EMP protection of communication antenna — A study

Communication antenna's are designed to transmit and receive electromagnetic energy within specified frequency bands and become victim to high altitude nuclear burst which releases broadband EMP energy. Excessive voltage and excessive current due to EMP couple to the system through the antenna other than the direct penetration or coupling through power lines. Thus antenna' s are of major concern in the assessment of EMP vulnerability of a communication system. This paper discusses the antenna system response function for wire antenna and EMP protection mechanism.