Course Overview
Antennas and electromagnetic wave propagation form the basis of all radio communications systems and
have a strong influence on overall system performance in terms of robustness and quality. This 3-day course
provides a solid grounding in the basic concepts and application of electromagnetic waves, propagation
and antennas to a variety of radio frequency (RF), wireless and microwave communications systems.
Terrestrial and satellite radio systems are covered, both in fixed and mobile contexts. Throughout the course
a variety of real-world, practical antennas and antenna array implementations are discussed.

Who Will Benefit?
The course is aimed at engineers, technicians and engineering managers involved in the design, development and application of RF, wireless and microwave communications systems who wish to develop their knowledge and understanding of antennas and propagation. Delegates typically include RF Engineers, Microwave Engineers, RF Systems Engineers and RF Field Applications Engineers.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the basic concepts of electromagnetic waves and propagation
• Explain the basic concepts common to all antennas and arrays
• Select the most appropriate antenna for a given application
• Understand the factors affecting the design of antenna systems
• Apply commonly used antenna measurement techniques

Business Benefits
The course will deliver the following business benefits:

• Reduced design and development times and costs
• Improved design and development efficiency
• Improved design quality and system performance
• Reduced development and project risks

Course Programme
The course content covers:

• Basic electromagnetic wave theory
• Propagation in free space in the various frequency bands
• Propagation effects: Direct, sky and ground waves
• Interaction of waves with obstacles; Diffraction and scattering
• Fading mechanisms
• Basic concepts in antenna theory
• Antenna types including dipole, loop, patch, horn, dish and helical
• Reactive and radiating near-field (Fresnel region)
• Far-field (Fraunhofer region) and Friis transmission equation
• Antenna arrays and array factors (uniform, binomial etc.)
• Sidelobes, nulls, beam broadening and beam steering
• Antenna measurement techniques for anechoic chambers