Contribution to the Theory of Planar Wire Loop Antennas Used for Reception

Using “electromagnetic field” to designate an electric field and a magnetic field which satisfy Maxwell's equations, we define a decomposition of an arbitrary incident time-harmonic electromagnetic field into four elementary time-harmonic electromagnetic fields F
_A
, F
_B
, F
_C
, and F
_D
. A formula, which gives the response of an arbitrary planar wire loop antenna used for reception, is based on this decomposition. This formula is applicable to any incident field configuration, and valid at any frequency at which the thin wire approximation applies. It separates the response of the antenna into three parts, one of which may be viewed as the intended response of the antenna. Our analysis teaches that F
_C
and F
_D
have no effect on the antenna and how F
_A
and F
_B
excite the antenna. Thus, it allows us to better understand the characteristics and limitations of a planar wire loop antenna used as a measuring antenna or as a direction finder.