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Antennas: The Structural Elements of EMC

A Special Short Course with Constantine A. Balanis

2022 IEEE International Symposium on EMC+SIPI
Spokane, Washington
8:30 am – 5:30 pm
Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Overview:  In this short course that debuted at the 2018 IEEE Symposium on EMC+SIPI, industry experts, led by noted author Professor Constantine A. Balanis, will provide an overview of antenna designs, and their fundamental parameters and figures-of-merit.  Since antennas are becoming increasingly important due to the continued rapid advances in wireless technology and autonomous vehicles, an understanding of antenna behavior and performance is increasingly critical to efficiently design new products as well as correctly evaluate product performance.  Professor Balanis will share his decades of wisdom to set the stage for the short course with a review of antenna designs, and their fundamentals and figures-of-merit.  The following speakers will separately discuss the impact of many of the antenna fundamentals on the practical application of antennas, with an emphasis on measurements.  A review of the specialized technique of time gating to resolve complicating factors will be provided.  To conclude the short course, Professor Balanis will discuss future applications of smart antennas for the modern world.

Antenna Designs, Fundamental Parameters and Figures-of-Merit (150 minutes)
Constantine A. Balanis, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

Abstract: Review antenna designs, single elements and arrays, fundamental parameters, and figures-of-merit used to describe their performance and radiation characteristics.  Most of these are based on the IEEE Standard Definitions of Terms for Antennas.  In addition, some basic and classic antenna designs, such as dipoles, loops, helices, microstrips, horns, reflectors, IFA, PIFA, and arrays, will be highlighted. Commercial software for antennas, and the analytical and numerical methods upon which they are based, will be reviewed. 

Basic Concepts of Antenna Characterization and Applications for EMC Measurements (75 minutes)
By Zhong Chen, Director of RF Engineering, ETS-Lindgren, Cedar Park, TX

Abstract:  There are some practical considerations for antennas used for EMC measurements; for example, EMC antennas are typically extremely broadband and low gain.  At below 1 GHz, these antennas are used over a perfect electrical conductor (PEC) ground plane.  This presentation provides an introduction and discussion of the antenna fundamental parameters from an application point of view, especially on how these antenna parameters are characterized and applied in EMC applications.  We will review the definition of Antenna Factor (AF), its relationship to antenna gains, and mismatch losses.  We will also look at other parameters often used in EMC applications, such as antenna balance, phase center, and site attenuation.  A brief introduction to EMC antenna calibration methods will be provided, including a reference to dipole-like antennas, which are ubiquitous for EMC measurements below 1 GHz.  Finally, we will discuss how these antenna parameters, such as the free-space antenna factors, are impacted by the presence of the conducting ground plane.

EMC and Aerospace Antenna Calibration and Measurement Challenges (30 minutes)
Dennis Lewis, The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington, USA

Abstract:  EMC emissions and immunity measurements require the characterization of antennas at reduced distances.  Antennas-to-antenna interactions present during calibration, may not be present during measurements and may introduce significant errors. High Intensity Radiated Field (HIRF) measurements require the antennas be calibrated in the far field.  Reference measurements must also be taken on-site and require the removal of ground reflections.  Time domain techniques can be employed in both these cases but require antennas with good time domain response.  Special Transverse Electromagnetic (TEM) antennas were developed to allow time domain gating.  TEM antennas are simple, inexpensive and well suited for time domain applications due to their low aperture reflections and clean time domain response. 

Smart Antennas:  Technology Integrating Antennas, DSP, Communications and Networks (120 Minutes) 
Constantine A. Balanis, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

Abstract:  As the demand for mobile communications is constantly increasing, the need for improved capacity, greater coverage and higher transmission quality rises.  Therefore, a more efficient use of the radio spectrum is required.  Smart antenna systems are capable of efficiently utilizing the radio spectrum, and they are a promise for an effective solution to meet the desired performance demands in network and communication systems.  Smart antenna technology has been considered for mobile platforms such as automobiles, cellular phones (mobile units), and laptops.  Smart antennas integrate many technologies, including antennas, digital signal processing, communications and networks.  The advancement and integration of the characteristics of each of these areas is critical to the efficiency and performance of a communication system channel, as measured by Bit-Error-Rate (BER) and network Throughput.  This presentation reviews the basic principles of smart antennas, and it presents and compares the BER and Throughput of different antenna array geometries, such as the uniform rectangular array (URA).  

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Dr. Constantine A. Balanis (S'62 - M'68 - SM'74 - F'86 – LF'04) received the BSEE degree from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, in 1964, the MEE degree from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, in 1966, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, in l969.  From 1964-1970 he was with NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton VA, and from 1970-1983 he was with the Department of Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV.  Since 1983 he has been with the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, where he is now Regents’ Professor Emeritus.  His research interests are in computational electromagnetics; metasurfaces for low-profile, conformal and leaky-wave antennas; and RCS reduction using checkerboard metasurfaces.  He received in 2004 a Honorary Doctorate from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the 2021 IEEE Electromagnetics Award, the 2014 LAPC James R. James Lifetime Achievement Award (UK), the 2012 Distinguished Achievement Award of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, the 2012 Distinguished Achievement Alumnus Award (College of Engineering, The Ohio State University), the 2005 Chen-To Tai Distinguished Educator Award of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, the 2000 IEEE Millennium Award, the 1996 Graduate Mentor Award of Arizona State University, the 1992 Special Professionalism Award of the IEEE Phoenix Section, the 1989 Individual Achievement Award of the IEEE Region 6, and the 1987-1988 Graduate Teaching Excellence Award, School of Engineering, Arizona State University.  Dr. Balanis is a Life Fellow of the IEEE.  He has served as Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (1974-1977) and the IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (1981-1984); as Editor of the Newsletter for the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (1982-1983); as Second Vice-President (1984) and member of the Administrative Committee (1984-85) of the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society; and Distinguished Lecturer (2003-2005), Chair of the Distinguished Lecturer Program (1988-1991), member of the AdCom (1992-95, 1997-1999) and Chair of the Awards and Fellows Committee (2009-2011) all of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society.  He is the author of Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design (Wiley, 2016, 2005, 1997, 1982), Advanced Engineering Electromagnetics (Wiley, 2012, 1989) and Introduction to Smart Antennas (Morgan and Claypool, 2007), and editor of Modern Antenna Handbook (Wiley, 2008) and for the Morgan & Claypool Publishers, series on Antennas and Propagation series, and series on Computational Electromagnetics.

Zhong Chen is the Director of RF Engineering at ETS-Lindgren, located in Cedar Park, Texas.  He has over 25 years of experience in RF testing, anechoic chamber design, as well as EMC antenna and field probe design and measurements.  He is an active member of the ANSI ASC C63® committee and Chair of Subcommittee 1, which is responsible for the antenna calibration and chamber/test site validation standards.  He is chair of the IEEE Standard 1309 committee responsible for developing calibration standards for field probes, and IEEE Standard 1128 for absorber measurements.  He is a former Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE EMC Society and currently serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Antenna Measurements Techniques Association (AMTA).  His research interests include measurement uncertainty, time domain measurements for site validation and antenna calibration, and development of novel RF absorber materials.  Zhong received his MSEE degree in Electromagnetics from the Ohio State University at Columbus.

Dennis Lewis received his BS EE degree with honors from Henry Cogswell College and his MS degree in Physics from the University of Washington.  He has worked at Boeing for 32 years and is recognized as a Technical Fellow, leading the enterprise antenna measurement capability for Boeing Test and Evaluation.  Dennis holds ten patents and is the recipient of the 2013 and 2015 Boeing Special Invention Award.  He is a senior member of the IEEE and several of its technical societies including the Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S), the Antennas and Propagation Society and the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Society.  He actively contributes to these societies as a member of the IEEE MTT-S subcommittee 3 on microwave measurements and as a Board Member and a past Distinguished Lecturer for the EMC Society.  He is a Senior Member, served as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Antenna Measurements Techniques Association (AMTA), and chaired its annual symposium in 2012.  Dennis is a part time faculty member teaching a course on Measurement Science at North Seattle College and is chair of the Technical Advisory Committee.  His current technical interests include aerospace applications of reverberation chamber test techniques as well as microwave and antenna measurement systems and uncertainties.