A Survey of Antennas for Ultra-wideband Applications (postprint)

The usage of ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is growing in many communication systems such as radar systems, communication and measurement systems and imaging systems mainly because unlike the other wireless technologies UWB is not restricted to using a narrow waveband and it has high speed data rate. The large transmission bandwidth makes UWB-based electronic device resistive to interferences and gives immunity against getting detected. Typical operational frequency range of the UWB devices varies from few 100s MHz to 10 GHz. However, the most popular UWB devices are designed to operate between 1-3 GHz. This paper presents an overview of different types of commercially available antennas suitable for UWB applications. The paper begins with the basics of understanding of antennas properties. Next, it discusses the main antenna characteristics like: radiation pattern (directional or omnidirectional), gain, bandwidth, size, etc for different UWB applications and explains criterions for quantitative and qualitative performance measure of the antennas. The antennas covered in this paper include: TEM Horn, Folded horn, Dipole, Planner Fat Dipole, Cross Dipole, Rolled Dipole, UWB dielectric, Bowtie, Wire Bowtie, etc. This paper describes the pros and cons of each antenna and highlights the application areas of each antenna. Lastly, this paper summaries the important characteristics of the antennas and presents several promising directions for future enhancement of UWB antenna systems.