Where This Module Goes

We start with what an antenna is and why it matters, then trace the chain from Maxwell’s equations to the plane wave, define the headline antenna parameters — gain, directivity, effective aperture, beamwidth — and end with the radiation integrals.

Those integrals are the machinery that turns a current distribution into a far-field pattern. Module 3 runs them backwards to design arrays, so the work here is the foundation the rest of the course stands on.

Learning Objectives 1.1-1.3

1. I can explain what an antenna is, describe its role in a wireless system, and recognize common antenna types by sight.
2. I can define and calculate fundamental antenna properties — gain, directivity, effective aperture, beamwidth, and sidelobe level — apply the reciprocity principle that links an antenna's transmit and receive behavior, and use the Friis transmission equation to predict received power in a link.
3. I can determine the polarization of an antenna and describe the bandwidth characteristics of common antenna types.

Learning Objectives 1.4-1.6

4. I can calculate input impedance, feed considerations, and the role of baluns in an antenna feed system.
5. I can identify and distinguish the reactive near-field, radiating near-field, and far-field regions and calculate the boundaries for a given antenna.
6. I can set up and interpret the radiation integrals to derive the far-field pattern of a current distribution.

Lessons 1-3: What an Antenna Is, and How We Describe It

Lessons 4-6: The Terminals, the Space Around Them, and the Integral

Where This Is Going

Module 2 takes these foundations to real antenna types — dipoles, loops, patches, horns — and to the bench, where you measure the numbers you have so far only calculated.

The through-line: everything in Module 1 is about one antenna in isolation. From Module 3 onward, antennas start working in groups.