Vivaldi Antenna is an ultra wideband cold planar antenna that covers a wide frequency range. Hearing ultra wideband (UWB) you already got the idea of the massive bandwidth (500MHz) that a Vivaldi Antenna can cover.This specific type of antenna has got other names too because of its outstanding attributes.
Vivaldi Antenna is also called Vivaldi Aerial, Notch Antenna or Tapered Slot Antenna. Want to know more about it? We got you covered here with the details of Vivaldi Antenna. So, stick around to the end if you don’t want to miss out knowing the amazing features of Vivaldi antennas.
Basics Of Vivaldi Antenna
The Vivaldi antenna was created mainly to serve the purpose of providing wide bandwidth frequency range coverage. This antenna is a professional for UWB antennas. Broadband antennas are the best example for Ultra Wide Band (UWB) antennas.
The Construction, wide coverage and cost effectiveness are the two factors that made Vivaldi antennas a great choice for general people.
Who Invented Vivaldi Antenna?
Peter Gibson first invented the Vivaldi antenna in 1979 which was originally called Vivaldi Aerial.There is an interesting fact about the naming of the popular Vivaldi Antenna. Did you wonder why the name sounds like it doesn’t belong to the antenna family? Well, because the name Vivaldi has nothing to do with the creator’s name or any other similar thing to an antenna.
The antenna had a similar appearance to a music instrument piece, cello or violin used by a famous artist Antonio Vivaldi. P. J. Gibson has a great enthusiasm in his compositions and thought about naming his improved design antenna after his name. However, the truthfulness of the theory is controversial till the date.
Structure Of Vivaldi Antenna
Do you know why the Vivaldi antenna is also called the Slot Antenna? Well, it is because of its antenna structure. A Vivaldi antenna construction consists of a slot or several holes/slots cut out. The radiation pattern also depends on the slot design of this antenna.
A Vivaldi antenna is either made from a solid piece of sheet metal (thin copper sheet) or from a dielectric plate which is metalized on both sides and with a printer circuit board.
Tapered Slot Antenna a.k.a. Vivaldi Antenna
You know why Vivaldi Antennas are called Tapered Slot Antennas? It is so as the radiating elements of this antenna are symmetrical and they are tapered outwards from the slot line.
Working Of Vivaldi Antenna
When the feeding line excites the open space or the plate by a radio frequency current through a coaxial cable or a microstrip line, the radiation happens from the slots.
The coaxial cable or the microstrip line connects the antenna to its transmitter via a RF connector.
Vivaldi antenna design
Types Of Vivaldi Antenna
There are mainly three types of Vivaldi Antennas. They are-
- Coplanar Vivaldi Antenna
- Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna
- Balanced Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna
Peter Gibson first made the Coplanar Vivaldi Antenna as the first basic model of Vivaldi Antennas. The other two types were designed later on when Vivaldi antennas started getting acceptance and popularity.
There are two radiator planes on the same side of the dielectric sheet in a Coplanar Vivaldi Antenna, and the other side is made with neutral material.
Advantages Of Vivaldi Antenna
Vivaldi Antenna is a life changing massively helpful antenna in the electromagnetic radio signals industry. Let’s discuss some of the advantages of Vivaldi Antennas.
- The Tapered Slot Antenna’s construction is significant to match impedance of a waveguide to its free space which provides an accurate outcome with maximum matched impedance.
- This antenna is very easy to make (Simple design) and cost effective.
- You can make the basic Coplanar Vivaldi Antenna (Original) and other types with a printer circuit board technology.
- It is a low profile antenna that is perfect to use in smaller spaces where you can’t use other massive antennas.
- Vivaldi antennas have a tapered slot design that consist of gains that work great for a wide range frequency.
- In the case of dish feed you can get more than 10dBi extension.
- This kind of antennas can be used undoubtedly for phased array applications; they can be fed directly through a microstrip line.
- Vivaldi antenna is the best suit for UWB applications such as sensor system, radar imaging and precision locating for its wide range of frequency.
- These slot antennas show high peak value for the pulse envelope while used in pulse technologies such as Radars.
- A Vivaldi antenna’s upper pulse frequency is finite by the width of the gap between plates and the lower one is finite by the size of the opening area.
- The best part of a Vivaldi antenna is, the notch can be created with the “egg crate” construction.
- In egg crate construction the boards of the antenna bond tightly by crossing the edges of each particle.
Disadvantages Of Vivaldi Antenna
Besides the plus points Vivaldi Antenna has some disadvantages as well. Let’s take a look on them-
- You can use Vivaldi antennas in different frequency ranges (higher and smaller) but you can’t get more than 10dBi extension on it.
- Title beams and low axial gain issues may be there in case of Balanced Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna.
- The overall construction cost varies/increases when more layers are added to the printed circuit board design.
- Balanced Antipodal Vivaldi Antennas are costlier as there are more layers added to prevent cross polarised radiation.
FAQs
How Do I Increase The Gain On My Vivaldi Antenna?
You can increase the gain of an Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna by adding metal layers to the antenna slots.
Why Are Fractal Antennas Better?
Fractal antennas are better because they are smaller in size but they are able to provide both multi band and wide band performance with increased gain than most other antennas.
What Is Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna?
Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna is a wideband antenna that combines symmetric E and H plane antennas.
Others antenna
- Horn Antenna
- Slotted Waveguide Antenna
- Telescope Antenna
- Slot Antenna
- Inverted-F Antenna
- Cavity-Backed Slot Antenna
Conclusion
As you’re still here, I hope that you got the idea cleared about Vivaldi Antenna aka tapered slot antenna. Vivaldi antennas have the ability to cover a wide range of frequencies. So, it can be used as multi band and in impulse technology.
Let us know your valuable opinion in the comment below. How did you like this article about the Vivaldi antenna? Stay tuned with us to know a lot more interesting things about antennas.