Application Note AN-00501: Understanding Antenna Specifications and Operation
Application Note AN-00501: Understanding Antenna Specifications and Operation
Introduction
The antenna is probably the most overlooked part of an RF design.
The range, performance, and legality of an RF link are critically dependent
upon the antenna. However, it is often left until the end of the design and
expected to fit into whatever space is left, no matter how unfavorable to
performance that location may be. Many of these designs will have to
ultimately accept degraded performance or go through multiple
redesigns.
Since voluminous texts have been written about each of the many an-
tenna styles, it is unnecessary to cover them all here. This article will focus
only on those styles which are commonly used in low-power handheld
products: dipole and monopole whips. These styles cover a wide range of
available antennas and are among the most common to be implemented
incorrectly. With that in mind, there are several rules of thumb that can
be applied to antenna designs. These rules are less “how to design an
antenna” and more “how to design with an antenna.”
Antenna Fundamentals
An antenna is a device that converts electric currents into electromagnetic
waves and vice versa. It can be considered a complex RLC network.
At some frequencies, it will appear as an inductive reactance and at
others as a capacitive reactance. At a specific frequency, both of the
reactances will be equal in magnitude but opposite in influence and thus
cancel each other. At this specific frequency, the impedance is purely
resistive and the antenna is said to be resonant.
Here is where the physical meets the theoretical. Resonance will occur
at whole number multiples or fractions of the frequency of interest. These
frequencies correspond to a wavelength. That wavelength is the required
c
λλ =
f
where
f = frequency in hertz (Hz)
λ = wavelength in meters (m)
c = speed of light (299,792,458 m/s)
As can be seen by the equation, the higher the frequency, the shorter the
wavelength and the smaller the antenna. For example, the wavelength for
433.92MHz is 0.69m (2.27ft) and the wavelength for 916MHz is 0.33m
(1.07ft). 433.92MHz is a popular frequency for remote keyless entry (RKE)
systems such as car keyfobs, but obviously there is no way that a
2.27-foot antenna is going to fit into a keyfob.
Fortunately for everyone who wants to carry their keys in their pocket,
there are ways to make the antenna smaller. Since resonance will occur at
whole number fractions (½, 1⁄3, ¼, etc.) of the fundamental frequency,
shorter antennas can be used to send and recover the signal. As with
everything in engineering, there is a tradeoff. Reducing the antenna’s size
will have some impact on the efficiency and impedance of the antenna,
which can affect the final performance of the system.
I
E
λ/2
Since most devices have a circuit board anyway, using it for half of the
antenna can make a lot of sense. Generally, this half of the antenna will be
I
connected to ground and the transmitter or receiver will reference it
accordingly. This style is called a quarter-wave monopole and is the most
common antenna on today’s portable devices.
Another way to reduce the size of the antenna is to coil the element. This
is where the straight wire is coiled or wrapped around a non-conductive
substrate to create what is called a helical element (Figure 3). This has
the advantage of making the overall length shorter, but it will also reduce Figure 2: A Quarter-Wave Monopole Antenna
the antenna’s bandwidth. Just as with an inductor, the tighter the coil, the
higher the Q, so the smaller the bandwidth. Where a straight antenna may
have a bandwidth of 100MHz, a helical may only have a bandwidth of
10MHz. This becomes more pronounced as the frequency gets lower,
since the coils typically get closer together to maintain a specific overall
length.
Antenna Specifications
If antennas are the least understood RF component, then antenna
specifications are the least understood of all RF components. For
instance, many designers look for radiated test data without really
understanding what they are looking at or how it relates to the
performance of their product. For this reason, let’s examine the most
common antenna specifications.
Figure 3: 916MHz (L) and
315MHz (R) Helical Antennas
Impedance
The impedance of an antenna is the real resistance and imaginary reac-
tance that appears at the terminals of the antenna. Because there are
inductive and capacitive elements to an antenna, this will change with
frequency. It will also be affected by objects that are nearby, such as other
antennas, the components on a circuit board, and even the user of the
device.
An antenna will have two types of resistance associated with it. Radiation
resistance converts electrical power into radiation. Ohmic resistance is
loss on the antenna’s structure that converts electrical power into heat.
The radiation resistance should be much higher than the ohmic resis-
tance, though both are important to the antenna’s efficiency. Generally,
the radiation resistance at the terminals of a dipole antenna in free space
(isolated from anything conductive) is 73-ohms. A monopole antenna will
be half of this, or 36.5-ohms.
The reactance is power that is stored in the near field of the antenna. This
reactance combined with the real resistance make up the antenna’s im-
pedance. Both values are affected by objects in the near field and will vary
VSWR
The Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) is a measurement of how
well an antenna is matched to a source impedance, typically 50-ohms.
It is calculated by measuring the voltage wave that is headed toward
the load versus the voltage wave that is reflected back from the load.
A perfect match will have a VSWR of 1:1. The higher the first number,
the worse the match and the more inefficient the system. Since a
perfect match cannot ever be obtained, some benchmark for
performance needs to be set. In the case of antenna VSWR, this is
usually 2:1. At this point, 88.9% of the energy sent to the antenna by
the transmitter is radiated into free space and 11.1% is either reflected
back into the source or lost as heat on the structure of the antenna. In
the other direction, 88.9% of the energy recovered by the antenna is
transferred into the receiver. As a side note, since the “:1” is always
implied, many data sheets will remove it and just display the first
number.
Antenna A
VSWR
Frequency
Y Y
Y
X X
X
Z Z
Y
L=λ/2
Y Y
Y
X X
X
Yagi
Z
Z Z
Y
Y Y
Y
X X
X
-10.0
-20.0
-30.0
270°
90 -40.0 270
90°
0°
180
Antenna
0
10.0
180°
0.0
-10.0
-20.0
-30.0
270°
90 -40.0 270
90°
0°
180
Antenna
Directivity
Gain
Isotropic Pattern
Directivity and gain are closely related. Gain is the directivity of the
antenna reduced by the losses on the antenna, such as dielectric,
resistance and VSWR. In other words, it is the product of directivity and
efficiency. Gain is the most direct measurement of an antenna’s real
performance. As such, it is one of the most important specifications.
1
CENTER 916.000 000MHz 1 SPAN 500.000 000MHz CENTER 916.000 000MHz SPAN 500.000 000MHz
Figure 10: A 916MHz Antenna VSWR on (A) a 4" x 4" Ground Plane and (B) on a 26.5" x 26.5” Ground Plane
Conversely, if the antenna had been tuned to the larger plane, then
placed on the smaller one, the center frequency would have shifted BW = 180.94MHz
Not only does the size of the ground plane dictate performance, but
also the location of the antenna upon that ground plane. The plots be-
low show the radiation pattern for two 418MHz antennas on a 4" x 4”
ground plane. Both have the same elements, but one is mounted in the
middle of the plane and one is mounted on the edge with a right-angle
connector. As can be seen from the plots, with the antenna mounted
in the middle, the pattern is uniform. With the antenna mounted on the
edge of the plane, more energy is radiated away from the plane. This
will result in the system having a better range in one direction than in
another. This may impact the performance and perceived quality of the
final product, so it should be considered early in the design phase.
ANT-418-CW-RH on Jig 51
A B
0
10.0
180°
0.0
-10.0
-20.0
-30.0
270°
90 -40.0 270
90°
0°
180
Antenna
0
10.0
180°
0.0
-10.0
-20.0
-30.0
270°
90 -40.0 270
90°
0°
180
Antenna
Figure 11: A 418MHz Antenna Radiation Pattern on a 4" x 4" Ground Plane (A) Centered, (B) Edge Mounted
0
10.0
180°
0.0
-10.0
-20.0
-30.0
270°
90 -40.0 270
90°
0°
180
Antenna
0
10.0
180°
0.0
-10.0
-20.0
-30.0
270°
90 -40.0 270
90°
0°
180
Antenna
Figure 12: A 916MHz Antenna Radiation Pattern in the Plane for a 4" x 4" Ground Plane
These measurements are good for illustrating concepts, but they are
only valid for that specific antenna when measured on that specific
board. Since anything placed on the board is in the near field (within
one wavelength) of the antenna, it will have an impact on the radiation
pattern. Any change in the shape of the board within one wavelength
will also have an impact on the pattern, as can be seen by the graphs
above.
The ground plane is a solid copper fill on one layer of the circuit board
that is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. This fill not only
acts as the antenna’s counterpoise, but is also the ground connection
for all of the components on the board. The problems arise when com-
ponents are added and the traces routed to connect them.
It is a very rare and simple design that does not need to route a trace
on more than one layer. Every trace that gets routed on the same layer
as the ground plane can have a significant impact on the RF perfor-
mance. It is best to look at the board from the perspective of the anten-
na connection. The goal is to have a low impedance path back to the
battery or power connection. This is accomplished with wide, unob-
structed paths. If the ground plane is cut up with traces, through-hole
components, or vias, then it is not going to be able to do its job as an
antenna counterpoise. One of the worst things that can happen is for Figure 14: Example PCB Layout
the ground plane to get so cut up that it has to get connected by jump-
ing back and forth between layers through vias. A via has inductance
associated with it, which increases its impedance at high frequency.
This will result in the ground plane floating somewhere above ground at
RF frequencies, which will reduce the performance of the antenna and,
consequently, the range of the product.
When running traces on the ground plane layer, try to present the
smallest profile to the antenna, which is normally the width of the trace.
This means running traces away from the antenna rather than across
the board. Figure 14 provides an example.
The ground plane also allows for the implementation of a microstrip line
between the RF stage and the antenna. This term refers to a PCB trace
running over a ground plane that is designed to serve as a transmis-
sion line between the module and the antenna. A transmission line is
a medium whereby RF energy is transferred from one place to another
with minimal loss. This is a critical factor because the trace leading to
the antenna can effectively contribute to the length of the antenna,
One other thing that frequently seems to catch designers off guard is
that standard connectors, such as SMA, BNC or MCX, are illegal for
use as an antenna connection in the United States for devices falling
under some sections of CFR Part 15. The FCC does not want the end
user to be able to change the antenna from the one that was certified
with the product. For this reason, the antenna will need to use a non-
standard, proprietary, or permanent connection. Fortunately, the FCC
considers reverse-polarity connectors to be non-standard, so they
are commonly used by OEMs for the antenna.