Optimization of a conical antenna for pulse radiation: an efficient design using resistive loading

The conical monopole antenna with a section of continuous resistive loading is considered as a radiator for temporally short, broad-bandwidth pulses. The geometrical details of the coaxial feed and the resistive loading are varied to optimize this structure for pulse radiation. Compared with the perfectly conducting cone, the optimized resistive cone radiates a better reproduction of the pulse excitation with no loss in amplitude, and has internal reflections that are much smaller in amplitude. Graphical displays of the field surrounding the antenna are used to give insight into the physical processes for transient radiation from this antenna. Experimental models were constructed to verify the optimization and demonstrate the practicality of the design. Measurements of both the reflected voltage in the feed line and the time-varying radiated field are in excellent agreement with the theoretical calculations