Antenna Specifications

Mustafa Mohammed July, 19th 2011

Antenna
What is an antenna? An antenna is a structure capable of receiving and transmitting electromagnetic waves. It is generally a metallic object used to convert high frequency current into electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic Waves: This is an electric field that travels away from some source like (antenna, radio whatever) A traveling electric field has an associated magnetic field with it, and the two make up an electromagnetic waves. What are the different type of antenna used in RF field. 1. Monopole, Dipole antenna (At frequency below 3 GHz) 2. Omni directional antenna, Directional antenna(Above 3 GHz) 3. Dual Band Quad pole Antenna

Different Antennas

Monopole Antenna

Dipole Antenna

Dual Band Quad Pole

Antenna Fundamentals
Parameters required: 1. Desired frequency 2. Gain 3. Bandwidth 4. Directivity 5. Front-to- back ratio 6. Downtilt(Electrical ,Mechanical) 7. Additional remote control capability 8. Weight and wind load

Antenna Fundamentals
Frequency Range: This depend on the operating spectrum of the UMTS and LTE network. Multiband antenna can be used instead of individual band antennas.
Gain: Antenna gain is directed related to the coverage footprint of a cell. Beamwidth: Horizontal beamwidth should be selected to meet the coverage objective and not cause too much interference between sectors. Typical horizontal beam width for 3 sector suburban site antennas are 65 degrees and vertical beam width about 4 to 6 degrees. antenna that radiates equally in all directions would have effectively zero directionality, and the directivity of this type of antenna would be 1 (or 0 dB). Front to Back Ratio:It is the difference between the peak gain in the front lobe and gain in the opposite direction. The typical front-to-back ratio is 20-45dB . Downtilt: Downtilt is used to control the interference by pulling back the coverage footprint or adjust the coverage near BTS where it might be covered by a null sidelobe. There are two types of downtilt : electrical and mechanical.

Directivity:It is a measure of how 'directional' an antenna's radiation pattern is. An

Antenna Fundamentals
Additional Remote Control Capability: Azimuth steering allows the changing of azimuth direction and thus the coverage. Horizontal beamwidth selection enables the changing of the antenna gain and thus coverage. Both are useful for special events or general network optimization and can save operational cost. Maximum Dimensions and Weight: The tower top space is limited and usually shared by several wireless systems. Antenna separation is required to minimize the interference, so the maximum dimensions must be considered in the selection of an antenna. There are weight limitations for certain tower tops so the weight factor must be considered as well. Wind Load: Wind load is an important environmental factor which indicates how much wind an antenna can tolerate. The antenna is weather proof and can tolerate winds of 70 miles an hr. Height Of Antenna: The height of the antenna usually 1.6 -1.8 meter and have it 16-20 dBi gain.

Frequency Band Table

Cell Site
MicroWave

Dual Band Quad pole Antenna

Antenna Gain

The technical point of view antenna gain seem to be the most asked feature of the antenna. Dual band antennas are becoming more popular because a single antenna is enough for a cell and it makes site acquisition a lot easier. The unit of antenna gain is dBi. dbI means "Isotropic", a perfect POINT SOURCE, which radiates in a spherical manner. To achieve higher gains, antennas are constructed such that they radiate more in one direction than another. The higher the gain, the smaller the horizontal and vertical angles

Node B Block Diagram

Node B Block Diagram

TMA: It reduces system noise, improves uplink sensitivity and leads to longer UE battery life. There are typically top jumper, main feeder and a bottom jumper between antenna and BTS. A TMA placed near antenna with a short jumper from antenna provides the best noise figure improvement Diplexer: A coupling system that allows two different transmitter to operate simultaneously or separately from the same antenna. Duplexer: A duplex is a method of communications in which a system can send and reecive data. Ex bi-directional communication. RX-AIT: Receiver Air Interface Tray also eliminates Tma and receive path dependancy when operating with multiple technologies such as GSM and UMTS. Attenuator: It reduces the amplitude of a signal.

RF Signal Measurement Units

dDm is the power ratio in decibels(dB) of the measured power referenced to one milli watt. It is used in radio, Microwave and fiber optic network as a convenient measure of absolute power because of its capability to express both very large and very small values in a short form. dB(isotropic) is the forward gain of an antenna compared with the hypothetical isotropic antenna, which uniformly distributes energy in all directions. dB(dipole) is the forward gain of an antenna compared with a half wave dipole antenna. 0 dBd=2.15 dBi dBic(isotropic circular) is the the forward gain of an antenna compared to a circularly polarized isotropic antenna. There is no fixed conversion rule between dBiC and dBi, as it depends on the receiving antenna and the field polarization.

RF Signal Measurement Units

dB(hertz) bandwidth relative to 1 Hz. E.g., 20 dB-Hz corresponds to a bandwidth of 100 Hz. Commonly used in link budget calculations. Also used in carrier-to-noise-density. dB(quarterwave) the forward gain of an antenna compared to a quarter wavelength whip. Rarely used, except in some marketing material. 0 dBq = 0.85 dBi