Rounded bow-tie

Quick Summary
Quantity Typical Minimum Maximum

Polarisation Linear - -

Radiation pattern Omnidirectional in a plane - -

Gain 3 dBi 1 dBi 5 dBi

Performance bandwidth 2:1 1.5:1 3:1

Complexity Simple - -

Impedance 250 Ω 150 Ω 250 Ω

Balun Should be connected to - -

coaxial systems via a
suitable balun.

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Background
Modified dipole shapes are often used to obtain wide-band operation without increasing the complexity of the antenna. The rounded bow-tie

antenna represents a fairly simple dipole variation, and provides good wide-band performance in spite of its simplicity.

This antenna is popular for frequencies ranging from UHF up to the millimetre wave range, and has also found application in arrays. The rounded

bow-tie is closely related to the conventional (triangular) bow-tie; the rounding results in an impedance frequency response that is flatter than that of

the regular bow-tie. For transient applications (i.e. when short duration pulses are used), bow-tie antennas with rounded edges demonstrate better

performance as reflections from the ends occur at the same time instant. Pulse radiation can be further improved by resistive loading [Shlager et al.].

The rounded bow-tie antenna performance is not sensitive to small parameter variations, improving robustness to manufacturing tolerances. While

the rounded bow-tie antenna provides fair wide-band performance, this is not a high performance antenna; demanding applications may call for
 Rounded bow-tie 2

more complex designs.

Physical Description
The rounded bow-tie antenna is easy to construct and can be very robust, but can become restrictively large at low frequencies. This antenna is

commonly supported by a dielectric substrate, or constructed using suspended metal cut-outs. When a substrate is used, thin low-permittivity

substrates are preferred to avoid the degradation of antenna performance.

Feed Method
The rounded bow-tie antenna is fed at the centre point between its two triangular arms. Since the bow-tie antenna is a fully balanced design, a balun

must be used if it is fed using a coaxial or other unbalanced transmission line. The balun is often designed to also provide impedance matching.

Operation Mechanism
The rounded bow-tie antenna can be seen as a modified dipole [Volakis, J. L.]. A thin-wire dipole’s radiation is essentially formed by the

superposition of the direct radiation of the feed (incident field) and strong diffractions from the wire ends. The magnitude and phase relationship

between the incident and diffracted waves determine the pattern and impedance performance of the antenna. Due to the strong phase coherence

between the various fields in a thin wire dipole, its performance is highly frequency dependent. By modifying the thin wire dipole into a bow-tie, extra

sources of diffraction (the bow-tie edge and corners) that have weaker phase coherence are introduced, resulting in a broader operating bandwidth.

By rounding the edge of the bow-tie, the path length from the feed to the edge of the bow-tie is the same in all directions, suppressing some higher

order modes; this results in a flatter frequency response than that of the conventional (triangular) bow-tie. Further insight into the bow-tie radiation

mechanism can be gained from its time-domain behaviour, [e.g. Shlager et al.].

Performance
Rounded bow-tie antennas have moderate gain and a wide bandwidth. The performance bandwidth is primarily limited by radiation pattern

performance. At the low end of the frequency spectrum, performance is chiefly limited by input impedance, while radiation performance degrades at
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higher frequencies. For undemanding applications, a 3:1 operational bandwidth is achievable. While good impedance behaviour can be obtained

over a much broader band, the main beam shifts erratically at higher frequencies. Impedance behaviour also suffers as thicker and higher

permittivity substrates are used.

Results below are for a 250 Ω design in free-space. Frequency has been normalised to the minimum operational frequency fmin, which is the lowest

frequency where VSWR < 2.

Impedance Characteristics

The rounded bow-tie has good impedance behaviour over a wide band. Due to the taper of the bow-tie, the VSWR does not degrade significantly as

the frequency is increased. The low frequency input impedance exhibits a sharp cut-off frequency below which the antenna is very poorly matched.

At higher frequencies the VSWR shows significant ripple, but remains below a certain value. VSWR is degraded by the use of thicker and higher

permittivity substrates; behaviour is seen that is qualitatively the same as for thin substrates, but the VSWR values at the peaks are higher. Thicker,
 Rounded bow-tie 3

higher permittivity substrates do, however, enable a slight reduction in the size of the antenna.

The antenna input impedance level can be changed by modifying the flare angle. At a flare angle of 90°, the antenna is self-complementary, and the

high-frequency input impedance is 188 Ω as for all self-complementary designs.

Typical VSWR vs Frequency (normalised by minimum operational frequency fmin) with reference impedance of 250 Ω

Radiation Characteristics

In a range close to the centre frequency (f0, in the range fmin to 2fmin), the rounded bow-tie antenna has a pattern that is largely omnidirectional in the

H-plane. The maximum gain is at broadside. As the frequency is increased beyond 2.5fmin (~1.4f0), the pattern degrades rapidly. By 3fmin (~1.6f0),

new off-broadside main beams have formed. The gain of the rounded bow-tie is also dependent on the impedance level it is designed for, since

smaller impedances require wider flare angles.

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Typical 3D gain patterns at fmin and 2 fmin

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Typical 3D gain patterns at 2.5fmin and 3 fmin

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Typical gain in dB vs Angle for E and H-plane patterns at fmin.

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Typical gain in dB vs Angle for E and H-plane patterns at 2 fmin.

Typical gain in dB vs Angle for E and H-plane patterns at 2.5 fmin.

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 Rounded bow-tie 6

Typical gain in dB vs Angle for E and H-plane patterns at 3 fmin.

Total gain vs frequency at broadside.

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Typical gain in dBi vs. Angle in the E-plane for patterns at f0 for different reference impedance design points.

References
th
J. L. Volakis, Antenna Engineering Handbook, 4 Ed., 2007, Chapter 19.3.

R. C. Compton, R. C. McPhedran, Z. Popovic, G. M. Rebeiz, P. P. Tong and D. B. Rutledge, "Bow-tie antennas on a dielectric half-space: theory

and experiment", IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 35, pp. 622–631, June 1987.
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K. L. Shlager, G. S. Smith and J.G. Maloney, “Optimization of bow-tie antennas for pulse radiation”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and

Propagation, vol. 42, pp. 975–982, July 1994.

M. Birch, “Development of a cavity backed bow-tie antenna with dielectric matching for ground penetrating radar”, M.Eng thesis, University of

Stellenbosch, 29 September 2001.

Model Information (FEKO)

Model 1

Model of a rounded bow-tie antenna in free space.

This model is optimised for speed when no substrate is used. This model assumes the antenna is in free space. It should only be used when no

substrate is included in the design.

Model 2

Model of a rounded bow-tie antenna on an infinite substrate.

This model is optimised for speed when a substrate is used. This model assumes the antenna is mounted on an infinite planar substrate using a

Green’s function. It should be used when a dielectric substrate is included in the design.

Model 3

Model of a rounded bow-tie antenna on a finite substrate.

This model assumes the antenna is mounted on a finite planar substrate, and can be used when a dielectric substrate is included in the design. The

size of the substrate can be adjusted parametrically. The Surface equivalence method is used.

Model 4

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Model of a rounded bow-tie antenna on a finite substrate.

This model assumes the antenna is mounted on a finite planar substrate, and can be used when a dielectric substrate is included in the design. The

size of the substrate can be adjusted parametrically. The Volume equivalence method is used.

Model Information (CST MICROWAVE STUDIO)

Model 1

Planar model of a rounded bow-tie antenna in free space or on a finite substrate.

 Rounded bow-tie 8

This model assumes the antenna is mounted on a finite planar substrate or in free space. It can be used when a dielectric substrate is included in

the design, and also when no substrate is included in the design. The size of the substrate can be adjusted parametrically.

Model Information (AWR DESIGN ENVIRONMENT)

Model 1

Planar model of a rounded bow-tie antenna in free space or on a finite substrate.

This model assumes the antenna is mounted on an infinite planar substrate or in free space. It can be used when a dielectric substrate is included in

the design, and also when no substrate is included in the design.

Model Validation
The input impedance was validated against the measurements in [Birch, M.].

Each export model has been validated to give the expected results for several parameter variations in the design space.

Magus Analysis
The internal performance estimation is expected to be similar to a full 3D-EM analysis. Expect:

- Small frequency offsets (-3% to +3%)

- Possibly inaccurate reflection coefficients below -15 dB

Design Guidelines
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- To increase (decrease) the frequency of operation, decrease (increase) the arm length

- To improve the impedance match, decrease the substrate thickness and permittivity

- To increase (decrease) input impedance, decrease (increase) the flare angle

Note: The antenna characteristics vary less with frequency for flare angles of close to 60 degrees, i.e. designs around 250 Ohm.