- What is the gain of an antenna?
Antenna gain refers to the ratio of the power density of the signal generated by the actual antenna and the ideal radiating unit at the same point in space under the condition of equal input power. It quantitatively describes the degree to which an antenna radiates the input power in a concentrated manner. The gain is obviously closely related to the antenna pattern. The narrower the main lobe of the pattern and the smaller the side lobe, the higher the gain. Antenna gain is used to measure the ability of the antenna to send and receive signals in a specific direction. It is one of the most important parameters for selecting base station antennas.
Generally speaking, the improvement of gain mainly relies on reducing the beam width of the vertical radiation while maintaining omnidirectional radiation performance in the horizontal plane. Antenna gain is extremely important to the operating quality of mobile communication systems because it determines the signal level at the edge of the cell. Increasing the gain can increase the coverage of the network in a certain direction, or increase the gain margin within a certain range. Any cellular system is a two-way process. Increasing the gain of the antenna can simultaneously reduce the gain budget margin of the two-way system. In addition, the parameters that represent antenna gain are dBd and dBi. dBi is the gain relative to the point source antenna, and the radiation in all directions is uniform; dBd is relative to the gain of the symmetrical array antenna dBi=dBd+2.15. Under the same conditions, the higher the gain, the longer the distance the radio waves can propagate.
Antenna gain diagram
When selecting antenna gain, it should be determined based on the needs of the specific application.
- Short-distance communication: If the communication distance is relatively short and there are not many obstacles, a high antenna gain may not be needed. In this case, a lower gain (such as 0-10dB) can be selected.
RM-BDHA0308-8（0.3-0.8GHz，8 Typ.dBi）
Medium-distance communication: For medium-distance communication, moderate antenna gain may be required to compensate for the signal attenuation Q caused by the transmission distance, while also taking into account obstacles in the environment. In this case, the antenna gain can be set between 10 and 20 dB.
RM-SGHA28-15(26.5-40 GHz ,15 Typ. dBi )
Long-distance communication: For communication scenarios that need to cover longer distances or have more obstacles, higher antenna gain may be required to provide sufficient signal strength to overcome the challenges of transmission distance and obstacles. In this case, the antenna gain can be set between 20 and 30 dB.
RM-SGHA2.2-25(325-500GHz，25 Typ. dBi）
High-noise environment:If there is a lot of interference and noise in the communication environment, high-gain antennas can help improve the signal-to-noise ratio and thus improve the communication quality.
It should be noted that increasing antenna gain may be accompanied by sacrifices in other aspects, such as antenna directivity, coverage, cost, etc. Therefore, when choosing antenna gain, it is necessary to consider various factors and make appropriate decisions based on the specific situation. The best practice is to conduct field tests or use simulation software to evaluate the performance under different gain values to find the most suitable natural gain setting.
To learn more about antennas, please visit:
Post time: Nov-14-2024
