennas is the sum of their gains plus a term that relates
frequency and their separation distance. In any test setup, you would know the test frequency and
antenna separation distance, thus the sum of the antenna gains involved is easy to calculate.

Path loss is something that is easy to measure with a VNA, or any source receiver. You are
probably already familiar (and equipped) to measure two port loss. Once you subtract the
frequency/separation term from your measured path loss, you have the sum of two antenna gains.
If one antenna gain is known, then the unknown is resolved. If both antennas are identical, you
may assume that each contributes half of the total sum game. A more detailed article on
measuring gain can be found here.

In actual antenna gain testing, there are many other practical considerations, such as reflections,
sweeping frequencies, and directional rotation (patterning). Some helpful educational links are
available here.
What are the different types of antenna polarization?
The most common types of antenna polarization are vertical, horizontal, right hand circular, or
left hand circular, and antenna polarization is a critical aspect of antenna performance. The
polarization of an antenna is based on the E-plane orientation of the electromagnetic energy
radiated/received by the antenna. Most antennas are typically either linearly (horizontal and
vertical), or circularly polarized.

Linear polarization occurs when the antenna radiates entirely in a single plane containing the
direction of propagation of the EM radiation. This can be either horizontal or vertical, with
horizontal polarization occurring when the antenna’s electric field is parallel to the Earth’s
surface and vertical polarization is occurring when the antenna’s electric field is perpendicular to
the Earth’s surface.

Circular polarization is defined as the rotation of the polarization plane in a circle with a
complete revolution occurring as the period of the radiations frequency. A clockwise rotation is
known as right hand circular (RHC) polarization, and a counterclockwise rotation is known as
left hand circular (LHC) polarization.

What is the difference between dBi and dBd?

Antenna gain is measured in decibels. It is the ratio between the gain of the antenna compared to
the gain of an isotropic antenna. An isotropic antenna is a theoretical antenna which radiates
power uniformly in all directions. When we calculate the gain of an antenna and compare it to an
isotropic antenna the unit of the gain is dBi (i stands for Isotropic antenna). An Isotropic antenna
has a 0 dB power rating, i.e it has no gain/loss when compared to it self.
 Isotropic Antenna Pattern

Dipole antennas have a different radiation pattern compared to isotropic antennas. Though they
are known to be omni-directional, their radiation pattern is 360 degrees in the horizontal plane
and 75 degrees in the vertical plane (if standing vertically). It resembles the shape of a donut.
Because the beam is slightly concentrated, dipole antennas have a gain over isotropic antennas of
2.15 dB in the horizontal plane. Which means they have a gain of 2.15 dBi.

Some antennas are rated in comparison to a dipole antenna. In this case the unit of the gain
would be dBd. So an antenna that has 0 dBd gain will have a gain of 2.15 dBi.
Many manufacturers specify antenna gain in dB. It is important for you to check if this gain is
dBd or dBi.
What is a Lens Antenna?
A lens antenna uses the convergence and divergence properties of a lens to transmit and receive
signals. These antennas consist of a dipole or horn antenna followed by a lens. The size of the
lens used depends on the operating frequency - the higher the frequency the smaller the lens. Due
to this lens antennas are used at high frequencies as they can be quite bulky at lower frequencies.

Image 1: Tx and Rx Modes of a Lens Antenna

While transmitting, the lens is placed in such a way that the feeding antennas is located at its
focal point, this way we get collimated or parallel rays at the output of the lens. The feed is
usually a horn antenna that generates a spherical wavefront or an antenna array that produces a
cylindrical wavefront. While receiving, when the incident rays strike the lens they get refracted
and get converged to the focal point where the receptor is located.

These types of antennas are used for high-frequency applications that require wide bandwidths.

There are two main types of lens antennas: Di-electric lens or Delay lens Antennas and Metal
plate lens antennas.

Di-electric lens antennas are those where the Travelling waves are delayed by lens media. The
lens, in this case, is usually made up of polystyrene or Lucite and polyethylene. These types of
antennas are usually used Microwave and mm-Wave frequencies as for frequencies less than 3
GHz they become heavy and bulky.
Image 2: Dielectric Lens Antenna

Image 3: Metal Plate Lens Antenna