Frequency Independent Antennas - Several New and Undeveloped Ideas
C. W. Gillard, R. E. Franks · 1960
This 1960 antenna research laid groundwork for multi-band wireless devices that now surround us daily.
Plain English Summary
This 1960 technical report explored new approaches to designing frequency independent antennas, which maintain consistent performance across multiple radio frequency bands. The research focused on undeveloped antenna concepts that could operate effectively regardless of the specific frequency being transmitted or received.
Why This Matters
While this appears to be purely technical antenna research from 1960, it represents foundational work that would later enable the proliferation of wireless devices we live with today. Frequency independent antennas became crucial for modern wireless technology because they allow single devices to operate across multiple frequency bands simultaneously. This efficiency meant that cell phones, WiFi routers, and other wireless devices could pack more antenna capability into smaller spaces, ultimately increasing our daily RF exposure. The reality is that technical advances like these, while solving engineering problems, also made possible the wireless saturation of our environment that health researchers now study for biological effects.
Finding
A frequency independent technique appropriate to high gain aperture type antennas appears to be quite feasible. High sidelobe illumination of the collimating aperture by the primary feed system may be expected to cause significant pattern perturbation for some embodiments of the idea and must be resolved before the method becomes a practical reality.
In their words
“A frequency independent technique appropriate to high gain aperture type antennas appears to be quite feasible. High sidelobe illumination of the collimating aperture by the primary feed system may be expected to cause significant pattern perturbation for some embodiments of the idea and must be resolved before the method becomes a practical reality.”
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagram extracted from the original research document.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
To present ideas for extending frequency independent antenna performance to high gain aperture type antennas and to consider ideas for low gain frequency independent antennas
The report describes methods for extending frequency independent antenna performance to high gain ap...
Experimental patterns obtained over a 1.6:1 band illustrate an essentially frequency independent mai...
A frequency independent technique appropriate to high gain aperture type antennas appears to be quite feasible. High sidelobe illumination of the collimating aperture by the primary feed system may be expected to cause significant pattern perturbation for some embodiments of the idea and must be resolved before the method becomes a practical reality. At the low end of the gain spectrum the application of the log-periodic broadbanding principle to the dipole is a highly desirable objective; however, experimental results to date indicate that a more fundamental approach is necessary.
Show BibTeX
@article{frequency_independent_antennas_several_new_and_undeveloped_ideas_g7036,
author = {C. W. Gillard and R. E. Franks},
title = {Frequency Independent Antennas - Several New and Undeveloped Ideas},
year = {1960},
}