Helix Antennas

Dr. Sandra Cruz-Pol

INEL 5305 UPRM
Antenna Theory and
Design

Helix antenna
was invented by J. D.
There are two modes of operation,
Kraus.
normal and axial.

Normal Mode

NL<<

Axial Mode

3/4 < C < 4/3

Normal modeNL<<
Pattern is

j kIo Se - jkr
E =
sin (dipolo)
4 r

k 2 (D / 2 )2 Io e - jkr
E =
sin (lazo)
4r

Normal Mode

(i) Si |E| = |E| tenemos

polarizacin circular.
(ii) En general la polarizacin ser
elptica.
(iii) Tiene un ancho de banda
angosto debido a la dependencia
en sus dimensiones geomtricas.

Axial Mode

3/4 < C < 4/3

Most widely used mode

Pattern has form:

cos
E sin
2N

N
sin
2

sin
2

where

S
1

2 1 cos

2N

Axial Mode

Helix parameters
S = espaciamiento entre las vueltas
N = nmero de vueltas
= ngulo de salida ("pitch angle")
C = circunferencia de cada vuelta = D
D = dimetro
Dimensions that render an optimum
pattern
12 o are
18 o :

14

s
Ns

3
4

C
S
4
4
3
N 3 Para aparear la R, se puede aplastar el

alambre a medida que se acerca al plano

de la tierra ("ground plane") y se separa
de este mediante un material dielctrico

Coaxial feed
Ground Plane: diameter>3/4

One loop in the helix

L
S
C= D

L s C
2

Axial mode

C
R 140

52 3/2
HPBW
C NS
o

Tiene mayor ancho de banda.

15NC 2S
Do
El patrn es ms dirigido.
3
Se encuentra que a mayor nmero
de vueltas, se obtiene mayor
ganancia.
La impedancia de entrada de la
espiral en este modo es casi toda
real.

1.

Designanendfirerighthandcircularlypolarizedhelixhavingahalfpower
beamwidthof45o,pitchangleof13o,andacircumferenceof60cmata
frequencyof500MHz.
Determine
turnsneeded
directivity
axialration
lowerandupperfrequenciesofthebandwidthoverwhichtherequiredparameters
remainrelativelyconstant
inputimpedanceatthecenterfrequencyandtheedgesofthebandfrompartd)
Answer:N=6,D=20.8(13dB),AR=1.083,375667MHz,140,105,187
10.27Designahelicalantennawithadirectivityof15dBthatisoperatinginthe
axialmodeandwhosepolarizationisnearlycircular.Thespacingbetweentherunsis
10.
Determinethe
1.numberofturns
2.axialratio,bothasadimensionlessquantityandindB
3.DirectivityaccordingtoKraussequation(inDB)
Answer:N=21,AR=1.02,HPBW=36.8oD=14.5dBor15dB

10.28Designa10turnhelicalantennasothatat
thecenterfrequencyof10GHz,thecircumferenceof
eachturnis0.95.Assumingapitchangleof14o,
determinethe
a.modeinwhichtheantennaoperates
b.halfpowerbeamwidth(degrees)
c.directivityindB.
Answer:Axialmode,HPBW=36o,D=15dB

10.29Alossless10turnhelicalantennawitha
circumferenceofonewavelengthisconnectedtoa78ohm
coaxialline,anditisusedasatransmittingantennaina500
MHzspacecraftcommunicationsystem.Thespacingbetween
turnsis10.Thepowerinthecoaxiallinefromthe
transmitteris5watts.
Assumingtheantennaislossless:
a.whatisradiatedpower?
b.Iftheantennawereisotropic,whatwouldthepowerdensity(W/m 2)beata
distanceof10km?
c.Whatisthepowerdensityatthesamedistancewhenthetransmittingantennais
athe10turnhelixandtheobservationaremadealongthemaximumofthemajorlobe?
d.itat10kmalongthemaximumofthemajorlobeanidentical10turnhelix
wasplacedasareceivingantenna,whichwaspolarizationmatchedtotheincoming
wave,whatisthemaximumpower(inwatts)thatcanbereceived?
Answer:Answer: R= 140 , Prad=4.595W, Siso=3.656nW/m2, D=15,
Shelix =54.8nW/m2, Ae=0.6m2, Prec=26.6nW

Application
At Arecibo Observatory :some receivers
work at

frequency range :300 MHz up to 6 GHz

plan to extend the range up to 10 GHz.

A good way to do a preliminary check to see

if these receivers are working is by sending
a test signal, circular or linear (vertical),
depending on which receiver is being used.

Narrow Band Antennas

Circularly Polarized

Linearly Polarized

Feed
Horns
Dipole

Uniform Helical

Yagi-Uda

Broad Band Antennas

Circularly Polarized

Linearly Polarized

Array of narrow band

antennas

Tapered
Helical

Spiral
Planar

Tapered Yagi-Uda

At the Arecibo
Observatory

Some of their antennas look like these:

Polarization
helical antennas have circular
polarization

Parameters Varied
Conductor material
Size of conductor

Cont. Parameters Varied

SMA connector

Feeding point

Tuning

From Ing.Natalia Figueroa UPRM,Lisa S. Wray

&Edgar Castro (Arecibo Obs),2001

Preliminary Tests

Large_B

S11 parameters tests

where done on the
Large_B antenna. These
measures the return loss
on the antenna, ideally
we want 10 dB. Also a
the Smith Chart results
where plotted.

From Ing.Natalia Figueroa UPRM,Lisa S. Wray

&Edgar Castro (Arecibo Obs),2001