MICROWAVE

ANTENNAS
LESSON 7

FACILITATOR: ENGR. IREENE P. VALENCIA, PH.D

OBJECTIVE OF THE LESSON:

Describe the theory and

operation of specialized
microwave antennas.
MICROWAVE ANTENNAS

• Because of the line-of-sight transmission of

microwave signals, highly directive antennas
are preferred because they do not waste
the radiated energy and because they
provide an increase in gain, which helps
offset noise at microwave frequencies.
 1. HORN ANTENNAS

• Microwave antennas must be some extension of or compatible

with a waveguide.
• Waveguide are not good radiators because they provide a poor
impedance match with free space. This results in standing waves
and reflected power.
• This mismatch can be offset by flaring the end of the waveguide
to create a horn antenna.
• Horn antennas have excellent gain and directivity.
• The gain and directivity of a horn are a direct function of its
dimensions; the most important dimensions are length, aperture
area, and flare angle.
BASIC HORN ANTENNA
GAIN AND DIRECTIVITY ARE A
FUNCTION OF:

• 1. Horn length – longer length, higher gain and directivity

• 2. Aperture Area – greater area, higher gain and directivity

• 3. Flare Angle – increasing flare angle increases the

aperture area. Typical is 20-60 deg

HORN ANTENNA – CREATED BY FLARING THE
ENDS OF THE WG IN DIFFERENT FORMS

• Sectoral Horn – flaring the rectangular

waveguide in only one dimension.
• Pyramidal Horn – flaring both dimensions
of the rectangular waveguide.
• Conical Horn – flaring a circular
waveguide.
HORN ANTENNA
 2. PARABOLIC REFLECTOR
ANTENNAS

• Consists of a parabolic reflector which is a large dish-

shaped structure made of metal or screen mesh, combined
with a horn antenna.
• Center-feed (front side) Feed Method: The energy
radiated by the horn (antenna) is pointed at the parabolic
dish (reflector,) which focuses the radiated energy into a
narrow beam and reflects it toward its destination.
• Beam widths of only a few degrees are typical with parabolic
reflectors.
• Narrow beam widths also represent extremely high gains.
 WHY PARABOLIC?

• In a parabolic dish, the distance from the focal point

to the directrix ( Dashed line) is equal for all signals
from the horn ( F-A-B, F-C-D, etc. ) . Hence, from
the directrix, the signals are parallel and in phase with
each other and therefore maximum radiation within
a narrow beam from the parabolic dish.
CROSS-SECTIONAL VIEW OF A PARABOLIC DISH
ANTENNA.
PARABOLIC REFLECTOR
PARABOLIC ANTENNA
CASSEGRAIN FEED METHOD
• A popular method of feeding a parabolic antenna is an arrangement known
as a Cassegrain feed.
• The horn antenna is positioned at the center of the parabolic reflector
( back side).
• At the focal point is another small reflector with either a parabolic or a
hyperbolic shape.
• The electromagnetic radiation from the horn strikes the small reflector,
which then reflects the energy toward the large dish which radiates the
signal in parallel beams.
CASSEGRAIN FEED
CASSEGRAIN ANTENNA
GREGORIAN FEED
ADVANTAGES OF
CASSEGRAIN FEED:

• The waveguide transmission line is

shorter.
• The bends in the waveguides are
eliminated.
• Both add up to less signal attenuation.
ALTHOUGH THE HORN AND
THE PARABOLIC REFLECTOR
ARE THE MOST COMMONLY
USED, THERE ARE OTHER
MICROWAVE ANTENNAS…
3. HELICAL ANTENNAS
• A helical antenna, as its name suggests, is a wire helix.
• A center insulating support is used to hold heavy wire or tubing
formed into a circular coil or helix.
• The diameter of the helix is typically one-third wavelength, and
the spacing between turns is approximately one-quarter
wavelength.
• The gain of a helical antenna is typically in the 12- to 20-dB range
and beam widths vary from approximately 12° to 45°.
• Helical antennas are favored in many applications because of
their simplicity and low cost.
• The signal it radiates is circularly polarized.
HELICAL ANTENNA
HELICAL ANTENNA
 4. BICONE ANTENNAS

• Most microwave antennas are highly directional but in some

applications, an omnidirectional antenna may be requires.
• One of the most widely used omnidirectional microwave
antennas is the bicone.
• The signals are fed into bicone antennas through a circular
waveguide ending in a flared cone.
• The upper cone acts as a reflector, causing the signal to be
radiated equally in all directions with a very narrow vertical
beam width.
THE OMNIDIRECTIONAL BICONE
ANTENNA

reflector
BICONE ANTENNA
 5. PRINTED-CIRCUIT BOARD
ANTENNAS
• Because antennas are so small at microwave
frequencies, they can be conveniently made right
on a printed-circuit board that also holds the
transmitter and/or receiver ICs and related
circuits.
• No separate antenna structure, feed line, or
connectors are needed.
PCB ANTENNA
6. SLOT ANTENNAS

• A slot antenna is a radiator made by cutting a one-

half wavelength slot in a conducting sheet of metal or
into the side or top of a waveguide.
• The slot antenna has the same characteristics as a
standard dipole antenna, as long as the metal sheet is
very large compared to λ at the operating frequency.
• Slot antennas are widely used on high-speed aircraft
where the antenna can be integrated into the metallic
skin of the aircraft.
SLOT ANTENNAS ON A WAVEGUIDE. (A) RADIATING
SLOTS. (B) NON-RADIATING SLOTS.
MICROSTRIP SLOT ANTENNA
7. DIELECTRIC (LENS) ANTENNAS
• A device that serves as a lens for microwaves just
as glass can serve as lens for light waves.
• Dielectric or lens antennas use a special
dielectric material to collimate or focus the
microwaves from a source into a narrow beam.
• Lens antennas are usually made of polystyrene or
some other plastic, although other types of
dielectric can be used.
• Their main use is in the millimeter range above 40
GHz.
LENS ANTENNA OPERATIONS. (A)
DIELECTRIC LENS. (B) ZONED LENS.
8. PATCH ANTENNAS
• Patch antennas are made with microstrip on PCBs.
• The antenna is a circular or rectangular area of copper separated from
the ground plane on the bottom of the board by the PCB’s insulating
material.
• Patch antennas are small, inexpensive, and easy to construct.
• In many applications, they can simply be integrated on the PCB with the
Tx and Rx.
• Their bandwidth is directly related to the thickness of the PCB
material.
• Their radiation pattern is circular in the direction opposite to that of
the ground plane.
PATCH ANTENNA EM FIELD
VISUALIZATION
9. PHASED ARRAYS
• A phased array is an antenna system made up of a large
group of similar antennas on a common plane.
• Patch antennas on a common PCB can be used, or separate
antennas like dipoles can be mounted together in a plane.
• The basic purpose of an array is to improve gain and
directivity.
• Arrays also offer better control of directivity, since individual
antennas in an array can be turned off or on, or driven
through different phase shifters.
• Most phased arrays are used in radar systems, but they are
finding applications in some cell phone systems and in
satellites.
AN 8 × 8 PHASE ARRAY USING PATCH
ANTENNAS.
OTHER PRINTED-CIRCUIT
ANTENNAS

• In addition to the patch and slot

antennas, the loop, the inverted-F,
and the meander line antennas
are also used.
 10. ROUND LOOP ANTENNA
FOR 868MHZ
• It is just a closed loop of
pc-board copper
connected to the
transmitter's or receiver's
antenna terminals.
• The larger the loop, the
more efficient it is, and
the better it works.
11. INVERTED – F ANTENNA

• An inverted-F antenna
is a type of antenna used
in wireless communication.
It consists of a monopole
antenna running parallel to
a ground plane and
grounded at one end.
12. INTELLIGENT ANTENNA
TECHNOLOGY

• Intelligent antennas or smart antennas

are antennas that work in conjunction with
electronic decision-making circuits to modify
antenna performance to fit changing
situations.
• They adapt to the signals being received and
the environment in which they transmit.
 INTELLIGENT ANTENNA
TECHNOLOGY
• Also called adaptive antennas, these new designs greatly
improve transmission and reception in multipath
environments and can also multiply the number of users of
a wireless system.
• Some popular adaptive antennas today use diversity,
multiple-input multiple-output, and automatic beam
forming.
 ADAPTIVE BEAM FORMING

• Adaptive antennas are systems that automatically

adjust their characteristics to the environment.
• They use beam-forming and beam-pointing
techniques to zero in on signals to be received and
to ensure transmission under noisy conditions.
• Beam-forming antennas use multiple antennas such
as phase arrays.
KINDS OF ADAPTIVE BEAM
FORMING ANTENNAS:

Switched beam arrays and Adaptive arrays.

• Both switched beam arrays and adaptive arrays are
being employed in some cell phone systems and in
newer wireless LANs.
• They are particularly beneficial to cell phone systems
because they can boost the system capacity.
THE END