What is Antenna design: Definition and 33 Discussions

In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies an electric current to the antenna's terminals, and the antenna radiates the energy from the current as electromagnetic waves (radio waves). In reception, an antenna intercepts some of the power of a radio wave in order to produce an electric current at its terminals, that is applied to a receiver to be amplified. Antennas are essential components of all radio equipment.
An antenna is an array of conductors (elements), electrically connected to the receiver or transmitter. Antennas can be designed to transmit and receive radio waves in all horizontal directions equally (omnidirectional antennas), or preferentially in a particular direction (directional, or high-gain, or “beam” antennas). An antenna may include components not connected to the transmitter, parabolic reflectors, horns, or parasitic elements, which serve to direct the radio waves into a beam or other desired radiation pattern.
The first antennas were built in 1888 by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in his pioneering experiments to prove the existence of waves predicted by the electromagnetic theory of James Clerk Maxwell. Hertz placed dipole antennas at the focal point of parabolic reflectors for both transmitting and receiving. Starting in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi began development of antennas practical for long-distance, wireless telegraphy, for which he received a Nobel Prize.

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  1. nomadreid

    TV antenna dish: depth, f/D, or focal distance

    I am covering parabolic antennas with a school student in elementary physics, and I was looking for the specs of the (offset) antenna on her family's roof in order to calculate things like focal distance. She sent me a photo (she is on another continent), I found the brand specs, which lists it...
  2. tworitdash

    A Maximum reception/transmission criteria for Conical Horn Antennas

    I have written a solver for my thesis which determines various parameters of a conical horn antenna for astronomy application. It is done with Mode Matching Technique (MMT) and some Rumsey's integrals for the aperture free space transitions. I have made some goal functions with the solver which...
  3. D

    Can a Coiled Antenna Receive Radio Signals at 30 MHz?

    if an antenna 8.2 feet long was coiled up into a coil could it still receive radio signals at 30 megahertz?
  4. ChadThePianist

    Is a Brain-to-Computer Interface Possible? Join Me in My Journey to Find Out!

    My name is Chad and I am a senior level undergraduate Electrical Engineering major. I have an interest in physics as well and am doing undergraduate research currently on semiconductor materials that can convert beta particles into electrical energy. I am knowledgeable in the area of EM waves...
  5. qnach

    Performance of a complimentary antenna?

    Suppose the performance of an antenna is calculated. How about its complimentary antenna?
  6. qnach

    Connection between relative permittivity and bandwidth

    What is the connection of relative permittivity and bandwidth of an antenna? Higher relative permittivity resulted in high wider bandwidth?
  7. P

    THz Radiation, Antennas: Need background knowledge

    I want to use small molecular - preferably CNT - "antennas" to produce THz signals to monitor activity in biological systems. After some googling, I've been reading things like "absorption spectra", "energy bands", "spectroscopy", as well as a bunch of antenna-science related jargon... I need...
  8. R

    Help Identifying AESA Antenna Structure Type found in the F-35 aircraft

    This is the AN/APG-81 AESA Radar antenna by Northrop Grumman currently found in the F-35 (photo from wikipedia article). It seems to have a very different structure than past AESA/PESA antennas. For example the APG-68 from the F-16 looks a lot like stacked, slotted wave guides to me. So...
  9. C

    Is it possible to make a passive element that doesn't reemit EM

    Is it possible (and if so how practical) to overdamp a conductor wire that is many times longer than the wavelength of the incident radiation so that it doesn't reradiate any detectable amount, turning practically all incident radiation into heat?
  10. T

    Can a radio frequency be lowered by a passive circuit?

    Is it possible to design an unpowered antenna, (possibly some kind of RLC circuit) which will receive a radio wave at a particular frequency and then re-emit it at a lower frequency?
  11. qnach

    Antenna of this shape? What is the benefit?

    Is there a (dielectric) antenna of this shape ---o---o---o---o--- | | | | ---o---o---o---o--- i.e. a ladder? What is the good for such antennas?
  12. D

    *Very* Small Low Freq Antennas with directivity?

    I'm curious about anyone that has concrete hands on experience tinkering with very small low frequency antennas. My band of interest is 6, 13 or 27 MHz. I wonder if it is possible to design a very small physical antenna that will radiate with some directivity even if the efficiency is not so...
  13. maearnie

    Outdoor Antenna Design: Basic Guidelines & 70 MHz TV Station

    What i need are the ff: basic guidelines on how to create an outdoor antenna (you can send links :)) the most suitable type of antenna that can receive 70 MHz tv station frequency. The antenna will be mounted less that 3 m from the ground. computations that i need to know (you can also send...
  14. qnach

    Reasons for choosing square antenna?

    Is there any particular reason to choose a square shape antenna like http://www.globalspec.com/reference/70592/203279/2-5-4-by-4-wavelength-rectangular-microstrip-antenna instead of a circular shape?
  15. Shubham Jaydeokar

    How to test a simple Dipole Antenna on Spectrum Analyser?

    Hello Experts, I have created this thread especially for clearing some of the important concepts of Antenna and Designing Issues. I have a question for all of you, related to Dipole Antenna. I have designed a Folded Dipole Antenna resonating at center Frequency of 145.800MHz. This antenna is...
  16. qnach

    Small Loop Antenna: Understanding Its Design as a Dipole or Monopole

    Is a small-loop antenna a dipole or a monopole? Is a (small) 8-shape antenna a dipole or a monopole? Is a 8-shape antenna a dipole antenna?
  17. qnach

    Why are magnetic loops used in amateur 8-shape antennae?

    Over the literatures there are S-shape and 8-shape antennae been discussed. What are the differences? The 8-shape seems to be found in amature using magnetic loop. Why magnetic?
  18. qnach

    Is there an antenna with this shape?

    Is there an antenna of S shape or perhaps a butterfly shape? What is the benefit of such design?
  19. qnach

    Where Can I Find Books on Shell Dielectric Resonance Antennas?

    WiKi indicate Millimetre Wave Antennas for Gigabit Wireless Communications: A Practical Guide to Design and Analysis in a System Context Huang, Kao‐Cheng ; Edwards, David J. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd But our library do not have this book. Has anyone know other book on this...
  20. qnach

    Dielectric Antennae: Energy Feed-In/Take-Out Explained

    There are many webpage about dielectric antenna For instance, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_resonator_antenna But I cannot figure out where does the energy feed-in or take-out from the antenna?
  21. qnach

    I Non-conductor made antenna?

    Could an antenna made from a non-conductor or a poor conductor?
  22. Tone L

    Phased array antenna vs single antenna for remote sensing.

    My question stems from the Cosmic-1 satellites using single antennas for radio occultation and the cosmic-2 sats that will use a phased array antenna. I've done a fair amount of research in regards to the phased array antenna. Overall it seems to improve the signal to noise ratio when making...
  23. H

    Free online antenna design software?

    I use this for my backyard hobby (amateur) design work; don't know how valid it is but has always seemed to be accurate. does anyone know if similar downloads for designing other antenna types beside yagi's. just want to have some fun, no specific application.
  24. A

    Inductance of Square Coil Antenna on PCB

    Hey guys, I am trying to design an Inductive Square Antenna Coil that will be milled onto my PCB. I am slightly confused when it comes to the matching circuit. To my understanding the matching circuit is there to have the same impedance value of the antenna, correct? So my matching circuit...
  25. 4

    Is this RFID antenna design possible?

    Hey everyone, Looking for someone in the know regarding RFID reader antenna design. Part of a project I'm working on requires a custom RFID transmitter antenna. If possible, I'd like to design the antenna as an integral part of a steel cylinder. I know there are on-metal tags, but is it...
  26. V

    Antenna Design Filtering Out UnWanted Frequencies

    Hello. I was wondering if someone could explain to someone with no electrical engineering background where would one place the resonator whose sole responsibility is to amplify sine waves at a particular frequency while ignoring other sine waves. Would this resonator be located by the antenna...
  27. M

    Theory of BiQuad Antenna Design (now a digital TV channel question)

    Hi everyone, I'm Designing a BiQuad antenna for WiFi applications. The design and optimization are relatively simple but i need some references of the theory behind this antenna. I'm reading some theory of Bi-Conic Antennas but it's a bit difficult to extrapolate the idea between both...
  28. N

    How Can I Design and Test Antennas Using HFSS? Guidance and Tips for Academia

    Hi I have taken a very rudimentary course on antenna theory, now i am interested in further deepening my knowledge. I have bought myself Balanis's book on antenna theory, I need some guidance regarding what chapters should i study as it is quite a large book. Secondly, after i have got...
  29. V

    Rfid tag antenna design for moisture sensor

    hi this is vebi , i want to design rfid tag antenna with moisture sensor can anybody suggest me how to design
  30. D

    Antenna Design Books: 60Hz to 100KHz Textbooks/Ref Material

    I am looking for textbooks or reference material that will help my design a loop antenna to operate in the long wavelength spectrum(60Hz to 100KHz to be exact). I understand there is more to consider than just Faraday's law and am looking for a book that can help step me through the process of...
  31. C

    Improve Phone Antenna Design: Don't Buy from Shaosan Li

    I made the mistake of buying a cheap Chinese phone on Ebay (don't buy phones from Shaosan Li) The reception was useless and in only worked in direct line of sight of a phone tower less than 50 m away. With nothing to lose I pulled the back off the phone and located the internal antenna...
  32. A

    Is a Modified Dipole Antenna Feasible for a Quad-Band GSM Design?

    I searched the forum and didn't find any input on this subject. Dear PF members, I need your help. I am at training for a university, and am assigned a project where I should design a quad-band (or tri) GSM antenna for a vehicle. I am going to second year EE undergrad. so I am only required...
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