beamwidth

R2026b

Calculate Half-Power Beamwidth (HPBW) of AI-based antenna

Since R2025a

Syntax

beamwidth(aiant,frequency)

hpbw = beamwidth(aiant,frequency)

[hpbw,angles,plane] = beamwidth(aiant,frequency)

Description

beamwidth(aiant,frequency) calculates the half-power beamwidth of an AI-based antenna object at the specified frequency and displays a visualization of the far-field analysis, including:

• Beamwidth spans in the principal planes

• Peak radiation direction

• Supporting geometric context

The calculated beamwidth value is also displayed in the output.

hpbw = beamwidth(aiant,frequency) calculates and returns the half-power beamwidth of an AI-based antenna object at the specified frequency. Half-power beamwidth is the angular separation at which the magnitude of the directivity pattern decreases by 3 dB from the peak of the main beam.

[hpbw,angles,plane] = beamwidth(aiant,frequency) calculates and returns the half-power beamwidth, its lower and upper angular points, and plane of calculation of an AI-based antenna object at the specified frequency.

Examples

Calculate Beamwidth of AI-based Microstrip Patch Antenna

This example shows how to create an AI-based microstrip patch antenna operating at 1.67 GHz and calculate its beamwidth.

Use the design function with the ForAI argument set to true to create an AI-based microstrip patch antenna.

pAI = design(patchMicrostrip,1.67e9,ForAI=true)

pAI = 
  AIAntenna with properties:

   Antenna Info
               AntennaType: 'patchMicrostrip'
    InitialDesignFrequency: 1.6700e+09

   Tunable Parameters
                    Length: 0.0862
                     Width: 0.1122
                    Height: 0.0018

Show read-only properties

Explore the design space by changing its length and width with values within the tunable range of these properties. You can get the tunable range of a property by using tunableRanges function on the AI-based antenna object.

pAI.Length = 0.0855;
pAI.Width = 0.113;

Calculate half-power beamwidth of the antenna, its lower and upper angular points, and get the information on plane of calculation.

[hpbw,angles,plane] = beamwidth(pAI,1.67e9)

hpbw = 2×1

   56.6456
   61.1775

angles = 2×2

   60.1510  116.7966
   58.9239  120.1013

plane = 2×3 table
       Plane       Slice    SliceValue
    ___________    _____    __________

    "Elevation"    "Az"          0    
    "Elevation"    "Az"         90    

Visualize Beamwidth of AI-based Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna

Create an AI-based rectangular microstrip patch antenna operating at 1.67 GHz.

f0 = 1.67e9;
pAI = design(patchMicrostrip,f0,ForAI=true);

Modify the length and width of the antenna.

pAI.Length = 0.0855;
pAI.Width = 0.113;

Calculate and visualize the beamwidth at 1.67 GHz.

beamwidth(pAI,f0)

ans = 2×1

   56.6456
   61.1775

Input Arguments

aiant — AI-based antenna

AIAntenna object

AI-based antenna, specified as an AIAntenna object created using the design function.

Example: aiant = design(patchMicrostrip,1.67e9,ForAI=true); hpbw = beamwidth(aiant,1.67e9) calculates and returns the half-power beamwidth of AI-based microstrip patch antenna at 1.67 GHz.

frequency — Frequency to calculate beamwidth

scalar in Hertz

Frequency to calculate beamwidth, specified as a scalar in Hertz.

Example: 70e6

Data Types: double

Output Arguments

hpbw — Half-power beamwidth

2-by-1 vector in degrees

Half-power beamwidth of AI-based antenna, returned as a 2-by-1 vector in degrees. The rows of this vector correspond to planes 1 and 2 respectively.

Example: [56; 60]

Data Types: double

angles — Angular points encompassing half-power region

2-by-2 matrix in degrees

Angular points encompassing the half-power region of the main beam in the azimuth or elevation plane, returned as a 2-by-2 matrix in degrees. The rows of this matrix correspond to planes 1 and 2 respectively.

Example: [60 116; 60 120]

Data Types: double

plane — Planes used for beamwidth calculation

2-by-3 table

Planes used for beamwidth calculation, returned as 2-by-3 table. These planes are defined by the azimuth or elevation slices.

Beamwidth is calculated along the horizontal and vertical cross-sections of an ideal radiation pattern of the antenna.

• For patch antennas, the beamwidth is calculated along:

  • The elevation plane at an azimuth angle of 0 degrees.

  • The elevation plane at an azimuth angle of 90 degrees.

• For dipole, waveguide, and horn antennas, the beamwidth is calculated along:

  • The elevation plane at an azimuth angle of 0 degrees.

  • The azimuth plane at an elevation angle of 0 degrees.

Data Types: table

Version History

Introduced in R2025a

R2026b: Visualize beamwidth

You can now visualize beamwidth in 3-D, providing clear geometric context to interpret results, compare designs, and validate analysis before full-wave simulation. To plot the beamwidth, run the beamwidth function without output arguments.