pattern

Plot radiation pattern of antenna, array, or embedded element of array

Syntax

pattern(object,frequency)

pattern(___,azimuth,elevation)

[pat,az,el] = pattern(___)

[___] = pattern(___,Name=Value)

Description

pattern(object,frequency) plots the 3-D radiation pattern of the antenna or array object over a specified frequency. By default, in Antenna Toolbox™, the far-field radius is set to 100λ. For a detailed explanation, see Field Calculation in Antennas.

pattern(___,azimuth,elevation) plots the radiation pattern of the antenna or array object using the specified azimuth and elevation angles.

[pat,az,el] = pattern(___) returns the pattern magnitude values, pat, of the antenna or array object along with their corresponding azimuth (az) and elevation (el) angles.

[___] = pattern(___,Name=Value) uses additional options specified by one or more name-value arguments. You can use any of the input and output arguments from previous syntaxes.

Use the ElementNumber and Termination property to calculate the embedded pattern of the antenna element in an array connected to a voltage source. The voltage source model consists of an ideal voltage source of 1 volt in series with a source impedance. The embedded pattern includes the effect of mutual coupling due to the other antenna elements in the array.

Examples

Calculate Radiation Pattern of Array

Calculate radiation pattern of default linear array for a frequency of 70 MHZ.

l = linearArray;
pattern(l,70e6)

Radiation Pattern of Helix in X-Z Plane

Plot the radiation pattern of a helix antenna in xz-plane.

h = helix; 
pattern (h, 2e9, 0, 1:1:360);

[pat,azimuth,elevation] = pattern (h, 2e9, 0, 1:1:360);

Compute the maximum and the minimum value of the radiation pattern and the elevation angle.

pattern_max = max(max(pat))

pattern_max = 
8.7019

pattern_min = min(min(pat))

pattern_min = 
-11.5554

elevation_max = max(elevation) 

elevation_max = 
360

elevation_min = min(elevation) 

elevation_min = 
1

Embedded Element Pattern of Linear Array

Calculate the embedded element pattern of a linear array. Excite the first antenna element in the array. Terminate all the other antenna elements using a 50-ohm resistance.

l = linearArray;
pattern(l, 70e6, ElementNumber=1, Termination=50);

Directivity Value of Helix Antenna

Calculate the directivity of a helix antenna.

h = helix;
D = pattern(h, 2e9, 0, 1:1:360);

View the first five directivity values.

Dnew = D(1:5)

Dnew = 5×1

   -6.3683
   -6.1544
   -5.9270
   -5.6880
   -5.4392

Radiation Pattern of Helix Antenna

Plot the radiation pattern of a helix antenna with transparency specified as 0.5.

p = PatternPlotOptions

p = 
  PatternPlotOptions with properties:

      Transparency: 1
         SizeRatio: 0.9000
    MagnitudeScale: []
     AntennaOffset: [0 0 0]

p.Transparency = 0.5;
ant = helix;
pattern(ant,2e9,patternOptions=p)

To understand the effect of Transparency, chose Overlay Antenna in the radiation pattern plot.

This option overlays the helix antenna on the radiation pattern.

Radiation Pattern of Dipole Antenna

Plot radiation pattern of dipole antenna in rectangular cartesian co-ordinate system.

pattern(dipole, 70e6:10e6:100e6, 0, 90, CoordinateSystem="rectangular")

View the directivity values at 0° azimuth and 90° elevation.

D = pattern(dipole, 70e6:10e6:100e6, 0, 90, CoordinateSystem="rectangular")

D = 4×1

  -49.5701
  -50.5630
  -50.3854
  -49.1831

Compare Gain and Realized Gain of Radial Monopole Antenna

Visualize gain plot of radial monopole antenna.

pattern(monopoleRadial,75e6,Type="gain")

Visualize gain plot of radial monopole antenna.

pattern(monopoleRadial,75e6,Type="realizedgain")

Input Arguments

object — Antenna or array

antenna object | array object | custom antenna | custom array | pcbStack object | installedAntenna object | measuredAntenna object

Antenna or array, specified as one of the following:

• Antenna object from the antenna catalog.

• Array object from the array catalog.

• pcbStack object.

• installedAntenna object.

• measuredAntenna object.

Example: yagiUda

frequency — Frequency to calculate or plot radiation pattern

scalar | vector

Frequency to calculate or plot the radiation pattern, specified as a scalar or a vector in Hz. The vector frequencies support rectangular coordinate system.

Example: 70e6

Data Types: double

azimuth — Azimuth angles

–180:5:180 (default) | vector

Azimuth angles to visualize the radiation pattern, specified as a vector in degrees. If the coordinate system is set to uv, then the U values are specified in this parameter. The values of U are between -1 to 1.

Example: 90

Data Types: double

elevation — Elevation angles

–90:5:90 (default) | vector

Elevation angles to visualize the radiation pattern, specified as a vector in degrees. If the coordinate system is set to uv, then the V values are specified in this parameter. The values of V are between -1 to 1.

Example: 0:1:360

Data Types: double

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Example: CoordinateSystem="uv"

CoordinateSystem — Coordinate system to visualize radiation pattern

"polar" (default) | "rectangular" | "uv"

Coordinate system to visualize the radiation pattern, specified as a string from one of these: "polar", "rectangular", "uv".

Example: "rectangular"

Data Types: string

Type — Quantity to plot

"directivity" | "gain" | "realizedgain" | "efield" | "power" | "powerdb" | "phase"

Quantity to plot, specified as one of the following strings:

• directivity – Directivity in dBi

• gain – Gain in dBi

  Note

  The antenna Gain and Directivity are measured at a distance of 100λ.

• realizedgain – Realized gain in dBi

• efield – Electric field in Volt/meter

• power – Power in (Volt/meter)²

• powerdb – Power in dB

• phase – Phase in degrees

  Note

  Type can only be set to phase when Polarization is provided.

The default value is "directivity" for a lossless antenna and "gain" for a lossy antenna. You cannot plot the "directivity" of a lossy antenna. For a detailed explanation on types and polarization, see Field Calculation in Antennas

Example: "efield"

Data Types: string

Normalize — Normalize field pattern

false (default) | true | boolean

Flag to enable or disable field pattern normalization, specified as either true or false.

Example: false

Data Types: logical

PlotStyle — 2-D pattern display style when frequency is vector

"overlay" (default) | "waterfall"

2-D pattern display style when frequency is a vector, specified as a string from one of these:

• overlay – Overlay frequency data in a 2-D line plot

• waterfall – Plot frequency data in a waterfall plot

You can use this property when using pattern function without any output arguments.

Example: "waterfall"

Data Types: string

Polarization — Field polarization

"H" | "V" | "RHCP" | "LHCP"

Field polarization, specified as a string from one of these:

• H – Horizontal polarization

• V – Vertical polarization

• RHCP – Right-hand circular polarization

• LHCP – Left-hand circular polarization

By default, you can visualize a combined polarization.

Example: "RHCP"

Data Types: string

ElementNumber — Antenna element number in array

scalar

Antenna element number in array, specified as a scalar. This antenna element is connected to the voltage source.

Note

Use this property to calculate the embedded pattern of an array.

Example: 1

Data Types: double

Termination — Impedance value for array element termination

50 (default) | scalar

Impedance value for array element termination, specified as a scalar. The impedance value terminates other antenna elements of an array while calculating the embedded pattern of the antenna connected to the voltage source.

Note

Use this property to calculate the embedded pattern of an array.

Example: 40

Data Types: double

PatternOptions — Parameter to change pattern plot properties

PatternPlotOptions object (default)

Parameter to change pattern plot properties, specified as a PatternPlotOptions object. The properties of the PatternPlotOptions object that you can vary are:

• Transparency

• SizeRatio

• AntennaOffset

• MagnitudeScale

Example: PatternPlotOptions(Transparency=0.1)

Data Types: double

Output Arguments

pat — Radiation pattern magnitude of antenna, array, or embedded element of array

el-by-az matrix

Radiation pattern magnitude of antenna, array, or embedded element of array, returned as an el-by-az matrix. el is the number of elevation values and az is the number of azimuth values. The pattern is one of the following:

• directivity – Directivity in dBi (lossless antenna or array)

• gain – Gain in dBi (lossy antenna or array)

• realizedgain – Realized gain in dBi (lossy antenna or array)

• efield – Electric field in volt/meter

• power – Power in (Volt/meter)²

• powerdb – Power in dB

Note

For more information, refer Field Calculation in Antennas.

Data Types: double

az — Azimuth angles of calculated radiation pattern

vector in degrees

Azimuth angles of calculated radiation pattern, returned as a vector in degrees.

Data Types: double

el — Elevation angles of calculated radiation pattern

vector in degrees

Elevation angles of calculated radiation pattern, returned as a vector in degrees.

Data Types: double

References

[1] Makarov, Sergey N. Antenna and EM Modeling in MATLAB. Chapter3, Sec 3.4 3.8. Wiley Inter-Science.

[2] Balanis, C.A. Antenna Theory, Analysis and Design, Chapter 2, sec 2.3-2.6, Wiley.

Version History

Introduced in R2015a