Antenna Overview - Concepedia

Principles

Definition

Antenna is a fundamental concept and research area in electromagnetic engineering concerning the principles, design, and analysis of transducers that efficiently convert electrical signals into electromagnetic waves for radiation and vice versa for reception, critical for wireless communication and sensing systems.

Ontological type

Performance Metrics

Design Methodologies

Radiation Mechanisms

Key developments

Key Figures

Planar Printed-Antenna Foundations era

D.M. Pozar [1] is a leading figure in planar printed-antenna foundations of the era, with affiliations at the University of Massachusetts Amherst [3] and Arizona State University [4]. His contributions include Input impedance and mutual coupling of rectangular microstrip antennas [7], A reciprocity method of analysis for printed slot and slot-coupled microstrip antennas [8], and Analysis and design of series-fed arrays of printed-dipoles proximity-coupled to a perpendicular microstripline [9], advancing predictive impedance, coupling, and feeding strategies that reduced reliance on brute-force full-wave simulation. J. R. Mosig [2] is another central figure with ties to the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [5] and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign [6] during this period. His 1988 paper Arbitrarily shaped microstrip structures and their analysis with a mixed potential integral equation [10] introduced a versatile analytical framework for complex microstrip geometries, underpinning robust planar-antenna design in the era.

Spatial Multiplexing and Broadband MIMO era

G.J. Foschini[1] emerges as a leading figure in the Spatial Multiplexing era, with affiliations spanning University of California, San Diego[3] and University of California, Los Angeles[4] during this period. His key contributions include Layered space-time architecture for wireless communication in a fading environment when using multi-element antennas[5], which introduced layered space-time coding to harness spatial multiplexing, and Fading correlation and its effect on the capacity of multielement antenna systems[6], which clarified how correlation constrains capacity and guided array design. T. Itoh[2] is another contributor tied to University of California, San Diego[3] and University of California, Los Angeles[4] in this era. His work on hardware techniques for broadband multi-element systems includes A design of the low-pass filter using the novel microstrip defected ground structure[7], and A broadband uniplanar microstrip-to-CPS transition[8], advancing compact, wideband front-end implementations essential for portable and base-station deployments.

Large-Scale and Metasurface MIMO era

Thomas L. Marzetta [1] anchored research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [3] and New York University [4] during this era. His key contributions in this era included the concept of massive MIMO with unlimited numbers of base station antennas, as described in Noncooperative Cellular Wireless with Unlimited Numbers of Base Station Antennas [7], enabling dramatic spectral-efficiency gains under practical constraints for large-scale wireless systems. Wei Hong [2] held positions at the Baylor College of Medicine [5] and Huazhong Agricultural University [6] during this era. His work on Multibeam Antenna Technologies for 5G Wireless Communications [8] and Bandwidth Enhancement for a 60 GHz Substrate Integrated Waveguide Fed Cavity Array Antenna on LTCC [9] advanced beamspace and high-frequency antenna capabilities critical for dense deployments in mmWave bands.