SUMMARY:

This course provides participants with comprehensive coverage of a wide variety of antenna and propagation topics related to numerous communication systems. After completing the course, participants will:

• understand the relationship between an antenna’s physical properties and its electrical performance characteristics; be able to

• understand, evaluate and define antenna performance specifications;

• understand a broad spectrum of antenna types;

• understand the basic performance trade-offs associated with antenna design;

• understand basic principles associated with the implementation of antenna arrays;

• understand the operating principles of basic types of antennas that are used in today’s wireless communication systems.

The course begins with a discussion of fundamental antenna concepts and definitions used in the antenna industry. Antenna characteristics such as VSWR, radiation patterns, directivity, gain, polarization, axial ratio, phase center, noise temperature, EIRP, etc. are defined and their impact on wireless system performance is discussed. A detailed overview of different antenna types including numerous wire antennas, microstrip antennas, electrically small antennas, circularly polarized antennas, low-profile antennas and aperture antennas is presented. The basic design concepts and performance properties of passive and active antenna arrays are discussed. RF propagation issues such as path loss, multipath fading, polarization distortion, noise and interference, and diversity implementation are described and their impact on system performance

is discussed. New topic areas such as Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems, Ultra Wideband (UWB) antennas and the use of Electronic Bandgap (EBG) Materials in antenna design are discussed in detail. The workshop concludes with an overview of the different types of antennas used in today’s wireless communication systems.

HANDOUTS: Copies of the course outline slides (approximately 1400 slides) will be provided along with relevant handouts when appropriate.

For additional information, please contact: Steven Best at steven.best@comcast.net

LECTURE OUTLINE:

Lecture 1: Fundamental Antenna Concepts

Basic Antenna Definitions and Characteristics

• Definitions of basic antenna properties (impedance, directivity, radiation patterns, polarization, etc.)

• Relationships between physical properties and electrical performance

• Types of Antennas

• Resonant antennas

• Traveling wave antennas

• Frequency Independent antennas

• Aperture antennas

• Phased arrays

• Electrically small antennas

• Circularly polarized antennas

Classification of Antenna Types

• By frequency

• By size

• By directivity

Lecture 2: Fundamental Antenna Elements

Elementary Antenna Elements

• The monopole

• The dipole

• The loop

• The folded dipole

• The slot Baluns

• Dipole antenna feed considerations

Ground Plane Considerations

• Vertically polarized element over ground

• Horizontally polarized element over ground Microstrip Antennas

• Element types

• Microstrip element design

• Design trade-offs

Lecture 3: Advanced Antenna Elements I

Circularly Polarized Antennas

• Achieving circular polarization

• The helix antenna

• The crossed dipole antenna

• The microstrip patch

• The quadrifilar helix Aperture Antennas

• Aperture design concepts

• The horn antenna

• The reflector antenna

• The corner reflector

Omnidirectional Antennas

• Monopole configurations

• Dipole configurations

• Bandwidth improvement techniques

• The impact of the surrounding environment on antenna performance

Broadband and Frequency Independent Antennas

• The log-periodic antenna

• The spiral antenna

• Broadband dipole antennas

Lecture 4: Electrically Small Antennas

• Impedance, bandwidth and quality factor of antennas

• Defining electrically small

• The small dipole

• The small loop

• Design and Optimization of small antennas

• The significance of geometry and current vector alignment in determining antenna performance

Lecture 5: Passive and Active Antenna Arrays

• Fundamental array theory

• Types of antenna arrays

• Feed network design considerations

• Beam steering and shaping concepts

• Performance trade-offs

• Microstrip patch arrays

• Dipole element arrays

Lecture 6: Advanced Antenna Elements II

Fractal Antennas

• Fractal antenna types

• Performance properties of fractal antennas

Antenna Phase Center

Ultra Wideband (UWB) Antennas

• Time domain considerations in antenna design

• Antenna performance requirements in UWB systems

The PIFA

• The inverted L and inverted F antennas

• The planar inverted F antenna (PIFA)

Device Integrated Antennas

Lecture 7: Advanced Antenna Topics

RFID Systems and Antennas

Electronic Bandgap Materials

• What are EBG materials?

• Limitations of perfectly conducting (PEC) ground planes

• Advantages of EBG ground planes

Propagation Channel Considerations

• RF path loss

• Reflection, multipath and fading

• Noise and interference

• Polarization distortion

• Diversity implementation

MIMO Systems

Lecture 8: Practical Antenna Implementation

Types of Antennas used in Communications Systems

• Wireless base station antennas

• Wireless handset and portable device antennas

• GPS antennas

• HF, UHF and VHF communication antennas

• Earth station and satellite communication antennas

LECTURER BIOGRAPHY:

Steven R. Best is a Principal Sensor Systems Engineer with the MITRE Corporation in Bedford, MA. He received the B.Sc.Eng and the Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1983 and 1988 from the University of New Brunswick in Canada. Dr. Best has over 20 years of experience in business management and antenna design engineering in both military and commercial markets. He is the author or co-author of 3 book chapters and over 100 papers in various journal, conference and industry publications. He also presents a three-day antenna design short course and is the author of a CD-ROM series on antenna theory and design. He is a former Distinguished Lecturer for IEEE Antenna and Propagation Society (APS), a member of the APS AdCom, the APS Electronic Communications Editor-in-Chief, an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation and Senior Past Chair of the IEEE Boston Section. Dr Best is a Fellow of the IEEE and a member of ACES.

Prior to joining MITRE, Dr. Best was with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Hanscom AFB, where his research interests included electrically small antennas, wideband radiating elements, conformal antennas, antenna arrays and communications antennas. Prior to joining AFRL, he was President of Cushcraft Corporation in Manchester, NH from 1997 to 2002. He was Director of Engineering at Cushcraft from 1996 to 1997. Prior to joining Cushcraft, he was co-founder and Vice President and General Manager of Parisi Antenna Systems from 1993 through 1996. He was Vice President and General Manager of D&M/Chu Technology, Inc (formerly Chu Associates) from 1990 – 1993. He joined Chu Associates as a Senior Electrical Engineer in 1987.

Decision (Run/Cancel) Date for this Courses is Monday, March 24, 2008

Course Fee Schedule:

On-line Registration and Payment

On-line registration is closed for this course, but registration is still available on-site between 6:00-6:30PM, Tuesday April 1, 2008 at the Holiday Inn Select, 15 Middlesex Canal Park, Woburn or by contacting the office at 781-245-5405.

Copyright © 2008 IEEE Boston Section. All rights reserved.
Maintained by R M Stelting

Updated Monday March 31, 2008