Equivalent Circuit of Normal Mode Helical Antennas Using Frequency-Independent Lumped Elements

Abstract

An equivalent circuit consisting of eight frequency independent lumped elements is derived for center-driven normal mode helical antennas. The equivalent circuit is composed of two parts; a five-element circuit representing the wire antenna and a three-element circuit for the helical turns. Comparison of the calculated input impedance of the equivalent circuit with full-wave simulations demonstrates reasonable agreement over a broad frequency range that includes the first resonant frequency, where the antenna usually operates. Application of the equivalent circuit does not require an EM solver and it is readily implemented in circuit simulators.