1.0 Preface & Table of Contents

Learning Antennas Through Simulation:

A Hands-On Guide with AN-SOF

By TONY GOLDEN

RF Engineer & Physics Ph.D. | CEO & Founder | Golden Engineering LLC

Preface: The Virtual Lab and the Modern Engineer

In the high-precision world of modern RF engineering, the distance between Maxwell’s equations and a functioning antenna design can be significant. While empirical validation is the ultimate goal of every designer, the financial barrier to entry is often insurmountable. The cost of mounting a full physical laboratory, including specialized hardware and anechoic chambers, makes real-world experimentation a luxury that many independent consultants, students, and SMBs simply cannot afford.

Learning Antennas Through Simulation was written to provide an essential solution to this problem.

This text serves as a professional roadmap to the establishment of a virtual lab environment. By utilizing simulation as our primary experimental tool, we can reinforce theoretical concepts through visual and numerical verification that would otherwise require six-figure investments in test equipment. We move beyond abstract vector potentials to solve complex radiation problems using the Method of Moments (MoM) through the AN-SOF simulation engine.

Throughout these pages, you will navigate the essential metrics of the field. Impedance matching, gain, directivity, and radiation patterns are all explored and validated using interactive online calculators and GNU Octave scripts. From the foundational Hertzian dipole to advanced parabolic reflectors and phased arrays, every chapter is designed to move you from theoretical study to verifiable technical proficiency.

This book serves as the official curriculum for the AN-SOF Certification Track. As you progress through the five integrated Simulation Labs, you are not merely observing antenna behavior. You are building the virtual experimentation skills required to design the next generation of wireless communication systems in an agile, cost-effective manner.

Welcome to the future of antenna design.

Tony Golden, Ph.D.
CEO & Founder, Golden Engineering LLC

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Table of Contents

1. Ideal Antennas

• 1.1 Maxwell’s Equations and Electromagnetic Radiation
• 1.2 The Isotropic Radiator
• 1.3 Arrays of Point Sources
• 1.4 The Hertzian Dipole – FREE SAMPLE
• 1.5 The Short Dipole
• 1.6 The Half-Wave Dipole
• 1.7 Thin Dipoles of Arbitrary Length
• 1.8 Ground Plane and Image Theory
• 1.9 Monopole Antennas
• Lab 1: Radiation & Ideal Physics

2. Antenna Metrics

• 2.1 Radiation Pattern Fundamentals
• 2.2 Polarization
• 2.3 Radiated Power and Energy Conservation
• 2.4 Radiation Resistance
• 2.5 Radiation Efficiency
• 2.6 Directivity and Gain
• 2.7 Beamwidth and Sidelobes
• 2.8 Feedpoint Impedance and Bandwidth
• 2.9 The Reciprocity Principle
• 2.10 Receiving Mode Operation
• 2.11 Effective Aperture and Gain
• 2.12 The Friis Transmission Equation
• Lab 2: Performance & Metrics

3. Linear Antennas

• 3.1 Cylindrical Wire Antennas
• 3.2 Input Impedance and Feedpoint Modeling
• 3.3 Induced EMF Method
• 3.4 Hallén’s Integral Equation
• 3.5 King–Middleton Formulation
• 3.6 Equivalent Radius for Non-Circular Wires
• 3.7 Self and Mutual Impedances
• Lab 3: Linear Antenna Design

4. Advanced Antennas

• 4.1 Loop Antennas
• 4.2 Helical Antennas
• 4.3 Yagi-Uda Arrays
• 4.4 Log-Periodic Arrays
• 4.5 Horn Antennas
• 4.6 Parabolic Reflectors
• 4.7 Fractal Antennas
• 4.8 Microstrip and Printed Antennas
• Lab 4: Advanced Architectures

5. Simulation Methods

• 5.1 Introduction to Antenna Simulation
• 5.2 Differential Equation Methods
• 5.3 Integral Equation Methods
• 5.4 Hybrid Numerical Techniques
• 5.5 Method of Moments (MoM)
• Lab 5: CEM & Simulation Pro

Equation, Figure, and Table Numbering

This book is organized into chapters, each divided into sections. A section labeled X.Y denotes Section Y of Chapter X. Important equations, as well as those cited in the text, are numbered consecutively within each section, starting from (1).

When referring to an equation located in another section, its number is preceded by the corresponding chapter and section. Thus, (X.Y.Z) refers to Equation (Z) in Chapter X, Section Y. A reference to the same equation made within Section X.Y is written simply as (Z).

References of the form (X.Y.Z) include an embedded link. Clicking the reference opens a new tab displaying Section X.Y, automatically scrolled to Equation (Z).

The same numbering and cross-referencing conventions apply to figures and tables.