Technical Articles on RF Basics

Mohit Garade

Nov 24, 2018

Scattering parameters describes the input-output relationships between ports in an electrical system. Specifically at high frequency it becomes essential to describe a given network in terms of waves ...read more

What is the difference between a monopole and dipole antenna?

Peter McNeil

Jul 12, 2017

In essence, the difference between a monopole and dipole antenna, is that a dipole antenna uses an additionally radiator to generate a synthetic ground plane between the symmetric radiator elements, w...read more

What are Near Field and Far Field Regions of an Antenna?

May 22, 2018

When a signal from a transmitter is applied to an antenna, it sends out electromagnetic waves in to free space. The EM field characteristics vary as a function of distance from the antenna. They are b...read more

What is P1dB?

Amplifiers RF Basics

Jul 23, 2018

An amplifier usually provides a constant gain over a specific frequency range. If we represent the Input power Vs Output power of an amplifier on a graph, we get a straight line (Linear Relationship) ...read more

What is EIRP?

May 22, 2018

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power or Equivalent Isotropically Radiated Power (EIRP) is a measurement of radiated output power from an ideal isotropic antenna in a single direction.An isotropic antenn...read more

What is the Propagation Constant?

Jan 4, 2018

Propagation constant is a measure of changes in a sinusoidal electromagnetic wave in terms of amplitude and phase, while propagating through a medium. This can be a transmission line or free space. Th...read more

What is Skin Depth?

Nov 29, 2017

When an AC current is applied to a conductor, the current concentrates near the surface of the conductor and its strength decreases as you go towards the center of the conductor. The depth till which ...read more

Why is the 60 GHz Band not good for long-range communications?

RF Basics RF Propagation

Aug 17, 2017

At 60 GHz, Oxygen molecules in the atmosphere interact with the RF signals to cause significant attenuation. Due to this attenuation the 60 GHz band is not a good frequency to use for long-range radar...read more

What is IP3?

Anjali lahoti

Dec 8, 2017

Third order intercept point is an hypothetical point where the power of third order components will reach to the same level of fundamental component's power.If one draws the power input versus power o...read more

What is Receiver Sensitivity?

Mar 17, 2021

Receiver sensitivity is a measure of the minimum signal strength that a receiver can detect. It tells us the weakest signal that a receiver will be able to identify and process. Receiver sensitivity i...read more

What is dBi?

Jul 26, 2021

Antenna gain is measured in decibels. It is the ratio between the gain of the antenna compared to the gain of an isotropic antenna. An isotropic antenna is a theoretical antenna which radiates power u...read more

What is Antenna Directivity?

Aug 13, 2018

Directivity is the measure of the concentration of an antennas's radiation pattern in a particular direction. Directivity is expressed in dB. The higher the directivity, the more concentrated or focus...read more

What is Insertion Loss?

Feb 19, 2019

Whenever a signal travels through a component or a system, there is always some loss of power due to a number of reasons. This loss that occurs while a signal is traveling through a component or syste...read more

What is the difference between EIRP and ERP?

May 22, 2018

EIRP is the Effective isotropic radiated power is the total power radiated by a hypothetical isotropic antenna in a single direction. It gives the signal strength in the direction of the antenna's str...read more

What is Noise Factor?