ECE 484
Antenna Theory and Design
Course Level
Units
Instructor(s)
Prerequisite(s)
Course Texts
Antenna Theory and Design, Third Edition, with multimedia CD, Constantine Balanis (Wiley-Interscience).
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Schedule
Course Description
Specific Course Information:
2021-2022 Catalog Data: Introduction to the fundamentals of radiation, antenna theory and antenna array design. Design considerations for wire, aperture, reflector and printed circuit antennas.
Learning Outcomes
Specific Goals for the Course:
Outcomes of Instruction: By the end of this course the student will be able to:
- Have practice with foundational aspects of antenna engineering through homework and problem analysis. The foundations are not extensive, yet the student will develop quality and critical thinking checks necessary for extended study and mastery of selected subjects in antenna engineering well beyond the extent of the semester-long class.
- Have 10 or more hours of hands-on experience in antenna engineering (engineering, design, analysis) EDA tools. This experience will be demonstrated in homework assignments and a design project. The experience is often valuable skills to put on resumes.
- Be exposed to the historical aspects that relate to the current state of the art and future technology advances in antenna engineering.
- Become mindful of some non-antenna engineering aspects (manufacturability, reliability, consumer demand, constraints in materials) that influence future technology advances and contributions in research and industry.
Course Topics
Brief list of topics to be covered:
I. Introduction/Review Of Maxwell’s Equations
- Course Overview, How an antenna works, Different Types of Antennas
- Maxwell’s Equations, Boundary Conditions
- The wave equation and its solution
II. Fundamental Parameters Of Antennas (Chapter 2)
- Radiation pattern, Directivity, Gain, Beamwidth, Bandwidth (Sec. 2.2-2.11)
-Polarization, Input impedance, Radiation efficiency, Friis Transmission formula, Sec. 2.12-2.17)
III. Radiation Integrals and Auxiliary Potential Functions (Chapter 3)
- Vector Potential Function and Equivalent Sources, Solution to the Vector Potential Wave Equation, “Recipe” for Computing Antenna Fields from Current Distributions (3.1-3.5)
- Far-field Radiation Integrals, Duality, Reciprocity and Reaction Theorem (3.6- 3.8)
IV. Linear Wire Antennas (Chapter 4)
- Infinitesimal Dipole, Small Dipole, Region Separation (4.1-4.4)
- Finite-length Dipole, Half-wave Dipole ( 4.5-4.6)
- Linear Elements Near or On Infinite Perfect Conductors (4.7)
- HFSS Tutorial
V. Array Fundamentals and Array Synthesis (Chapters 6 and 7)
- Array factor, Uniform Array, Directivity, Sidelobes, Tapered Array (6.1-6.4)
- Array scanning, End-fire array, Planar array (6.5-6.8, 6.10)
- Schelkunoff Unit Circle Representation (7.3)
- Dolph-Chebyshev Synthesis (6.8 + supplemental notes)
- Continuous Line Sources and Space Factor, Discretization of Continuous Line Sources (7.2)
- Taylor Line Source (7.6)
VI. Microstrip Antennas (Chapter 14)
- Patch Antennas
VII. Aperture Antennas (Chapter 12)
- Equivalence Principle and Radiation Equations (12.1-12.4)
- Rectangular Apertures (12.5)
- Circular Apertures, Babinet’s Principle (12.6, 12.8)
VIII. Reflector Antennas (Chapter 15)
- Parabolic Reflectors and Reflector Optics
- Antenna Measurements
Relationship to Student Outcomes
ECE 484 contributes directly to the following specific electrical and computer engineering student outcomes of the ECE department:
1. An ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
2. An ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.