Radiation pattern of a biconical antenna with a finite source region

The results of a theoretical study on the radiation pattern of a vertically polarized biconical antenna with a finite source region are presented in this paper. Schelkunoff has formulated the general solution for the radiation pattern of a biconical antenna in terms of spherical harmonics or modes. His formulation is followed in this paper. The dominant mode in a biconical antenna with a zero length source region is a TEM wave and the bicones may be viewed as a transmission line feeding a mismatched load at the antenna aperture. Since the TEM wave is mismatched with free space waves, additional modes are generated inside and outside the antenna to satisfy the boundary conditions.