Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

Dipole Antenna

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.4.
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Introduction
The dipole antenna is one of the most straightforward antenna configurations. It can be
realized with two thin metallic rods that have a sinusoidal voltage difference applied
between them. The length of the rods is chosen such that they are quarter wavelength
elements at the operating frequency. Such an antenna has a well-known torus-like radiation
pattern.

Conductive radiator
Perfectly matched layer (PML)

λ/4

Lumped port

Figure 1: A dipole antenna. The model consists of two cylindrical arms of conductive material
with a voltage source in between. A region of free space bounded by a perfectly matched layer
(PML) surrounds the antenna.

Model Definition
The model of the antenna consists of two cylinders representing each of the dipole arms.
The free space wavelength at the antenna’s operating frequency is 4 m. Thus, each of the
antenna arms is 1 m long and aligned with the z-axis. The arm radius is chosen to be
0.05 m. In the limit as the radius approaches zero, this antenna approaches the analytic
solution.

A small cylindrical gap of size 0.01 m between the antenna arms represents the voltage
source. The power supply and feed structure are not modeled explicitly, and it is assumed

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that a uniform voltage difference is applied across these faces. This source induces
electromagnetic fields and surface currents on the adjacent conductive faces.

The dipole arm surfaces are modeled using the Impedance Boundary Condition, which is
appropriate for conductive surfaces that have dimensions much larger than the skin depth.
This boundary condition introduces a finite conductivity at the surface as well as resistive
losses.

The air domain around the antenna is modeled as sphere of free space of radius 2 m, which
is approximately the boundary between the near-field and the far-field. This sphere of air
is truncated with a perfectly matched layer (PML) that acts as an absorber of outgoing
radiation. The far-field pattern is computed on the boundary between the air and the PML
domains.

The mesh is manually adjusted such that there are five elements per free space wavelength
and that the boundaries of the antenna are meshed more finely. The PML is swept with a
total of five elements along the radial direction.

Results and Discussion

The magnitude of the electric field around the antenna is shown in Figure 2. The fields
appear artificially high near the excitation, as well as at the ends of the arms. These peaks
in the intensity are due to local singularities; the fields at sharp transitions in the model are
locally artificially high, but they do not affect the results some distance (1~2 elements)
away from these regions.

The polar plot in Figure 3 of the far-field pattern in the xy-plane shows the expected
isotropic radiation pattern. The 3D visualization of the far-field intensity in Figure 4 shows
the expected torus-shaped pattern.

The impedance as seen by the port is evaluated to be 121 + 28i Ω, which agrees reasonably
with expectations. In the limit as the antenna radius and gap height go to zero and in the
limit of mesh refinement, the model approaches the analytic solution for a dipole antenna.

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Figure 2: A slice plot of the electric field magnitude around the antenna.

Figure 3: The polar plot of the far field pattern in the xy-plane is isotropic.

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Figure 4: A 3D visualization of the far-field pattern of the dipole shows the expected torus-
shaped pattern.

Application Library path: RF_Module/Antennas/dipole_antenna

Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 3D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Radio Frequency>Electromagnetic Waves,
Frequency Domain (emw).
3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.

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5 In the Select Study tree, select General Studies>Frequency Domain.
6 Click Done.

GLOBAL DEFINITIONS
1 In the Model Builder window, under Global Definitions click Parameters 1.
2 In the Settings window for Parameters, locate the Parameters section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Value Description

lda0 4[m] 4m Operating wavelength
arm_length lda0/4 1m Dipole antenna arm length
r_antenna arm_length/20 0.05 m Dipole antenna arm radius
gap_size arm_length/100 0.01 m Gap between arms

STUDY 1

Step 1: Frequency Domain

1 In the Model Builder window, under Study 1 click Step 1: Frequency Domain.
2 In the Settings window for Frequency Domain, locate the Study Settings section.
3 In the Frequencies text field, type c_const/lda0.

GEOMETRY 1
Create a sphere with a layer. The outer layer presents the PML.

Sphere 1 (sph1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Sphere.
2 In the Settings window for Sphere, locate the Size section.
3 In the Radius text field, type 2.4*arm_length.
4 Click to expand the Layers section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Layer name Thickness (m)

Layer 1 0.5*arm_length

5 Right-click Sphere 1 (sph1) and choose Build Selected.

Choose wireframe rendering to get a better view of the interior parts.
6 Click the Wireframe Rendering button in the Graphics toolbar.

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Then, add a cylinder with layers. The top and bottom parts are the antenna radiators. A
small gap between the antenna radiators is for the voltage source.

Cylinder 1 (cyl1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Cylinder.
2 In the Settings window for Cylinder, locate the Size and Shape section.
3 In the Radius text field, type r_antenna.
4 In the Height text field, type 2*arm_length+gap_size.
5 Locate the Position section. In the z text field, type -(arm_length+gap_size/2).
6 Click to expand the Layers section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Layer name Thickness (m)

Layer 1 arm_length

7 Clear the Layers on side check box.

8 Select the Layers on bottom check box.
9 Select the Layers on top check box.
10 Right-click Cylinder 1 (cyl1) and choose Build Selected.

The domain inside the antenna radiators is not part of the model analysis.

Difference 1 (dif1)
1 In the Geometry toolbar, click Booleans and Partitions and choose Difference.
2 Select the object sph1 only.
3 In the Settings window for Difference, locate the Difference section.
4 Find the Objects to subtract subsection. Select the Active toggle button.
5 Select the object cyl1 only.

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6 Click Build All Objects.

DEFINITIONS
Create a set of selections to be used when setting up the physics. First, create a selection
for the antenna radiator surface.

Explicit 1
1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Explicit.
2 In the Settings window for Explicit, type Antenna in the Label text field.
3 Locate the Input Entities section. From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Click Paste Selection.
5 In the Paste Selection dialog box, type 13-15, 18-20, 28, 30, 39, 41 in the Selection
text field.

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6 Click OK.

Add a perfectly matched layer on the outermost domain of the sphere.

Perfectly Matched Layer 1 (pml1)

1 In the Definitions toolbar, click Perfectly Matched Layer.
2 Select Domains 1–4 and 6–9 only.
3 In the Settings window for Perfectly Matched Layer, locate the Geometry section.

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4 From the Type list, choose Spherical.

View 1
Suppress some domains and boundaries. This helps to see the interior parts when setting
up the physics and reviewing the mesh.

Hide for Physics 1

1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Definitions right-click View 1
and choose Hide for Physics.

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2 Select Domains 1 and 2 only.

Hide for Physics 2

1 Right-click View 1 and choose Hide for Physics.
2 In the Settings window for Hide for Physics, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
3 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
4 Select Boundaries 9 and 10 only.

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ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, FREQUENCY DOMAIN (EMW)
Set up the physics for the model. Add an Impedance Boundary Condition that overrides
the default PEC boundary condition on the antenna radiator surface.

Impedance Boundary Condition 1

1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Impedance Boundary Condition.
2 In the Settings window for Impedance Boundary Condition, locate the Boundary Selection
section.
3 From the Selection list, choose Antenna.

Lumped Port 1
1 In the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Lumped Port.
2 Click the Zoom In button in the Graphics toolbar, a couple of times to see the small gap
between antenna radiators clearly.
3 Select Boundaries 16, 17, 29, and 40 only.

4 In the Model Builder window, click Lumped Port 1.

5 In the Settings window for Lumped Port, locate the Lumped Port Properties section.
6 From the Type of lumped port list, choose User defined.
7 In the hport text field, type gap_size.
8 In the wport text field, type 2*pi*r_antenna.

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9 Specify the ah vector as

0 x
0 y
1 z

For the first port, wave excitation is on by default.

10 Click the Zoom Extents button in the Graphics toolbar.

Far-Field Domain 1
In the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Far-Field Domain.

MATERIALS
Assign air as the material for all domains and override the antenna radiator surface with
copper.

ADD MATERIAL
1 In the Home toolbar, click Add Material to open the Add Material window.
2 Go to the Add Material window.
3 In the tree, select Built-In>Air.
4 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.
5 In the tree, select Built-In>Copper.
6 Click Add to Component in the window toolbar.
7 In the Home toolbar, click Add Material to close the Add Material window.

MATERIALS

Copper (mat2)
1 In the Settings window for Material, locate the Geometric Entity Selection section.
2 From the Geometric entity level list, choose Boundary.
3 From the Selection list, choose Antenna.

MESH 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) click Mesh 1.

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2 In the Settings window for Mesh, click Build All.

STUDY 1
In the Home toolbar, click Compute.

RESULTS
The default plot shows the E-field norm, 2D far-field polar plot, and 3D far-field radiation
pattern.

Multislice
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Electric Field (emw) node, then click Multislice.
2 In the Settings window for Multislice, locate the Multiplane Data section.
3 Find the X-planes subsection. In the Planes text field, type 0.
4 Find the Z-planes subsection. In the Planes text field, type 0.
5 Click to expand the Range section. Select the Manual color range check box.
6 In the Maximum text field, type 20.
7 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Color table list, choose
JupiterAuroraBorealis.
8 In the Electric Field (emw) toolbar, click Plot.

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9 Click the Zoom In button in the Graphics toolbar.

Selection 1
1 Right-click Results>Electric Field (emw)>Multislice and choose Selection.
2 Select Domain 5 only.

Arrow Volume 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Electric Field (emw) and choose
Arrow Volume.
2 In the Settings window for Arrow Volume, locate the Arrow Positioning section.
3 Find the X grid points subsection. In the Points text field, type 21.
4 Find the Y grid points subsection. In the Points text field, type 1.
5 Find the Z grid points subsection. In the Points text field, type 21.
6 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Arrow length list, choose Logarithmic.
7 From the Color list, choose White.

Selection 1
1 Right-click Results>Electric Field (emw)>Arrow Volume 1 and choose Selection.
2 Select Domain 5 only.

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3 In the Electric Field (emw) toolbar, click Plot.
The results show the E-field norm distribution on the antenna radiators. It is plotted in
Figure 2.

2D Far Field (emw)

Adjust the axis range.

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click 2D Far Field (emw).
2 In the Settings window for Polar Plot Group, locate the Axis section.
3 Select the Manual axis limits check box.
4 In the r minimum text field, type 0.
5 In the r maximum text field, type 1.
6 In the 2D Far Field (emw) toolbar, click Plot.
The plotted H-plane pattern is omni-directional (isotropic) on the xy-plane as shown
in Figure 3. The E- and H-plane of a linearly polarized antenna are defined by the

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antenna main polarization. The E-plane includes the main polarization that is Ez in this
model while the H-plane is perpendicular to the main polarization.

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3D Far Field (emw)
Compare the reproduced plot with Figure 4.

Derived Values
Evaluate the port impedance.

Global Evaluation 2
1 In the Results toolbar, click Global Evaluation.
2 In the Settings window for Global Evaluation, click Replace Expression in the upper-right
corner of the Expressions section. From the menu, choose Component 1>
Electromagnetic Waves, Frequency Domain>Ports>emw.Zport_1 -
Lumped port impedance.
3 Click Evaluate.
4 In the Results toolbar, click 3D Plot Group.

Isosurface 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click 3D Plot Group 4 and choose
Isosurface.
2 In the Settings window for Isosurface, locate the Expression section.
3 In the Expression text field, type 20*log10(emw.normE).
4 Locate the Levels section. In the Total levels text field, type 15.

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5 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Color table list, choose HeatCamera.
6 Select the Reverse color table check box.

Filter 1
1 Right-click Results>3D Plot Group 4>Isosurface 1 and choose Filter.
2 In the Settings window for Filter, locate the Element Selection section.
3 In the Logical expression for inclusion text field, type y>0.

Selection 1
1 Right-click Isosurface 1 and choose Selection.
2 Select Domain 5 only.
3 In the 3D Plot Group 4 toolbar, click Plot.

3D Plot Group 4
1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click 3D Plot Group 4.
2 In the Settings window for 3D Plot Group, locate the Plot Settings section.
3 Clear the Plot data set edges check box.
4 In the 3D Plot Group 4 toolbar, click Plot.

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