A Concise Antennas Course Based on a Single Semester of Electromagnetics Preparation

Abstract

A new undergraduate elective course that develops a background in antennas for senior electrical engineering students is presented. The course is only three quarter-credits long, that is, two semester-credits. An innovative aspect of this course is the modest prerequisite of only a Juniorlevel, four semester-credits (four lecture hours per week) electromagnetics course or equivalent. In our quarter-based system, four semester-credit lecture hours translates into two courses of three quarter-credits (three lecture hours per week) each. The prerequisite courses, required in our undergraduate electrical engineering curriculum, are modulated in depth and breadth of topics, starting with vector algebra and coordinate systems and progressing through static fields, dynamic fields, transmission lines, plane waves, links, and electromagnetic interference principles. The integral forms of the fundamental electromagnetic relations are emphasized in these required courses. As a result, this antennas elective must incorporate pedagogicallyselected background material such as differential operators and the differential forms of Maxwell’s equations, skin depth, and reflection and transmission of plane waves at material interfaces. The course builds a solid foundation in antenna principles that serves students continuing into advanced studies in graduate school as well as those entering industry after graduation. This foundation is accomplished by strategically selecting and modulating the depth of topics in a pedagogic progression that focuses on developing insights into the fundamental concepts underlying antennas. Consequently, the course is not a survey course nor is it overstuffed. The course utilizes a thorough study of the dipole antenna as the vehicle for developing these fundamentals. The magnetic vector potential is used to derive the radiated dipole fields, which are then used to develop the concepts of radiation resistance, antenna efficiency, bandwidth, directivity, gain, and polarization. Image theory is used to develop the monopole antenna and analyze the effects of a ground plane on an antenna. These concepts are then extended to uniform linear arrays of antenna elements. Basic propagation and system link analysis are then used to examine the impact of antennas on the performance of practical systems. In this paper, the structure of the electromagnetics courses is examined initially to establish the prerequisite context. Details of the antennas course approach, structure, and implementation are presented, including the learning objectives, course topical and pedagogic flow, and a practical antenna simulation project utilizing the NEC2 computational electromagnetics software. The discussion section addresses results, lessons learned, and planned improvements for future offerings of the course.