Unit 2

Antenna Arrays

Dr. S. Ramprabhu
Assistant Professor
Department of Electronics Engineering
Madras Institute of Technology
Anna University
Chennai 600 044
Antenna Arrays - Introduction
 Session Meta Data

Author Dr. S. Ramprabhu

Version No 1.1

Release Date 08-09-2023

Reviewer
 Revision History

Date of Revision Details Version Number

 Session Objectives

• Study the types of antenna arrays

• To understand the principle of operation of array antennas
• To study the Linear array and pattern multiplication
 Session Outcomes
• At the end of the session, students will be able to
• Understand the working principle of Array Antennas
• To understand the design of linear array and pattern
multiplication
 Antenna arrays
• Radiation pattern of a single element is relatively wide, and
each element provides low values of directivity (gain).
• Applications demanding high directive characteristics (very
high gains) to meet the demands of long distance
communication can only be accomplished by increasing the
electrical size of the antenna.
• Another way to enlarge the dimensions of the antenna,
without necessarily increasing the size of the individual
elements, is to form an assembly of radiating elements in an
electrical and geometrical configuration is referred to as an
array.
• Elements of an array are identical and the individual
elements of an array may be of any form (wires, apertures,
etc.).
 Antenna arrays

Not an array! An array!

 Antenna arrays
•An array that is widely used as
a base-station antenna for
mobile communication.
• It is a triangular array
consisting of twelve dipoles,
with four dipoles on each side
of the triangle.
• Each four-element array, on
each side of the triangle, is
basically used to cover an
angular sector of 120◦ referred
to as a sectoral array.
Antenna arrays
Antenna arrays
 Antenna arrays
Types of Antenna arrays
1. Linear array
2. Circular array
3. Planar array
4. Conformal or Non planar array
5. Phased array
 Linear Array
• The antenna elements are arranged along a straight line.
 Circular Array
• The antenna elements are arranged around a ring
 Planar Array
• The antenna elements are arranged over a some plane surface.
 Conformal Array
The antenna elements are arranged
to conform to some non-planar
surface (such as an aircraft skin)

1500
Antenna
Elements
 Phased Arrays
• An array of identical elements which achieves a given
pattern through the control of the element excitation
phasing.
• Phased arrays can be used to steer the main beam of the
antenna without physically moving the antenna.
 Very Large Array
• The Very Large Array, one of the world's premier astronomical
radio observatories, consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped
configuration.
• Each antenna is 25 meters in diameter.
• The data from the antennas is combined electronically to give the
resolution of an antenna 36 km across, with the sensitivity of a
dish 130 meters in diameter.
 Antenna Arrays
• The total field of the array is determined by the vector
addition of the fields radiated by the individual elements.
This assumes that the current in each element is the same as
that of the isolated element (neglecting coupling).

• This is usually not the case and depends on the separation

between the elements.

• To provide very directive patterns, the fields from the

elements of the array interfere constructively (add) in the
desired directions and interfere destructively (cancel each
other) in the remaining space.
 Antenna Arrays
In an array of identical elements, there are at least five
controls that can be used to shape the overall pattern of
the antenna.
1. the geometrical configuration of the overall array
(linear, circular, rectangular, spherical, etc.)
2. the relative displacement between the elements
3. the excitation amplitude of the individual elements
4. the excitation phase of the individual elements
5. the relative pattern of the individual elements
 Antenna Arrays -Construction
The procedure of two-element array can be extended for
an arbitrary number of array elements, by simplifying
assumptions

 The array is linear  antenna elements are evenly

spaced, d along a line.

 The array is uniform  each antenna element driven by

same magnitude current source, constant phase
difference, between adjacent elements.
 Linear Array

 Consider an
infinitesimal dipole of r1
length dl kept at a point Z
(0,0,z’1) in free space. To field point
 Let the z-directed θ
current in the dipole be
I1. (0, 0, z’1) I1 r

 The fields produced by

the dipole are computed θ
using the vector
potential approach. Y

X
 Linear Array
 The magnetic vector potential due to the current element is
 e  jr1
Az  I1dl ...(1)
4 r1
where r1 is the distance from the center of the current element to
the field point P (r,θ,Ф)
 When the field point is at a large distance, r1 is approximated as

r1  r  z1, cos  ; for phase 

 ...(2)
r1  r ; for amplitude
 The electric field at the field is obtained as
 j r
I1dl e  j z1' cos 
E 1  j sin  e ...(3)
4 r
 Linear Array

 For N such dipoles placed in the z’-axis, let I1,I2,…IN be

the current through the dipoles and located at distance of
z’1,z’2,…,z’N from the origin as shown in the figure.

Z rN
θ
IN r3
r2
I3
I2 r1
r
I1
θ
X
 Linear Array

 The electric field due to all the dipoles is expressed as

E  E1  E 2  E 3  ...  EN ...(4)

 dl  e  j r1
e  j r2
e  j rN

E  j sin  I1  I2  ...  I N  ...(5)
4  r1 r2 rN 
 

where r1,r2,…rN are the distances from the dipoles 1,2,,..N to

the field point respectively.
Array factor & Pattern Multiplication

 Applying the same approximation, we get

 j r
 dl e N
E  j
4
sin 
r
I e
n 1
n
jz1' cos 

Element pattern Array factor

 The first is the electric field produced by the dipole placed

at the origin called the element pattern.
Array factor & Pattern Multiplication
 Array factor is the function dependent only on
geometry of the array, element spacing and the
excitation (Amplitude and phase) of the elements.

 The radiation pattern of an array of equi-oriented

identical antenna elements is given by the product of
the element pattern and array factor. This is called
pattern multiplication.
array pattern = element pattern × array factor
Array factor & Pattern Multiplication
• It can be shown that the pattern multiplication
theorem is applicable to any array of identical, equi-
oriented antenna elements.
• The elements can be arranged to form a linear, 2D or
3D array. The type, size, and position of the elements
can be arbitrary, but all the elements must be identical
and equi-oriented.
• The term equi-oriented emphasizes that only
translation is allowed but not rotation.
• It is assumed that there is no interaction between the
elements, which may result in altering the individual
radiation patterns.
 Summary
• Construction and working of antenna arrays is
studied.

• Design and radiation pattern of linear array antenna is

studied.
 Test Your Understanding
• Explain the working principle of antenna arrays
 References

1. John D Krauss, Ronald J Marhefka and Ahmad S.

Khan, "Antennas and Wave Propagation: Fourth
Edition, Tata McGraw-Hill, 2006. (UNIT I, II, III).

2. David M. Pozar, "Microwave Engineering", Fourth

Edition, Wiley India, 2012. (UNIT I, IV, V)

3. Constantine A. Balanis, “Antenna Theory Analysis

and Design”, Third edition, John Wiley India Private
Ltd., 2005.