Efficient, but low-profile and small-footprint antennas for VHF-UHF range applications remains an ongoing work. VHF range spans approximately 54 - 88 MHz while UHF roughly ranges from 174 - 890 MHz. The inverse relationship between the physical length and resonant frequency of an antenna, which is a measure of its operating frequency range, is well known. A direct correlation between an antenna's physical length and radiation efficiency has also been established. Therefore, a combination of these constraints complicates the design of low-frequency antennas that have small physical size but with enough radiation resistance to be an efficient radiator when connected to a source having a comparable resistance. Given the frequency bands above, their corresponding wavelengths will be: 3.4-5.5 m (VHF) and 0.3-1.7 m (UHF). The length of an antenna operating at these wavelengths would need to be electrically-small i.e. a fraction of wavelength given size constraints for applications such as defense or commercial mobile communication equipment. As a consequence, the radiation resistance of the antenna, which is a function of its radiation efficiency, is greatly reduced. In other words, the input impedance or radiation impedance (assuming negligible ohmic losses in the antenna structure) features a small resistive component and a large capacitive component, causing reflections of most of the incident power to the antenna. Highly-reactive antennas are not desired for most transmitters and receivers. Therefore, the radiation resistance of an antenna must be increased by increasing its electrical length while simultaneously maintaining a low profile and footprint. This aim can be achieved by configuring the antenna to excite a resonance at, or very close to a desired operating frequency. An approach that I will explore in this dissertation is to exploit the broadband characteristics of meander-line and helical (or \"spiral\") antennas typically applied in the microwave frequency range to the UHF-VHF range. I will also propose novel antenna geometries that combine spiral and meander-line properties and analyze their performance. These antennas offer significant size reductions; for example, a bowtie meander dipole antenna studied yielded a height reduction of 55% at 64 MHz relative to a half-wave dipole antenna of the same resonant frequency. In addition, I will present a set of equations developed for predicting the fundamental resonant frequency and radiation resistance of meander-line antennas.
","abstract_html":"<p>Efficient, but low-profile and small-footprint antennas for VHF-UHF range applications remains an ongoing work. VHF range spans approximately 54 - 88 MHz while UHF roughly ranges from 174 - 890 MHz. The inverse relationship between the physical length and resonant frequency of an antenna, which is a measure of its operating frequency range, is well known. A direct correlation between an antenna's physical length and radiation efficiency has also been established. Therefore, a combination of these constraints complicates the design of low-frequency antennas that have small physical size but with enough radiation resistance to be an efficient radiator when connected to a source having a comparable resistance. Given the frequency bands above, their corresponding wavelengths will be: 3.4-5.5 m (VHF) and 0.3-1.7 m (UHF). The length of an antenna operating at these wavelengths would need to be electrically-small i.e. a fraction of wavelength given size constraints for applications such as defense or commercial mobile communication equipment. As a consequence, the radiation resistance of the antenna, which is a function of its radiation efficiency, is greatly reduced. In other words, the input impedance or radiation impedance (assuming negligible ohmic losses in the antenna structure) features a small resistive component and a large capacitive component, causing reflections of most of the incident power to the antenna. Highly-reactive antennas are not desired for most transmitters and receivers. Therefore, the radiation resistance of an antenna must be increased by increasing its electrical length while simultaneously maintaining a low profile and footprint. This aim can be achieved by configuring the antenna to excite a resonance at, or very close to a desired operating frequency. An approach that I will explore in this dissertation is to exploit the broadband characteristics of meander-line and helical (or "spiral") antennas typically applied in the microwave frequency range to the UHF-VHF range. I will also propose novel antenna geometries that combine spiral and meander-line properties and analyze their performance. These antennas offer significant size reductions; for example, a bowtie meander dipole antenna studied yielded a height reduction of 55% at 64 MHz relative to a half-wave dipole antenna of the same resonant frequency. In addition, I will present a set of equations developed for predicting the fundamental resonant frequency and radiation resistance of meander-line antennas.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Olaode, Olusola"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Joines, William T"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:07:15Z","subjects":["Engineering","antenna","dipole","electrically-small","low profile","meander","spiral"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6170","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Joines, William T"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Olaode, Olusola"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2013-01-16T20:29:09Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-01-16T20:29:09Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Engineering","antenna","dipole","electrically-small","low profile","meander","spiral"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6170"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Efficient, but low-profile and small-footprint antennas for VHF-UHF range applications remains an ongoing work. VHF range spans approximately 54 - 88 MHz while UHF roughly ranges from 174 - 890 MHz. The inverse relationship between the physical length and resonant frequency of an antenna, which is a measure of its operating frequency range, is well known. A direct correlation between an antenna's physical length and radiation efficiency has also been established. Therefore, a combination of these constraints complicates the design of low-frequency antennas that have small physical size but with enough radiation resistance to be an efficient radiator when connected to a source having a comparable resistance. Given the frequency bands above, their corresponding wavelengths will be: 3.4-5.5 m (VHF) and 0.3-1.7 m (UHF). The length of an antenna operating at these wavelengths would need to be electrically-small i.e. a fraction of wavelength given size constraints for applications such as defense or commercial mobile communication equipment. As a consequence, the radiation resistance of the antenna, which is a function of its radiation efficiency, is greatly reduced. In other words, the input impedance or radiation impedance (assuming negligible ohmic losses in the antenna structure) features a small resistive component and a large capacitive component, causing reflections of most of the incident power to the antenna. Highly-reactive antennas are not desired for most transmitters and receivers. Therefore, the radiation resistance of an antenna must be increased by increasing its electrical length while simultaneously maintaining a low profile and footprint. This aim can be achieved by configuring the antenna to excite a resonance at, or very close to a desired operating frequency. An approach that I will explore in this dissertation is to exploit the broadband characteristics of meander-line and helical (or \"spiral\") antennas typically applied in the microwave frequency range to the UHF-VHF range. I will also propose novel antenna geometries that combine spiral and meander-line properties and analyze their performance. These antennas offer significant size reductions; for example, a bowtie meander dipole antenna studied yielded a height reduction of 55% at 64 MHz relative to a half-wave dipole antenna of the same resonant frequency. In addition, I will present a set of equations developed for predicting the fundamental resonant frequency and radiation resistance of meander-line antennas.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Research and Development of Low-Profile, Small Footprint Antennas for VHF-UHF Range Applications"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Joines, William T"],"dc:creator":["Olaode, Olusola"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2013-01-16T20:29:09Z"],"dc:date.available":["2013-01-16T20:29:09Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2012"],"dc:description.abstract":["Efficient, but low-profile and small-footprint antennas for VHF-UHF range applications remains an ongoing work. VHF range spans approximately 54 - 88 MHz while UHF roughly ranges from 174 - 890 MHz. The inverse relationship between the physical length and resonant frequency of an antenna, which is a measure of its operating frequency range, is well known. A direct correlation between an antenna's physical length and radiation efficiency has also been established. Therefore, a combination of these constraints complicates the design of low-frequency antennas that have small physical size but with enough radiation resistance to be an efficient radiator when connected to a source having a comparable resistance. Given the frequency bands above, their corresponding wavelengths will be: 3.4-5.5 m (VHF) and 0.3-1.7 m (UHF). The length of an antenna operating at these wavelengths would need to be electrically-small i.e. a fraction of wavelength given size constraints for applications such as defense or commercial mobile communication equipment. As a consequence, the radiation resistance of the antenna, which is a function of its radiation efficiency, is greatly reduced. In other words, the input impedance or radiation impedance (assuming negligible ohmic losses in the antenna structure) features a small resistive component and a large capacitive component, causing reflections of most of the incident power to the antenna. Highly-reactive antennas are not desired for most transmitters and receivers. Therefore, the radiation resistance of an antenna must be increased by increasing its electrical length while simultaneously maintaining a low profile and footprint. This aim can be achieved by configuring the antenna to excite a resonance at, or very close to a desired operating frequency. An approach that I will explore in this dissertation is to exploit the broadband characteristics of meander-line and helical (or \"spiral\") antennas typically applied in the microwave frequency range to the UHF-VHF range. I will also propose novel antenna geometries that combine spiral and meander-line properties and analyze their performance. These antennas offer significant size reductions; for example, a bowtie meander dipole antenna studied yielded a height reduction of 55% at 64 MHz relative to a half-wave dipole antenna of the same resonant frequency. In addition, I will present a set of equations developed for predicting the fundamental resonant frequency and radiation resistance of meander-line antennas.
"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6170"],"dc:subject":["Engineering","antenna","dipole","electrically-small","low profile","meander","spiral"],"dc:title":["Research and Development of Low-Profile, Small Footprint Antennas for VHF-UHF Range Applications"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:07:15Z"}