On the Radiation Patterns of Common EMC Antennas

Antennas have been used in EMC measurements since the early days. Knowledge of the antenna pattern was not a requirement of the standards. While MIL STD 461 and some SAE standards called for information on the half power beamwidth, most standards did not require any knowledge of the antenna radiation characteristics. With the evolution of standards to cover frequencies above 1 GHz knowledge of the pattern has become more important. Since above 1 GHz most antennas are very directive and very un-dipole-like, information on the pattern has become very important, especially when it comes to understanding how much area the main beam is covering. The present paper starts by giving the reader a refresher on antenna pattern parameters and then shows typical patterns for the most common antennas used in EMC. The antennas covered are biconicals, log periodic dipole arrays, hybrid antennas and dual ridge horns. Measured data is presented except for patterns above 18 GHz.

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Title		On the Radiation Patterns of Common EMC Antennas
Author		Vicente Rodriguez
Publication		Interference Technology
Date		May 2011