《Lab1_antenna》.pdf

EN61 Wireless Revolution Lab 1 - Antenna Design 1 Lab 1 - Antenna Design Objective The purpose of this experiment is to become familiar with basic antenna properties, design, and construction. The necessary dimensions for the helical antenna are determined from the given specifications. Once constructed, the antenna’s return loss will be measured using the network analyzer. Equipment • Metal wire with insulation (we will use AWG14 in this lab) • PVC pipe • PVC caps (optional) • Epoxy • Copper strip • Aluminum plate • ‘N’ type connector • Soldering iron and solder • Network analyzer Introduction An antenna is one of the most important components in any RF communications system. Its performance determines the quality and the continuity of the data flow in both directions. The antenna is one of the most important components in any RF communication system. 1. Antenna Parameters: To describe antenna performance, we must first define the basic parameters. The most important parameters are radiation pattern, directivity gain, power gain, bandwidth, polarization, and impedance. All parameters are perfectly symmetric: they apply equally to transmitted and received signals. 1.1 Antenna radiation pattern The radiation pattern of an antenna is a polar diagram representing the spatial distribution of the radiated energy. The radiation pattern is the two- or three-dimensional spatial distribution of radiated energy as a function of the observer’s position along a path or surface of constant radius. In practice, the three- dimensional pattern is measured and recorded in a series of two-dimensional patterns. Antenna radiation patterns can be divided into three main categories: isotropic, directional and omnidirectional. An isotropic radiator is a hypothetical lossless antenna having equal radiation in all directions (Fig-1).