Radiation pattern

In the field of antenna design the term radiation pattern (or antenna pattern or far-field pattern) refers to the directional (angular) dependence of the strength of the radio waves from the antenna or other source. In the field of antenna design the term radiation pattern (or antenna pattern or far-field pattern) refers to the directional (angular) dependence of the strength of the radio waves from the antenna or other source. Particularly in the fields of fiber optics, lasers, and integrated optics, the term radiation pattern may also be used as a synonym for the near-field pattern or Fresnel pattern. This refers to the positional dependence of the electromagnetic field in the near-field, or Fresnel region of the source. The near-field pattern is most commonly defined over a plane placed in front of the source, or over a cylindrical or spherical surface enclosing it. The far-field pattern of an antenna may be determined experimentally at an antenna range, or alternatively, the near-field pattern may be found using a near-field scanner, and the radiation pattern deduced from it by computation. The far-field radiation pattern can also be calculated from the antenna shape by computer programs such as NEC. Other software, like HFSS can also compute the near field. The far field radiation pattern may be represented graphically as a plot of one of a number of related variables, including; the field strength at a constant (large) radius (an amplitude pattern or field pattern), the power per unit solid angle (power pattern) and the directive gain. Very often, only the relative amplitude is plotted, normalized either to the amplitude on the antenna boresight, or to the total radiated power. The plotted quantity may be shown on a linear scale, or in dB. The plot is typically represented as a three-dimensional graph (as at right), or as separate graphs in the vertical plane and horizontal plane. This is often known as a polar diagram. It is a fundamental property of antennas that the receiving pattern (sensitivity as a function of direction) of an antenna when used for receiving is identical to the far-field radiation pattern of the antenna when used for transmitting. This is a consequence of the reciprocity theorem of electro-magnetics and is proved below. Therefore, in discussions of radiation patterns the antenna can be viewed as either transmitting or receiving, whichever is more convenient. Note however that this applies only to the passive antenna elements. Active antennas that include amplifiers or other components are no longer reciprocal devices. Since electromagnetic radiation is dipole radiation, it is not possible to build an antenna that radiates coherently equally in all directions, although such a hypothetical isotropic antenna is used as a reference to calculate antenna gain. The simplest antennas, monopole and dipole antennas, consist of one or two straight metal rods along a common axis. These axially symmetric antennas have radiation patterns with a similar symmetry, called omnidirectional patterns; they radiate equal power in all directions perpendicular to the antenna, with the power varying only with the angle to the axis, dropping off to zero on the antenna's axis. This illustrates the general principle that if the shape of an antenna is symmetrical, its radiation pattern will have the same symmetry. In most antennas, the radiation from the different parts of the antenna interferes at some angles. This results in zero radiation at certain angles where the radio waves from the different parts arrive out of phase, and local maxima of radiation at other angles where the radio waves arrive in phase. Therefore, the radiation plot of most antennas shows a pattern of maxima called 'lobes' at various angles, separated by 'nulls' at which the radiation goes to zero. The larger the antenna is compared to a wavelength, the more lobes there will be. In a directive antenna in which the objective is to direct the radio waves in one particular direction, the lobe in that direction is larger than the others; this is called the 'main lobe'. The axis of maximum radiation, passing through the center of the main lobe, is called the 'beam axis' or boresight axis'. In some antennas, such as split-beam antennas, there may exist more than one major lobe. A minor lobe is any lobe except a major lobe.