Crossed field antenna

Abstract: In many cases, it is impractical or impossible to make antenna pattern measurements on a conventional far-field range; the distance to the radiating far field may be too long, it may be impractical to move the antenna from its operating environment to an antenna range, or the desired amount of pattern data may require too much time on a far-field range. For these and other reasons, it is often desirable or necessary to determine far-field antenna patterns from measurements made in the radiating near-field region; three basic techniques for accomplishing this have proven to be successful. In the first technique, the aperture phase and amplitude distributions are sampled by a scanning field probe, and then the measured distributions are transformed to the far field. In the second technique, a plane wave that is approximately uniform in amplitude is created by a feed and large reflector in the immediate vicinity of the test antenna. And in the third technique, the test antenna is focused within the radiating near-field region, patterns are measured at the reduced range, and then the antenna is refocused to infinity. Each of these techniques is discussed, and the various advantages and limitations of each technique are presented.

Abstract: In antenna arrays, mutual coupling between antenna elements is well known as an undesired effect, which degrades the performance of array signal-processing algorithms. The compensation of such an undesired effect has been a popular research topic throughout the years. Various approaches for mutual-coupling compensation have been developed, and they can easily be found in the open literature. In general, the mutual-coupling problems for a transmitting and receiving array are different, even if the physical geometry of the array remains unchanged. However, it seems that antenna engineers are not well aware of such differences in the analysis of receiving antenna arrays. In this note, the mutual-coupling problems in transmitting and receiving antenna arrays are revisited. The differences between the mutual coupling and mutual impedances for transmitting and receiving antenna arrays are explained. It is concluded that the mutual-coupling problems of transmitting and receiving arrays are in general different, and hence different mutual impedances should be used for mutual-coupling analysis and compensation.

Abstract: This paper describes a novel, low-profile antenna for the satellite digital audio radio service. The antenna consists of a thin cavity with a pair of crossed slots having unequal length. Both slots are fed by a single-probe-type feed, resulting in a simple low-cost structure. This antenna is left-hand circularly polarized toward the sky for satellite reception, and vertically polarizated toward the horizon for terrestrial reception. The result is a low-profile antenna that can receive simultaneously from both satellite broadcasters and terrestrial repeaters, and can be built using low-cost printed circuit fabrication methods.

Abstract: Lately, short antennas and Crossed Field Antennas (CFA) have attracted broadcast and amateur community attention. The CFA antenna has been developed in the last decade of the 20th century, trying to obtain a compact transmitting antenna for low and medium frequency AM bands. The CFA is intended to be used in order to get a low profile antenna and a supposed performance similar or better compared to a quarter-wave monopole. The CFA has a short monopole and a metallic disk close to the monopole base, both mechanical structures being fed by means of two separated generators. Thus, the CFA has two ports and can be analyzed from the Network Theory point of view. In this paper, the CFA has been studied exhaustively using the Transmission Line Method (TLM) in order to obtain an equivalent network and the antenna performance. Due to the lack of theoretical data to explain the CFA antenna behavior, the TLM has been validated by means of Moment Method simulations and some available experimental data

Abstract: The paper describes the reasoning behind a very small but efficient antenna now being used in several daily services for AM broadcasting on Medium Wave. The design methodology is outlined and there is a plot of the field strength measured one of the early services in 1992. Not only is the antenna wideband, but it is more efficient than normal monopole antennas, and therefore allows a reduction in power costs when radiating a comparable signal strength.