Antenna factor

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In electromagnetics, the antenna factor is defined as the ratio of the electric field strength to the voltage V (units: V or µV) induced across the terminals of an antenna. The voltage measured at the output terminals of an antenna is not the actual field intensity due to actual antenna gain, aperture characteristics, and loading effects.^[1]

For an electric field antenna, the field strength is in units of V/m or µV/m and the resulting antenna factor AF is in units of 1/m:

If all quantities are expressed logarithmically in decibels instead of SI units, the above equation becomes

For a magnetic field antenna, the field strength is in units of A/m and the resulting antenna factor is in units of A/(Vm). For the relationship between the electric and magnetic fields, see the impedance of free space.

For a 50 Ω load, knowing that P_D A_e = P_r = V²/R and E²= P_D ~ 377P_D (E and V noted here are the RMS values averaged over time), the antenna factor is developed as:

Where

• A_e = (λ²G)/4π : the antenna effective aperture
• P_D is the power density in watts per unit area
• P_r is the power delivered into the load resistance presented by the receiver (normally 50 ohms)
• G: the antenna gain
• is the magnetic constant
• is the electric constant

For antennas which are not defined by a physical area, such as monopoles and dipoles consisting of thin rod conductors, the effective length is used to measure the ratio between E and V.

Notes

References

• Interpreting Antenna Performance Parameters for EMC Applications
• Interpreting Antenna Performance Parameters for EMC Applications An excellent page with summaries of all the relevant equations
• Antenna Theory