Antenna 101
From why a changing current radiates at all, through the half-wave dipole and 73 ohms, to arrays and the array factor. Patterns are computed, never drawn freehand.
Episodes
What this series covers
14 topics. Each one is an episode with its own worked examples.
- 01Antenna Fundamentals
- 02Radiation Mechanism
- 03Gain & Directivity
- 04Polarization
- 05Efficiency
- 06Bandwidth
- 07Resonance
- 08Dipole
- 09Monopole
- 10Patch Antenna
- 11Array Antennas
- 12Feeding Techniques
- 13Antenna Measurement
- 14Practical Antenna Design
Episode releases are announced on the community channels first. The topic list above is the committed scope for this series.
Resources
Material for this series
Notes, formula sheets and guides that stay useful after the episodes.
RF & Microwave Formula Sheet
One page: transmission-line equations, reflection coefficient, VSWR and return loss conversions, cascade noise figure, and the dB identities worth memorising.
Reading the Smith Chart
Where the chart comes from, how to move on it, and worked single-stub and L-network matches with the algebra shown alongside.
Antenna Parameters — Notes
Gain, directivity, efficiency, bandwidth, beamwidth and polarisation, each with the definition, the units and the measurement that would confirm it.
HFSS — Your First Correct Model
A step-by-step build of a microstrip patch, with the setup mistakes that silently produce plausible wrong answers called out at each step.
ADS — Matching Network Walkthrough
Build a matching network in ADS, verify it on the Smith chart, and check the result against the hand calculation.
Python for RF Engineers
scikit-rf, touchstone files, plotting S-parameters and automating a parameter sweep. Notebook included.
Projects
Built with these ideas
24 GHz Microstrip Patch Array
A short-range radar front end needed roughly 12 dBi of gain in a footprint under 40 mm square, on standard laminate.
Related Courses
Take it further
Structured programmes covering the same ground in more depth, with a deliverable at the end.
RF & Microwave Engineering
The full RF groundwork: transmission lines, the Smith chart, S-parameters and front-end architecture, each derived rather than quoted.
- Duration
- 8 weeks
- Modules
- 8
- Certificate
- Yes
- Price
- Pricing on registration
Tools used: Keysight ADS · MATLAB · Python
Antenna Design with HFSS
Model, simulate and verify real antennas — and learn to tell a converged result from a pretty one.
- Duration
- 6 weeks
- Modules
- 6
- Certificate
- Yes
- Price
- Pricing on registration
Tools used: Ansys HFSS · MATLAB