180

Chapter 5 Resonant Antennas: Wires and Patches

For given values of d, at. and a2, the value of c can be found [11, 12]. As is frequently the case, if al and a2 are much less than d, c is approximately given by c

= In(d/al)

~----''''-

In(d/a2)

(5-40)

The folded dipole antenna is a very popular wire antenna. The reasons for this are its impedance properties, ease of construction, and structural rigidity. The equalsize conductor half-wave folded dipole has an input impedance very close to that of a 300-ohm twin-lead-type transmission line as seen from Fig. 5-16. Also, by changing the conductor radii, the input impedance can be changed. In addition to having desirable impedance properties, the half-wave folded dipole has a wider bandwidth than an ordinary half-wave dipole [13]. In part for these reasons, a folded dipole is frequently used as a feed antenna for Yagi-Uda arrays and other popular antennas.

S.3 FEEDING WIRE ANTENNAS

When connecting an antenna to a transmission line, it is important to make effective

use of all available power from the transmitter in the transmit case and from the antenna in the receive case. There are two primary considerations: the impedance match between the antenna and transmission line, and the excitation of the current distribution on the antenna. In this section, these general topics are discussed along with specific applications to wire antennas. First, consider impedance matching. A typical transmitter or receiver circuit is shown in Fig. 5-18. Usually, the transmitter or receiver has an impedance equal to that of the transmission line Zoo However, the antenna impedance ZA is frequently quite different from Zoo The question is whether or not this is a problem. The answer depends on the application. In some cases, corrective measures such as a matching network are necessary. Let us examine the effects created by a mismatch. It is well known that maximum power is transferred when there is a conjugate impedance match. Also, if the system were operated with a poor match at the antenna, there would be reflections set up along the transmission line; that is, the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is much greater than one. If the transmission line is of high quality (low loss), these reflections represent low-dissipative losses. For many applications, an extremely low VSWR is a luxury and not a necessity. This is demonstrated in Table 5-3, which follows from (9-9). For example, a VSWR of 2: 1 leads to 89% power transmission. On the other hand, if the VSWR is very high, power is traveling back and forth along the transmission line, and if the line is lossy and! or of long length, dissipative losses may be significant. High VSWR has other undesirable effects on a system. In high-power applications, very high voltages will be developed between the conductors at certain points

Transmitter
or

Zo

Zo

,.-.
Zin

receiver Transmission line

Matching network

I
~

Figure 518 Typical transmitter/receiver configuration.

5.3 Feeding Wire Antennas Table 5-3 VSWR and Transmitted Power for a Mismatched Antenna
=

181

Percent Reflected Power Ifl2 x 100 VSWR

= (VSWR -

VSWR 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.5 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 5.83 10.0

+1

1)2

100

Percent Transmited Power = q X 100 = (1 - If12) X 100

0.0 0.2 0.8 4.0

11.1
25.0 36.0 44.4 50.0 66.9

100.0 99.8 99.2 96.0 88.9 75.0 64.0 55.6 50.0 33.1

along a transmission line. These are called "hot spots" and may cause arcing. Also, a high VSWR means that the impedance varies along the transmission line and further that the impedance at any point varies as the frequency is changed. This may affect transmitter operation. For example, the frequency of the transmitter can be changed by severe input impedance mismatch; this is called "frequency pulling." If the impedance mismatch is unacceptable, there are several methods for improving the performance. Usually, the characteristic impedance Zo is nearly real since low-loss transmission lines are used. For a match then, the antenna should have an input impedance equal to Zo + jO. Sometimes, it is possible to select an antenna that achieves this. If this is not possible, a matching network can be employed as shown in Fig. 5-18. Such matching networks take many forms. One example is the quarter-wave transformer, which is a quarter-wave-Iength long transmission line with characteristic impedance YZoRA' where RA is the antenna input resistance. If the antenna impedance has a reactive component, other devices may be used. At UHF and microwave frequencies, tuning devices such as stub tuners and irises are introduced to transform the real part of the impedance to that of the transmission line as well as tuning out the reactive component. At low frequencies, reactive tuning is accomplished with variable capacitors and coils because the electrical dimensions of these lumped elements are small with respect to the wavelength. There are disadvantages to using matching networks. For example, if a matching network is designed to obtain a near perfect match, it will usually be narrow-banded. If the matching network is designed to be broadbanded, it will usually not yield a near perfect match at all frequencies over the band, or perhaps at any frequencies over the band. A discussion of matching techniques may be found in [14] and [15]. On the other hand, there are several ways to change the input impedance of an antenna without using a matching network. For example, the input resistance of a dipole can be changed by displacing the feed point off center. If the feed point is a distance from the center of the dipole, the current at the input terminals is

z,

(5-41)

182 Chapter 5 Resonant Antennas: Wires and Patches

Figure- 519 Half-wave dipole with displaced feed.

In the case of a half-wave dipole as shown in Fig. 5-19, J3L12 = 'TT/2 and this reduces to
1A

= 1m cos

J3zf

(5-42)

The input resistance (not including ohmic losses) is found from (5-42) in (5-20), giving

RA

= 12 Rrm = 2 Q A cos "'Zf

1;'

Rrm

(5-43)

As the feed point approaches the end of the wire, this result indicates that the input resistance increases toward infinity. In practice, the input resistance becomes very large as the feed point moves out. The pattern is essentially unchanged as the feed point shifts. For longer dipoles, the pattern and impedance differ significantly from the center-fed case as the feed point is displaced. For example, a full-wave dipole fed a quarter-wavelength from one end, as shown in Fig. 5-20, will have a current distribution that is significantly different from the center-fed full-wave dipole of Fig. 5-3c and that has a broadside null in the pattern. The off-center feed arrangement is unsymmetrical and can lead to undesirable phase reversals in the antenna, as shown in Fig. 5-20. A symmetrical feed that increases the input resistance with increasing distance from the center point of the wire antenna is the shunt feed. A few forms of shunt matching are shown in Fig. 5-21. We will discuss the operation of the tee match; the remaining shunt matches behave in a similar fashion. The center section of the tee match may be viewed as being a shorted transmission line in parallel with a dipole of wide feed gap spacing. The shorted transmission line is less than a quarter-wavelength long and thus its impedance is inductive. Capacitance can be introduced to tune out this inductance by either shortening the dipole length or placing variable capacitors in the shunt legs. As the distance D is increased, the input impedance increases and peaks for a D of about half of the dipole length. As D is increased further, the impedance decreases and finally equals the folded dipole value when D equals the dipole length. The exact impedance value depends on the distances C and D, and the ratio of the

L=')..

IJ4

t t

Figure 520 Current distribution on a full wave dipole for an off-center feed.

5.3 Feeding Wire Antennas

183

t t
(c) Gamma match.

(a) Delta match.

(b) Tee match.

Figure 5-21 Shunt matching configurations.

dipole wire diameter to the shunt arm wire diameter (similar to the folded dipole behavior). In practice, sliding contacts are made between the shunt arms and the dipole for impedance adjustment. Shunt matches will radiate and do so in an undesirable fashion. We now turn our attention to a separate but related problem of balancing currents on wire antennas. Many wire antennas are symmetrical in nature and, thus, the currents should also be symmetrical (or balanced). An example of balanced and unbalanced operation of a half-wave dipole is shown in Fig. 5-22. In the balanced case, the currents on the transmission line are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, which yields very small radiation from the transmission line for closely spaced conductors. For unbalanced operation, as illustrated in Fig. 5-22b, the current II is greater than 12 and there is a net current flow on the transmission line leading to uncontrolled radiation that is not in the desired direction or of the desired polarization. Also, the unbalanced current on the antenna will change the radiation pattern from the balanced case. Thus, it is clear that balanced operation is desirable. Transmission lines are referred to as balanced and unbalanced. Parallel wire lines are inherently balanced in that if an incident wave (with balanced currents) is launched down the line, it will excite balanced currents on a symmetrical antenna. On the other hand, a coaxial transmission line is not balanced. A wave traveling down the coax may have a balanced current mode, that is, the currents on the inner conductor and the inside of the outer conductor are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. However, when this wave reaches a symmetrical antenna, a current may flow back on the outside of the outer conductor, which unbalances the antenna and transmission line. This is illustrated in Fig. 5-23. Note that the currents on the two halves of the dipole are unbalanced. The current 13 flowing on the outside of the coax will radiate. The currents II and 12 in the coax are shielded from the external world by the thickness of the outer conductor. They could actually be unbalanced with no resulting radiation; it is the current on the outside surface of the outer conductor that must be suppressed. To suppress this outside surface current, a balun (contraction for "balanced to unbalanced transformer") is used. The situation in Fig. 5-23 maY' be understood by examining the voltages that exist

(a) Balanced currents, 11

=12,

(b) Unbalanced currents, 11> Iz.

Figure 5-22 Balanced and unbalanced operation of a centerfed half-wave dipole.

184 Chapter 5 Resonant Antennas; Wires and Patches

Va

Zo

Figure 523 Cross section of a coaxial transmission line feeding a dipole antenna at its center.

at the terminals of the antenna. These voltages are equal in magnitude but opposite in phase (i.e., Va = - Vb). Both voltages act to cause a current to flow on the outside of the coaxial line. If the magnitude of the currents on the outside of the coax produced by both voltages are equal, the net current would be zero. However, since one antenna terminal is directly connected to the outer conductor, its voltage Vb produces a much stronger current than the other voltage Va. A balun is used to transform the balanced input impedance of the dipole to the unbalanced coaxial line such that there is no net current on the outer conductor of the coax. To illustrate how a balun works, consider the sleeve (or bazooka) balun in Fig. 5-24. The sleeve and outer conductor of the coaxial line form another coaxial line of characteristic impedance Z~ that is shorted a quarter-wavelength away from its input at the antenna terminals. The equivalent circuit for Fig. 5-23 is that of Fig. 5-25a. The equivalent circuit of Fig. 5-24 is that of Fig. 5-25b, which shows that both terminals see a very high impedance to ground. Thus, the situation in Fig. 5-25b is equivalent to the balanced condition of Fig. 5-25c wherein the currents 11 and 12 are equal. An easily constructed balun form is the folded balun shown in Fig. 5-26. The quarter-wavelength of coax from the a terminal to the outer conductor of the transmission line does not affect the antenna impedance ZA. The extra quarter-wave-

r A.
4

j
Figure 5-24 Cross section of a sleeve balun feeding a dipole at its center.

5.3 Feeding Wire Antennas

185

Vb

Zo
12

Va

Zo
I,
ZL

(12 -13)

(a) Equivalent circuit of coax-fed dipole in Fig. 5-23.

-,..+'-------t

(b) Equivalent circuit of sleeve balun-fed dipole in Fig. 5-24.

)"'+'--------1

Figure 5-25 Equivalent circuits for a dipole fed from a coaxial

transmission line of characteristic
(c) Final equivalent circuit for Fig. 5-24 with quarter-wave

impedance Zo and load impedance

ZL'

transmission line removed,I, = h.

Figure 5-26 The folded balun.

186 Chapter 5 Resonant Antennas: Wires and Patches

_Balanced_ line
A
A

f.

A-A

B-B

~ C-C

Unbalanced line
(a) Tapered microstrip balun.

~
Unbalanced

0 0

D -D

E-E

line
(b) Tapered coaxial balun.

Figure 5-27 Broadband baluns.

length of coax together with the outer conductor of the main transmission line forms another equivalent transmission line, which is a quarter-wavelength long and is shorted at C. Therefore, the short circuit at C is (ideally) transformed to an infinite impedance at the antenna terminals, which is in parallel with ZA, leaving the input impedance unchanged. The quarter-wavelength line induces a cancelling current on the outside of the coaxial transmission line, so that the net current on the outside of the main coax below point C is zero as shown in Fig. 5-26. The folded and sleeve baluns are, of course, not broadband because of the quarter-wavelength involved in its construction. Broadband baluns can be constructed by tapering a balanced transmission line to an unbalanced one over at least several wavelengths of transmission line length

Unbalanced Balanced line line ~

Balanced
~--+-~------~line

(a) Air core transformer

(b) Ferrite core bifllar

balun.

wound wire balun.

Figure 5-28 Baluns used at lower frequencies.

5.4 Yagi-Uda Antennas

2880

187

720 Unbalanced - - I I - e

720 (a) Half-wave balun.

(b) ')J2 line puts two 144 0 loads in parallel, transforming 288 0 balanced to 72 0 unbalanced.

Figure 5-29 A half-wave balun that provides an impedance setup ratio of 4: 1.

as indicated in Fig. 5-27. Figure 5-27a shows a balanced transmission line tapering to an unbalanced microstrip line and Fig. 5-27b illustrates a balanced line tapering to an unbalanced coaxial line. The baluns we have considered thus far are useful from microwave frequencies down to VHF. From VHF down to lower frequencies, it is impractical in many cases to employ these configurations and transformers are used as Fig. 5-28 indicates. Figure 5-28a is an air core transformer arrangement useful at lower frequencies. Figure 5-28b is bifilar wound ferrite core balun that can be used from VLF through UHF. Impedance transformation may also be included in a balun for matching purposes. For example, the "four-to-one" balun in Fig. 5-29a will transform an unbalanced 72-0 impedance to one that is 288-0 balanced. Such a balun is useful with a folded dipole. To understand how the four-to-one balun works, consider Fig. 5-29b that shows the 288-0 balanced impedance split into two 144-0 parts and the connection
between the 144-0 impedances grounded. The 288-0 impedance is still balanced

(with respect to ground). Next, the negative terminal is connected via a half-wavelength section of transmission line to the positive terminal as shown in Fig. 5-29b. Thus, the unbalanced terminals present a 72-0 impedance, whereas the balanced terminals present a 288-0 impedance and the four-to-one balanced transformation is complete. A balun that leaves the impedance unchanged is often referred to as a "one-to-one" balun.

5.4 YAGI-UDA ANTENNAS

We saw in Chapter 3 that array antennas can be used to increase directivity. The arrays we examined had all elements active, requiring a direct connection to each element by a feed network. Array feed networks are considerably simplified if only a few elements are fed directly. Such an array is referred to as a parasitic array. The elements that are not directly driven (called parasites) receive their excitation by near-field coupling from the driven elements. A parasitic linear array of parallel dipoles is called a Yagi-Uda antenna, a Yagi-Uda array, or simply "Yagi." YagiUda antennas are very popular because of their simplicity and relatively high gain. In this section, the principles of operation and design data for Yagis will be presented [16].