Objectives
The course provides the methods for the analysis and the characterization of the most common antennas. Moreover the student will be able to study and adequately dimension wireless links. About a third of the course will be dedicated to the numerical simulation and experimental verification of the main topics of the course.
Course program
Overview of Maxwell equations and electromagnetic waves. Wire antennas: infinitesimal dipole, small dipole, half wavelength dipole. Ground effects. Small loop antenna. Antenna coupling. Antenna parameters: directivity, gain, EIRP, effective area, effective length, input impedance, radiation resistance, antenna temperature Linear and planar arrays. Overview of phased arrays. Superdirectivity. Wideband antennas. Plane-wave expansion. Aperture antennas. Horn antennas. Uda-Yaghi antennas. Microstrip antennas. Wide-band antennas. Reflector antennas. Overview of antennas for cellular systems. Antenna located on a flat earth. Antenna located on a spherical earth. Coverage diagrams. Magnetised plasma. Ionospheric propagation. Tropospheric propagation. Scattering by rain. Ground propagation. Diffraction. Fresnel zones.
