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Radiation patterns
Antenna characteristics are often plotted in a

diagram. This diagram shows the field strength

surrounding the antenna in a single plane These
diagrams are called radiation patterns.
Two radiation patterns can be distinguished:

The horizontal radiation pattern

The vertical radiation pattern.

Lobes
Horizontal Radiation Pattern Of An antenna

The beam (or lobe) which contains the maximum radiation intensity is called
the Main Lobe.
Side Lobes are all other lobes with radiation intensity less than the main lobe
The Back Lobe is a side lobe which is approximately 180 from the main lobe
Null : Null (or Nulls) are the points where the radiation intensity is very small
with respect to the adjacent lobes.
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F/B ratio
The forward/backward ratio is the ratio
between the power radiated in the main
direction and the power radiated in the
reverse direction. Main direction is
front side direction, the reverse
direction is the back side.
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Beam widths
The following figure shows the horizontal radiation pattern of
an antenna

Beam widths
Two beam widths can be distinguished:
Half Power Beam width (HPBW) Angular separation
between -3 dB points (half power)
Beam width between First Nulls (BWFN) Angular separation
between the nulls on each side of the main lobe.
In practice, the HPBW is used. Other beam widths can be
defined when a higher beam width is necessary and a higher
power drop is allowable.
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Gain
Gain is expressed as the amount of radiated
power in a given direction.
Gain is expressed in dBi or dBd.
dBi gives the amount of decibels (dBs)
relative to the ideal isotropic antenna.
dBd gives the amount of decibels (dBs)
relative to the lossless dipole antenna.
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Antenna Types
The dipole antenna
The whip antenna
The omni directional antenna
The sector antenna
The leaky coax.

Dipole antenna
Mobile antenna
The mobile antenna is an example of an omni

directional antenna. Its polarization is vertical which

means that the electric field is perpendicular to the
earth.
The following figure shows the donut like radiation
pattern of an 1/2. dipole antenna.

Dipole antenna
Whip antenna
Since the dipole is impractical to use, a

more common used antenna is the 1/4.

(vertical) antenna. This antenna is also
called the monopole or whip antenna.

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Dipole antenna
Whip antenna: ground plane
As shown, this antenna could be mounted on a

sheet of metal. The second rod of the former

dipole is replaced by the metal of the car: the
ground plane.
The missing image is now formed in the ground
plane, thus forming a Antenna.

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Omni directional antenna

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Sector antenna
Gain of 11 to 19 dBi in the main direction
F/B ratio of 30 dB
Horizontal HPBW of 60
Mechanical tilt
Electrical tilt possible for fine tuning
Combined 3sector, dual polarized antennas
in one housing are available to reduce optical
impact. These antennas are equipped with six
connectors.
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Radiation pattern

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Half power beamwidth

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Leaky coax
The leaky coax a cable which radiates RF power

evenly along its length. It also allows RF power to

couple into the cable
The leaky coax can be used:
In tunnels.
To provide coverage in confined areas.

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Antenna tilting
To minimize interference, the transmission range

can be reduced by tilting the antennas main lobe

down. By doing so, also cell ranges can be reduced.
This will affect the horizontal coverage, mainly
around the main lobe axis
Mechanical tilting
Electrical tilting.
Tilting is possible for omni and sector antennas
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Antenna tilting (Side

effects)

Antenna tilting is not included in the power

budget. It will give an extra loss at the

edges although gain may increase closer to
the BTS
Isolated islands can be reduced (coverage
holes), but they can also be introduced.

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Example horizontal radiation pattern

Mechanical tilt : Effect on the horizontal radiation pattern of mechanical down

tilting.

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Example vertical radiation pattern

Effect on the vertical radiation pattern of
mechanical down tilting.

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Example of mechanical tilting

The downtilt angle
is represented by
.

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Electrical tilt
Electrical tilt is achieved by phasing of the

electrical currents in the internal dipole array.

Electrical downtilting only changes the size of the
illuminated area and not its shape. Only the vertical
radiation pattern is affected and not the horizontal.
Some antennas have an adjustment screw at the
bottom (Allen). Others have at the side of the
antenna a handle with which the electrical downtilt
can be adjusted (Kathrein and Allgon). This can be
done in steps of 1 in most cases.
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Antenna isolation
Isolation between transmitter and receiver

antennas is required to avoid receiver

desensitization. This is a reduction in the receiver
sensitivity
Receiver desensitization is caused by:
Receiver in-band noise caused by the co-site
transmitter (spurious signals)
Gain reduction of the low-noise amplifier caused
by a strong off-channel signal.
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Isolation techniques
Method
Achieved by
Decoupling Adequate antenna spacing
Filtering
Using duplexers, multi
couplers and isolators
Antenna spacing can be done horizontally or
vertically
When using filtering strong out-of-band channel
noise is attenuated.
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Horizontal antenna spacing

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Vertical antenna spacing

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Horizontal versus vertical

isolation

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Practical isolation
20 dB for isolation between transmitter

and transmitter (Tx Tx)

and 40 dB for isolation between
transmitter and receiver (Tx Rx).

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