Introduction to for Electromagnetic, Antenna and Waveguide

Wireless Technology applications are everywhere nowadays! Some of the common

applications are Wifi (Wireless Fidelity), cordless phones, wakie-takie, WIMAX (Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access), 3G (third generation) mobile communication, satellite
broadcast TV, radar system and RFID control devices. They have played an importance role in
our daily life and tend to getting more and more important. The fundamental of wireless
technology is antenna which is used to transmit or receive electromagnetic wave. A good
understanding of electromagnetic and antenna theories is almost a must for engineering graduate
students. However, an intelligent balance of theoretical understanding and hands-on training
should be emphasized in electromagnetic engineering education [Sevgi, L. and Goknar, An
intelligent balance in engineering education]. The continue advancement of wireless technology
lead to lifetime follow-up of self-education is essential for telecommunication engineers and
graduates. The self-education should comprise of practice which forms the experience in
wireless technology. However, practice and experience are highly abstract or almost
“untouchable” in electromagnetic engineering education.
Motivated by this fact, we have developed a user-friendly simulation package that can be used as
a set of virtual labs tools and assist in electromagnetic and antenna lectures. The package which

is known as AWLAB was developed using MATLAB 7 application software. The AWLAB is
only capable of plotting various electromagnetic polarizations, radiation pattern of various types
of antenna, waveguide modes and so on. It is now possible to simulate complex electromagnetic
problems with the development of new computer hardware and software technologies. The main
objective of the AWLAB virtual tools is to give physical insight of electromagnetic, antenna and
waveguide concept so that the young researchers and students can use it intelligently. This paper
reviews these simple, user-friendly but effective virtual tools which have been developed to
allow for two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the electromagnetic
fields, radiation patterns for many different types of antennas and antenna arrays. Besides, the
user may inspect the field pattern for a single element of many different types of antennas (such
as dipole, loop) or for arrays of common elements. The parameters for these antennas or arrays
may be varied manually or via an automated swept parameter menu.