A systems and network analysis approach to antenna design for UWB communications

Ultra-wideband (UWB) communications is an unconventional radio method whereby information is transmitted using very short pulses having very low duty cycles using time-position based modulation schemes. Recently, the FCC has permitted the commercial deployment of UWB devices under rules incorporated into Part 15 of its regulations (Federal Communications Commission, FCC 02-48, 2002). These rules essentially allow UWB communications devices to broadcast in the entire spectrum from 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz and use this band much like an ISM band. This paper looks at antenna designs and pulse generation for use in UWB communication systems over this frequency band. The three antenna designs evaluated are a discone, a conical monopole, and a monopole. The value of using the antenna transfer function to analyze antennas and of considering the antenna as a filter block in a systems context, given such a large signal bandwidth, is also presented.