Gain - Parabolic Antenna (also conical)


In electromagnetics, an antenna’s power gain or simply gain is a key performance figure which combines the antenna’s directivity and electrical efficiency. As a transmitting antenna, the figure describes how well the antenna converts input power into radio waves headed in a specified direction. As a receiving antenna, the figure describes how well the antenna converts radio waves arriving from a specified direction into electrical power. When no direction is specified, “gain” is understood to refer to the peak value of the gain. A plot of the gain as a function of direction is called the radiation pattern.



Related formulas


Gantenna's power gain (dB) (dimensionless)
ddiameter of the parabolic reflector, if it is circular (m)
λwavelength of the radio waves (m)
eAdimensionless parameter between 0 and 1 called the aperture efficiency. The aperture efficiency of typical parabolic antennas is 0.55 to 0.70. (dimensionless)