Antenna Magus

Release notes: Version 3.4
Release date: 11 January 2012

2 new antennas added to the database

• Pattern-fed Cassegrain reflector antenna.
• Shrouded horn-fed reflector antenna.

Comprehensive rework for all parabolic Reflector antenna designs.

Additional design groups added catering for pattern-fed antennas.

These include control of dish diameter, F/D ratio, edge-tapers, illumination efficiency, sidelobe levels, feed beamwidth and feed efficiency. Affected antennas are:

• Parabolic pattern-fed reflector antenna.
• Offset pattern-fed reflector antenna.
• Gregorian pattern-fed reflector antenna.
• Shrouded pattern-fed reflector antenna.

Improvements in the design options and performance of horn-fed reflector antennas.

These include dish diameter, F/D ratio and feed beamwidth. Affected antennas are:

• Parabolic horn-fed reflector antenna.
• Offset horn-fed reflector antenna.
• Gregorian horn-fed reflector antenna.
• Cassegrain horn-fed reflector antenna.

2 new tools are available.

• Parabolic reflector aperture distribution tool.
• Parabolic reflector radiation pattern approximation tool.

Other feature extensions and improvements.

• The information for various antennas and transitions has been improved.
• Additional information and options have been added for the feed methods and polarisation of the 4-arm Archimedes spiral antenna.
• The display has been improved for the Quick Estimate results of some antennas by activating a fitting scheme on S-Parameter data.
• The data fitting and decimation schemes have been improved for all plots resulting in smoother and more realistic rendered data. This has specific effect on Smith-chart, polar and VSWR data.
• The Estimated performance of the pyramidal waveguide-fed horn antenna has been improved.
• The Estimated performance of the log-periodic trapezoidal 2-arm antenna has been improved.
• When running the estimated performance of the Conical log-spiral antenna, for certain cases radiation patterns may have been estimated at incorrect frequencies. This has been corrected.
• When designing the conical pin-fed, conical waveguide-fed or pyramidal pin-fed horn antennas for frequency, it was not possible to estimate the as-designed performance of the antenna. This limitation has been relaxed.
• The feedback messages have been improved for a number of antennas when specific objective cases fail.
• For certain sets of variable values, the 3D preview of the Stepped binomial waveguide transition may not have displayed correctly. This has been fixed.
• The limits for the design of the binomial stepped waveguide transition have been expanded to allow for the consideration of additional typical standard waveguide dimensions.
• For certain objective combinations when designing the rectangular dualband bent slot-loaded patch antenna, an exception may have occurred. This has been fixed.
• Incorrect checks in the topology validation algorithms of the wire normal-mode helix antenna may have incorrectly prevented the export of models after adjusting variable values. This has been corrected.
• When exporting *.pptx reports to Microsoft PowerPoint, unnecessary white space around specific images embedded in the presentation has been removed.
• When using equation-based tools in the Toolbox, the shortnames of the input and output quantities are added the text output of the tool.
• The option to export 3D pattern data from Estimated performance results and synthesised Array patterns to the IEEE1979 data format has been included. This is available in the type selection of the pattern export dialogue.
• When scrolling through the tag dictionary, the dictionary window may have been re-sized unexpectedly during the scroll operation. This has been corrected.
• Additional warnings and messages have been added to a number of the Array layout tools.
• When designing a cylindrical array layout for a small number of radial elements, the layout may have been calculated incorrectly. This has been improved.
• For certain workflows, the Export button on the ribbon may not have been correctly activated when selecting a TICRA CHAMP export model.
• When opening AWR Design Environment models exported from Antenna Magus on a machine running Windows XP SP3 a system error may have occurred.
• When opening certain models exported from Antenna Magus in AWR Design Environment, the port settings may have been incorrectly applied. This has been corrected.

New and updated Antenna export Models (In addition to models for newly released antennas)

• The FEKO Export model for the waveguide-fed pyramidal horn antenna has been improved.
• A FEKO Export model is now available for the printed Yagi antenna.
• The FEKO export model for the circular pin-fed patch antenna has been improved.
• The FEKO export model for the circular edge-fed patch antenna has been improved.
• When running the optimiser on the CST Microwave Office model exported for the axial choke horn antenna, problems may have been encountered due to the way certain parameters were defined. This has been corrected, making general optimisation easily possible.
• For certain values of the dish diameter parameter in the model exported to CST Microwave Studio for the Backfire helix fed parabolic reflector antenna, the physical dish diameter may have differed slightly from the parameter value. this has been corrected.
• The CST Microwave Studio export model for the Folded dipole antenna has been updated.
• The FEKO export model for the Folded dipole antenna has been updated.

Additional models available for export to AWR Design Environment (BETA availability only).

• Self-complimentary 4-arm Archimedes spiral antenna.
• CPW-fed bow-tie slot antenna.
• Sierpinski bow-tie antenna.
• Planar trapezoidal monopole antenna.
• CPW-fed planar trapezoidal monopole antenna.
• CPW-fed planar trapezoidal monopole with frequency notch.
• Microstrip-fed slot antenna.
• Microstrip-fed planar elliptical monopole antenna.
• Dualband pin-fed circular-polarised slotted cross patch antenna.
• Aperture coupled rectangular patch antenna.
• Triangular edge-fed patch antenna.
• Stacked pin-fed rectangular patch antenna.

Release notes: Version 3.3
Release date: 12 October 2011

6 new antennas added to the database

• Compound box horn antenna
• Backfire-helix-fed parabolic reflector antenna
• Planar 2-arm trapezoidal log periodic antenna
• Cavity-backed slot antenna array
• Printed folded dipole antenna
• Wire dipole designed for inclusion in an array

New Array Tool distribution class

• A Concentric Circular Array class has been added (based on Taylor circular aperture distribution).

3 new tools is available

• A Radar range equation tool has been added.
• A tool to convert between gain and beamwidth based on typical practical relations.
• A tool to compute the expected gain from an aperture with a given area and aperture efficiency.

New export option for AWR Design Environment

• An additional option is now available that will allow designed antennas to be exported for use in AWR Design Studio. (Note that the availability of this option requires a special licence type.)

Other feature extensions and improvements

• The pyramidal pin-fed and pyramidal waveguide-fed horns have been extended to allow for design of the E-plane and H-plane beamwidths.
• The design algorithm for the Printed Sinuous antenna has been extended to provide for polarisation options.
• The design ranges for the Stepped Binomial Waveguide Transition have been expanded to cater for WG standard waveguide sizes.
• The Circular pin-fed patch performance estimation approach has been reworked to improve the speed. The logic used to prevent estimation of certain cases has been removed after this rework.
• The limits of the normal mode helix on a dielectric core have been relaxed to allow more arbitrary wire diameter choice before exporting models.
• The tweak ranges on the inset of the feed lines for the rectangular and circular EM-coupled patches have been increased.
• For certain designs of the triangular edge-fed patch antenna, the impedance performance predicted by the estimation may have been excessively inaccurate. This has been improved.
• In certain circumstances it was possible to tweak the parameters of the triangular edge-fed patch so that the geometry was not sensible. Checks have been added to prevent this.
• For some cases, when setting up a Concentric circular array Distribution Matrix by specifying the physical parameters directly, an exception could be generated. This has been resolved.
• An upper limit for the tweak range of the eccentricity of the sub reflector of the Gregorian Dual-Reflector type Antennas has been added to prevent non-sensible definitions.
• If the feed-inset of the Rectangular Inset Fed Patch was set to zero, various problems were encountered. These have been resolved.
• The frequency range of the graph showing impedance performance of the triangular edge-fed patch has been expanded.
• Additional Gain/pattern cuts have been added for the estimated performance of the microstrip fed elliptical monopole.
• A number of sketches of reflector antennas had missing or confusing parameter definitions. These have been corrected.
• Information messages have been improved for various antennas and transitions to aid design choices.
• When switching directly to Export mode without designing, the default values for some antennas were not geometrically sensible. This has been corrected.
• When designing the circular pin-fed patch, some isolated valid objective combinations did not produce designed parameters. This has been corrected so that the designs operate as expected.
• The sizes of the shape definition sketches in the waveguide library has been increased.
• The graph titles of certain reflection-coefficient graphs were not displaying the Gamma symbol correctly.
• When displaying the allowable ranges of input boxes, near-zero and infinite ranges were poorly formatted. This has been improved.
• In some situations, the units used in the ranges shown in input fields were poorly selected. This selection mechanism has been improved.
• When editing a Custom Template, the order of sections in the information document and images in the template was not correctly managed in the backup structure. This could have led to loss of information in certain circumstances, but has been corrected. Where possible, any lost information will be restored when reloading the template.
• Under certain conditions, the names of substrates in the recently used list may not have been displayed. This has been corrected.

New and updated Antenna export Models (In addition to models for newly released antennas)

• The MWS export model for the pattern-fed Gregorian reflector antenna is now available.
• An additional FEKO secondary export model for the circular pin-fed patch is now available.
• Some validation uncertainties with the MWS export model for the microstrip shorted-shunt-stub matching transition have been resolved. This model in now completely validated.
• The MWS and FEKO export models for the dualband slot-loaded pin-fed rectangular patch have been improved.
• The MWS export model for the waveguide-fed pyramidal horn has been improved (robustness to parametric changes as well as result accuracy are affected).
• The MWS export model for the travelling-wave series-fed patch array has been improved.
• The FEKO export model for the Triangular edge-fed patch has been improved.
• The secondary FEKO export model for the dual-pin-fed dualband slot-loaded patch has been improved.
• The FEKO export models for the pattern-fed and the horn-fed parabolic reflector antennas have been improved.
• The FEKO export model for the circular edge-fed patch has been improved.

Release notes: Version 3.2
Release date: 30 August 2011

5 new antennas added to the database

• Traveling-wave series-fed Microstrip patch array
• Ultra-wideband Circular disc monopole antenna
• Triangular edge-fed patch antenna
• Pyramidal horn-fed Gregorian reflector antenna
• Radiation-pattern-fed Gregorian reflector antenna

New transition added to the database

• Microstrip-to-CPW transition

New tool

• The Friis equation calculator.

Other feature extensions and improvements

• 3D patterns may now be exported to *.uan format.
• The 3D pattern export has been extended to allow export to the updated *.ffe file format used from FEKO version 6.1. The older *.ffe format is still available aswell.
• A short article discussing on the effects of surface waves in planar antennas has been added.
• The storage and interaction with Custom Templates, as well as the loading of backup data has been improved to reduce the memory footprint of Antenna Magus in certain situations.
• The impedance characteristics for the Estimated Performance of specific Designs and Tweaks cases of the dual-band bent-slot-loaded patch antenna may not have been correctly plotted. This has been addressed.
• When exporting simulation models for the Sierpinski Bowtie antenna, the export process could take very long, or fail with no clear reason. This has been resolved.
• The tweak ranges have been adjusted for a number of antenna designs (most notably the Rectangular and Circular EM-coupled patch antennas and the inset-fed patch antennas) to facilitate more effective Tweaking and investigation.
• The impedance calculated during the estimated performance of the Normal mode helix on a dielectric sheet may have been excessively inaccurate for certain designs. This has been improved.
• Radiation pattern plots are now available in the estimated performance of the elliptical planar monopole antenna.

New and updated Antenna export Models (In addition to models for newly released antennas)

• Additional FEKO export models have been added for the Wire BiQuad antenna.
• The CST MICROWAVE STUDIO export model for the coax-to-waveguide transition has been improved.
• An additional secondary FEKO export model is available for the coax-fed slot antenna.
• An error that could have caused the application incorrect port loadings in the CST MICROWAVE STUDIO export model for the microstrip stub matching transition has been corrected.
• The FEKO export models for the rectangular dual-pin-fed patch antenna have been improved.
• The CST MICROWAVE STUDIO export models for the Rectangular to circular waveguide transition has been improved.

Release notes: Version 3.1
Release date: 4 July 2011

6 new antennas added to the database

• Shaped-cap monocone antenna
• Circularly polarised pin-fed pyramidal septum-horn antenna
• Dipole-fed gridded corner reflector
• Planar Yagi antenna with integrated balun
• Resonant series-fed rectangular patch array
• Dual-band wire LPDA

2 new transitions added to the database

• Open-stub matching transition
• Shorted-stub matching transition

Additional, general features and improvements

• When in export mode, it was possible that on smaller screens where there were many export models available it was not possible to scroll down to the last models in the list. This has now been corrected.
• A small number of specific charts on specific antennas may not have been displayed in the Estimated performance results in certain cases. This has been corrected.
• Values reported in error messages when designing the wire dipole antenna may have been reported in an incorrect unit.
• A number of messages on specific antennas have been improved to provide more detail.
• The mechanism used when exporting pattern-fed models to CST Microwave Studio has been improved to cater for added options in CST Microwave Studio version 2011.
• Some improvements in accuracy and speed have been made in internal performance estimation models (these are only isolated improvements - more widespread improvements to follow in future versions).

Licencing and platform support

• When using a Silver floating licence, the floating licence manager now allows the management of the nominated named-users that have access to the Antenna Magus floating licence seats

New and updated Antenna export Models (In addition to models for newly released antennas)

• The setup for the farfield calculation in the FEKO export model for the wire Yagi antenna has been improved.
• Post-processing steps that could have caused errors in certain cases when running the CST export model for the dual-edge-fed rectangular patch have been revised.
• The CST export model for the planar log spiral has been updated to work with new CST Microwave Studio versions.
• A new CST export model for the Wire LPDA is available.
• The FEKO export model for the Double-T dualband monopole has been improved and an additional model has been added for the antenna.
• An additional FEKO export model has been added for the Wire Biquad antenna.
• The CST Export model for the Blade antenna has been updated to avoid isolated modelling problems.
• All export models for the Planar 4-arm Sinuous antenna have been adjusted to allow for the use of different excitation modes.

Release notes: Version 3.0
Release date: 20 April 2011

5 new antennas added to the database

• Cross-T Dielectric resonator antenna (DRA)
• Aperture-coupled rectangular patch antenna
• Dualband bent-slot-loaded rectangular patch antenna
• Planar 2-arm log-periodic antenna
• Turnstile antenna

7 new transitions added to the database

• Stepped microstrip impedance transformer
• Continuously-tapered microstrip impedance transformer
• Stepped waveguide transition
• Rectangular to circular waveguide transition
• Coax to rectangular waveguide transition
• Wideband coax to rectangular waveguide transition
• Coax to parallel-wire transmission line transition

New "Add your own antenna" feature

• Custom information may be added to Antenna Magus using Custom Templates. These Templates may include:
A Thumbnail image
Keywords representing the Template
Information (formatted text, images and hyperlinks) within a structured Information document
Additional reference files relevant to the Template
Design guidelines (formatted text, images and hyperlinks)
Design sketches/images
Descriptive parameters (including unit types)
3D EM models built in CST Microwave Studio or FEKO with model-specific mappings to the defined Template parameters
Performance charts representing the performance of specific designs of the Template structure

• Custom keywords may be defined and added to Templates (in addition to the keywords already defined in the Antenna Magus Keyword dictionary)
• Custom Templates may be exported and imported to allow collaboration using Antenna Magus
• Custom Templates may be protected to prevent unauthorised usage or editing
• Parameter names can be automatically imported from existing Microwave Studio or FEKO models when importing into a Custom Template setup
• FEKO and Microwave Studio models containing a specific parameter setup may be generated from the Custom Template editing mode
• 3D EM models attached to a Template may be marked as Draft or Complete to manage the availability of interim models in the Export mode
• Already defined Custom Templates may be used in exactly the same way as antennas and transitions that are shipped with Antenna Magus and leverage all of the existing Antenna Magus features (with the exception of document export to pdf or Powerpoint files)
• In Design mode, frequency-based scaling of parameter values and chart frequency axes is possible (direct wavelength based length parameter scaling assuming free-space) when using a Custom Template

Tools and libraries

• A Chart Tracing tool has been added to allow the digitisation of graph images
• Digitised data may be saved to file or to the clipboard for ease of use when working with Custom Templates
• An extensible, search-able waveguide library has been added
• Interaction with the Substrates library has been improved

Licencing and platform support

• Antenna Magus now supports usage on the Windows 7 OS with service pack 1 installed
• A floating (LAN/Network) licence option is now available
• A floating licence manager application is available to facilitate management of a floating licence server when using a LAN licence scheme

Additional, general features and improvements

• Full 3D pattern displays have been added to the Performance Estimation of Antennas. These can be exported to various 3D pattern file formats for use outside of Antenna Magus
• When exporting 3D patterns to a *.tsv file, the total radiated power in the pattern is included in the file header. This makes it possible to use these patterns in other tools and systems.
• The Array synthesis tool has been modified to aid quick selection of an array layout
• Specific information to aid the setup of an array layout has been added to the Array synthesis tool
• The import and export of Distribution Matrix files (describing array layouts) now includes frequency and unit information
• It is possible to export a Distribution Matrix from the Array synthesis tool using electrical (wavelength) or physical length units
• When importing a Distribution Matrix into the Array synthesis tool from a *.tsv file in the correct format, electrical (wavelength) or physical length units and frequency information are detected and used (if the format is not correct, Antenna Magus reverts to electrical units and a default frequency)
• The general layout of the user interface has been improved, particularly in the Array synthesis tool, Information Browser and in the Export mode
• The descriptions of entry fields in the palette can be shown or hidden using a show-info toggle button on each pallet group. Long names and descriptions are no longer terminated, but always shown in full
• It is now possible to view manage and change licencing information in the Settings dialogue
• The logging of errors and problems to the Antenna Magus log.txt file has been improved to aid effective user support
• The installation application has been updated to give improved feedback regarding reasons for errors
• The Information Browser Home page layout has been improved to facilitate esier access to information documents and to support Custom Template Information documents
• The Information Browser now supports Additional reference files relevant to a specific document that may be saved to disk (these files may be attached to a Template when working with Custom templates)

General antenna improvements and changes

• For the majority of antennas in the Antenna Magus database, it is now possible (in addition to more specific design options) to generate a typical design for a specified frequency or frequency band
• Indicators showing the typical electrical size and radiation pattern/impedance response of the specific antenna topology have been added to the quick-summary information of antennas and transitions
• Various performance estimation algorithms have been improved and sped up

New and updated Antenna export Models (In addition to models for newly released antennas)

• The FEKO export model for the planar Sierpinski, Elliptical planar monopole and Elliptical patch antenna now leverage adaptive sampling and are more efficiently modelled
• The meshing for the FEKO export models of the Solid bicone antenna and Pin-fed pyramidal horn have been improved
• The FEKO export models for the Pin-fed rectangular and circular patch antennas as well as the Dual-pin-fed rectangular patch antenna and Edge-fed rectangular and circular patch antennas have been improved
• The 2X2 rectangular patch array FEKO export model is improved
• The Inset-edge-fed rectangular patch antenna FEKO export models will now manage the case where the inset length is zero
• Additional FEKO export models for the dielectrically loaded helix, the biquad antenna is now available
• The CST Microwave Studio export model for the Microstrip-fed Vivaldi antenna has been improved
• The CST Microwave Studio export model for the Conical log spiral antenna has been improved
• The CST Microwave Studio export models for the Sierpinski bowtie antenna have been improved

Release notes: Version 2.4.1
Release date: 31 March 2011

Licencing and platform support

• Antenna Magus now supports usage on the Windows 7 OS with service pack 1 installed

Release notes: Version 2.4.0
Release date: 15 December 2010

8 new antennas added to the database

• Planar Blade antenna.
• Seirpinski bowtie antenna (Seirpinski gasket fractal).
• Normal-mode helix antenna with solid dielectric support.
• Normal-mode helix antenna printed on dielectric support sheet.
• Axial-mode helix antenna with solid dielectric support.
• Axial-mode helix antenna printed on dielectric sheet support.
• Open-ended quadrifilar helix antenna printed on dielectric sheet support.
• Self-phased quadrifilar helix antenna with solid dielectric core.

Licence changes

• A floating (network) licence option has been made available (Note that this is a separately purchased licence option. Please contact your Antenna Magus distributor for more information.)
• A floating licence manager tool is now available that can be used to manage the floating licence server on a floating licence network.
• The licence options for Antenna Magus may be managed in the Settings dialog.
• The machine information and active licence information is shown in the Settings dialog in Antenna Magus.
• The error codes and messages for licence errors and warnings have been improved.
• When manually triggering a licence update from the Antenna Magus licence server on the Settings dialog, feedback regarding success or failure of the operation is now explicitly given.
• If licence error occurs when starting up Antenna Magus, or while Antenna Magus is running, it is now possible to input alternative licencing information or to initiate a licence update without having to close and/or reinstall Antenna Magus.

New and updated Antenna export Models
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• An additional FEKO export model for the Circular EM-coupled patch is now available.
• An additional FEKO export model for the Circularly polarised circular patch with a sectoral slot is now available.
• An additional Microwave Studio export model has been included for the Conical log spiral antenna.
• The Microwave Studio export model for the Dual band normal mode helix antenna did not correctly adjust the simulation frequency band according to the chosen design frequencies. THis has been corrected.
• The Microwave Studio export model for the Conical log spiral antenna has been improved.
• The Microwave Studio export model for the rectangular edge-fed patch no longer used Distributed Computing by default.
• The Microwave Studio export models for the Monopole Yagi antenna have been improved.
• The Microwave Studio export models for the Circular EM-coupled patch has been improved when using the F-solver.
• The Microwave Studio export model for the Trapezoidal monopole antenna did not correctly adjust the simulation frequency band according to the chosen design frequencies. THis has been corrected.
• The default mesh has been removed from the FEKO Export model for the Coax-fed slot antenna.
• The Open-circuit Quadrifilar Helix FEKO export model has been improved, reducing typical runtime.
• When adjusting the 'handedness' parameter (affecting the intended polarisation) in the FEKO models exported for the 4-arm Archimedes spiral antenna, the model parametrisation may not have been correct. This has been resolved.
• Model notes describing the construction of the Printed LPDA models for export to FEKO have been improved.
• Support for the F-Solver has been included in the Microwave Studio export model for the Trapezoidal monopole antenna has been improved.
• When using the Microwave Studio export models of parabolic reflector antennas, the parabolic reflector may have been truncated for specific sets of parameters. A correction to the macro used to generate the parabolas has corrected these.problems
• If the 'number_of_turns' parameter in the Microwave Studio export model for the Cavity-backed Log spiral was changed in Microwave Studio, reevaluation of the model may have failed. The parametrisation has been fixed.

Antenna improvements and changes

• A low-fidelity design for the Log-periodic dipole (fewer elements and less stringent performance criteria than the standard design) has been added for use in applications with relaxed system requirements.
• Additional warnings have been added when designing patches on electrically thick substrates where impedance performance may be poor (this is particularly relevant for rectangular edge-fed patch antennas that include quarter-wave matching sections).
• For some electrically large examples, the 3D preview of the shroud reflector antenna may have failed to render in Antenna Magus. THis has been fixed.
• When running the internal performance estimation for the Zigzag LPDA, Antenna Magus may have given an error when displaying the results. This has been fixed.
• The frequency range for display of internal performance estimation results of the Discone antenna has been extended.
• The information documents of various antennas have been updated to improve consistency and information quality.
• A number of design error messages and warnings have been improved to provide more useful design feedback.

Feature extensions and improvements

• When exporting certain estimated performance results to tab-separated text format (*.tsv) the file format may not have been compatible with some standard text editors. All files are now always exported in simple UTF-8.
• When exporting large numbers of PowerPoint reports, excessive memory usage may have resulted. This has been improved.
• When exporting PowerPoint reports, the visibility of traces was not always correctly handled.
• For certain cases, some of the model parameter definitions may have been hidden when in the Model export view, and no scroll bar was available to scroll and see these definitions. The parameter definitions can now always bee reached.

Release notes: Version 2.3.0
Release date: 7 October 2010

10 new antennas added to the database

• Potter horn (dual-mode horn antenna)
• Planar sleeve-monopole antenna
• Scalar conical corrugated horn antenna
• Ultra-wideband corrugated-plate monopole antenna (accordian monopole)
• Open-sleeve-dipole antenna
• Circularly polarised rectangular biquad antenna
• Focus-fed parabolic reflector with an ideal pattern-feed
• Shrouded parabolic reflector with an ideal pattern-feed
• Offset-fed parabolic reflector with an ideal pattern-feed
• Offset-fed parabolic reflector with a pyramidal horn feed

New and updated Antenna export Models
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Batwing antenna: The FEKO export model has been improved.
• Horn-fed parabolic reflector antenna: A FEKO export model was added that leverages the new FEKO Suite 6 features.
• Normal mode Wire Helix antenna: The FEKO export models has been improved.
• Dualband normal mode Wire Helix antenna: The FEKO export models has been improved.
• Wire Helix antenna: The FEKO export models has been improved.
• Conical wire Helix antenna: The FEKO export models has been improved.
• Shorted QHA: The FEKO export model has been improved.
• Wire monopole antenna: The FEKO export model has been improved.
• Sleeve monopole antenna: An additional secondary FEKO export model has been added.
• Wire monopole: The Microwave Studio export models have been improved, validated and are now fully available.
• Pyramidal pin-fed horn: The Microwave Studio export model has been improved and is fully available.
• Conical pin-fed horn: The Microwave Studio export model has been improved.
• Planar rounded bowtie: The Microwave Studio export model has been validated and is now available.
• Planar elliptical monpole antenna: The Microwave Studio export model has been improved, and a secondary export model is now available.
• Planar strip dipole: The Microwave Studio export model has been improved.
• Rectangular EM coupled patch: The Microwave Studio export model has been validated and is now available.
• Sleeve monopole antenna: An additional secondary Microwave Studio export model has been added.

Antenna improvements and changes

• The internal analysis speed for various antennas has been improved.
• The design algorithms for some antennas has been accelerated.
• The selection options for certain enumerated objectives have been improved.
• For certain export model (where relevant) multiple files are generated by Antenna Magus. These are saved in a Zip archive when exporting the model in question.
• The flare-angle is now shown as a derived parameter for antennas in the bicone group. Additional derived parameters (pitch angle, turn spacing and wire length) are shown for antennas in the helix family (where applicable).

Feature extensions and improvements

• When plotting VSWR and S11 in an impedance chart group, the traces were not always smooth. This has been improved.
• For certain cases, the normalisation factor used for the display of synthesysed patterns for arrays was not correct. This resulted in incorrect values of gain being displayed. This has been improved. (Please note that there are still isolated cases where incorrect values are displayed. These will be resolved in a future version.)
• The Antenna Magus installation has been certified and signed. This will help avoid unnecessary operating system warnings during installation.

Release notes: Version 2.2.0
Release date: 21 July 2010

6 new antennas added to the database

• Self-complimentary 4-arm Archimedes spiral
• Scrimp horn
• Sleeve monopole antenna
• Yagi-Uda Monopole Array fed against ground plane with Folded-Feed
• Wire biconical antenna
• End loaded dipole

Updated export models available to CST MICROWAVE STUDIO
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Wire Helix antenna
• Dual-band planar PIFA with a U-slot antenna
• Strip dipole antenna
• Rounded bowtie antenna
• Cassegrain reflector antenna
• Planar elliptical monopole antenna

Antenna and array synthesis tool improvements and changes

• When synthesizing a cylindrical array, the number of elements in the array may have been incorrectly calculated, resulting in an incorrect layout and synthesized pattern display.
• For some cases, the performance estimation algorithm for the elliptical base strip monopole may have given unexpected error - these errors have been addressed.
• For specific combinations of array layouts and element patterns, a crash may have occurred while rendering the synthesized pattern. This has been corrected.
• With certain display cards and settings, rendering during animation of the thumbnail images of antennas may have been poor. This has been improved.
• When designing the rectangular Dielectric Resonator antenna or Quadrifilar antennas for certain objective sets, unexpected errors may have been encountered. These errors have been addressed.
• Additional derived parameters have been added to antennas in the Normal mode helix and biconical antenna classes.
• Some tags have been added and updated to improve the accuracy and flexibility of the find mode.
• Warning and error messages have been improved.
• Small improvements and additions to information in the Information documents of specific antennas.

Feature extensions and improvements

• On a system with multiple users, a windows installer error may have been encountered when running Antenna Magus by double-clicking on a desktop or start menu shortcut while logged in as a user that did not perform the initial Antenna Magus installation. This problem has been corrected in the installer.
• When viewing a chart, the format tab on the ribbon may have become inaccessible. This has now been corrected.
• An exception may have occurred when all design and tweaks of an antenna were deleted leaving only one design in the designs and tweaks list. This has been fixed.
• Under certain circumstances when exporting a *.pdf file of an article or Antenna Information document, the export could have failed without giving an error or warning.
• The Antenna Magus license server has been improved and updated to ensure better responsiveness when using automatic license updating.
• Memory usage and general performance has been improved.

Release notes: Version 2.1.0
Release date: 1 June 2010

6 new antennas added to the database

• Microstrip-fed Vivaldi slot antenna
• Rectangular Capacitive-disc-fed Patch antenna
• Waveguide-fed Pyramidal Corrugated Horn antenna
• Top-loaded monopole antenna
• Pin-fed Circular Waveguide antenna (Cantenna)
• Yagi-Uda Dipole Array with Folded Dipole driven-element

New export models available to CST MICROWAVE STUDIO
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Wire monopole antenna
• Dual pin-fed circularly polarised patch antenna

Antenna design and model improvements

• A new design objective has been added for the Log-periodic dipole array to allow designs for less stringent impedance performance if required.
• The Log-periodic dipole array may now be designed for a frequency only if this is required (default values used for all other performance objectives).
• The "Base element spacing" parameter has been removed from the Log-periodic dipole array parameter list, as it does not influence the model directly (This value is still available in exported models).
• The maximum value for substrate relative permittivity when designing the Rectangular dual-edge-fed patch was reduced to 5.5.
• When directly exporting a model for the Orthogonal Log-periodic dipole array antenna, the default values were not sensible and may have resulted in an error when opening the model. This has been fixed.
• In certain cases, the 3D preview of the open-ended Quadrifilar helix antenna may have shown the helical rotation in the wrong direction. This has been corrected.
• For certain high-frequency designs, the internal analysis of the quad-ridged dual-polarised pyramidal horn antenna may have resulted in an error. This has been corrected.

Added product features and improvements

• All Versions (Evaluation, Professional and Classroom) of Antenna Magus may now be installed through Remote Desktop.
• Array Synthesis tool performance improvements
• Angular resolution for array patterns no longer has to be manually specified. All exported 3D patterns (*.tsv, *.ffe or *.ffs) are exported with a 1-degree angular resolution.
• Fixed progress bar errors which occurred when performing multiple estimations.
• When importing an Array Distribution Matrix into the Evaluation version, some elements were not imported. This has been fixed.
• Information document Pdf export style handling has been improved.

Modifications to the licencing mechanism for the Antenna Magus (Classroom) version

• Licences for the Classroom version of Antenna Magus are no longer node-locked.
• A new 'CD key' type protection has been introduced to better support the needs of large student computer-centres and training short-courses.
• Operation through Remote Desktop is possible using the Classroom version.

Release notes: Version 2.0
Release date: 14 April 2010

6 new antennas added to the database

• Traveling-wave slotted guide array
• Axial corrugated horn antenna
• Orthogonal LPDA antenna
• Microstrip Franklin array
• Printed Dual-Band Double-T Monopole
• Notched trapezoidal monopole

New array synthesis tool

• Linear, planar, circular and cylindrical array layouts can be designed (46 objective combinations).
• Import of Distribution Matrix layouts defined outside of Antenna Magus in general tab-separated text format.
• Various element pattern options available (3 ideal patterns; 8 'real' patterns).
• Synthesised 3D radiation pattern data can be exported from the Array synthesis tool to FEKO (*.ffe), CST MICROWAVE STUDIO (*.ffs) or tab-separated-value formats.
• Array distribution matrices can be exported to tab-separated-value files.

Data and report exporting

• Generation of a comprehensive antenna design and analysis report in MS PowerPoint format.
• Exporting of graph data to tab-separated-value files.
• Generate pdf file of Antenna information documents and articles.

Overhaul of substrate library and substrate usage mechanism

• Properties of the substrate to be used for an antenna design may be directly specified in the design pallet (without first specifying the required substrate in the substrate library).
• A 'Recently used substrates' list has been added that can be accessed from the design palette.
• A short-cut to the Substrate library is available in the design palette where any substrate is used.
• Substrates added in the design pallet can be added to the substrate library shortlist directly from the design palette.
• When the substrate library is launched from the design palette, a substrate can be selected and used in the design using the 'Use substrate' button.
• A display filter based on values of substrate properties has been added to aid searching for specific substrates. A tolerance is included for all values.

Information Browser extension and improvement

• A special side-by-side comparison option has been added to allow 2 antenna information documents to be viewed in a side-by-side layout. The corresponding sections of the information document are aligned to aid comparison.
• Antenna Magus Help files and articles on antenna-related topics can be accessed from the Info Browser Home page.
• The scrollbar position of each active document or comparison in the Info Browser is remembered and maintained when switching between items.
• A Quick-access home page has been added to the Info Browser.
• Title-bars added to documents that are being viewed in the Info Browser.
• The list of documents shown in the Info Browser is decoupled from the Antenna Magus collection content. Documents can be added to the Info Browser from the Home page, by clicking on the 'Info' button on an antenna thumbnail in the Find mode or using the 'Add to Info Browser' button in the Ribbon.
• The 'Info' button on antenna thumbnails in the Find mode only adds the information document to the Info Browser, but does not launch Info Browser window.

Antenna improvements and changes

• Internal analysis speed improved for the Elliptical pin fed circular polarised patch.
• Solid Bicone design for "optimal size" larger than design for "optimal performance". This design has been improved.
• For some cases, performance estimation for the Dual microstrip-edge-fed patch and Folded dipole antenna may have been incorrectly disabled.
• Some error messages for the rectangular edge-fed patch and circular EM-coupled patch designs have been corrected.
• When designing a rectangular stacked patch antenna, S11 was always plotted in a 50 Ohm system, even when the design was for 75 Ohm. The correct impedance is now used.
• The model notes in biquad antenna export models now discuss the use of symmetry.
• When exporting a Wire discone model, the upper limits on the parameter values was not correctly applied. This may have resulted in incorrect models.
• When estimating the performance of the Horn-fed Cassegrain antenna an error may have occurred for certain parameter sets. This has now been addressed.
• When designing a printed LPDA antenna, the objective ranges were not correctly applied.

Additional, general features and improvements

• When viewing 3D antenna images, 3D patterns and 3D pattern layout, interactive 3D rotation of the display using the mouse is possible (this replaces the pre-defined animations in the 3D view).
• An 'Export and Open' Model button has been added in the Export Mode, to save and launch a model in CST MICROWAVE STUDIO or FEKO directly.
• The reference impedance used to calculate VSWR or Reflection coefficient can be modified independently for each design or tweak in the indicator graph of the zoomed view or impedance vs frequency charts.
• Antenna Magus periodically creates automatic backups to avoid loss of information in the event of a system failure or power loss. When the system is restored and Antenna Magus reopened, the last state of all work will be restored.
• A information pop-up on collection items indicates when an internal analysis for that item has been completed.
• Antennas and array items in the collection may be reordered.
• If an item is removed from the collection, Antenna Magus asks for confirmation before deleting the item if the item contains computed design or estimation information.
• When closing Antenna Magus, any currently running tasks are listed, allowing the user to cancel the close, wait until all tasks are completed or force Antenna Magus to abort the tasks before closing Antenna Magus.
• Various additional models made available for CST MICROWAVE STUDIO and FEKO.
• When in find mode, pressing 'enter' adds the selected antenna to the collection and switches to design mode.
• Double-clicking on a 3D chart, 3D pattern view or 3D array layout view in tiled view switched to Single View mode. When in Single view mode, double clicking switches the view back to tiled mode.
• Sliders do not use nudge increments, but jump to the clicked position on the slider.
• The layout and navigation in the keyword list in the find mode has been improved. Up/Down arrows are supported.
• A 'Reset zoom' button has been added when zoomed to a section of a chart in Single-view, to revert to the default zoom level.
• The licensing and installation mechanism has been improved and made more robust.
• The management of antennas, designs and tweaks for long user-assigned names has been improved.
• The name of each design and tweak is shown in the header of the chart indicator tables along with the color block indicators.
• Line-style legends have been added to charts to aid in differentiation where multiple traces are shown for one design (e.g. where E-plane and H-plane pattern cuts are shown on the same chart).
• Antenna Information document and keyword consistency has been improved (specifically with a view to simplifying document comparison and tag-based searching).
• The 'Handedness' of coil or helix structures is more correctly handled in relevant antennas.
• The tab ordering has been improved in many places.
• The general performance of Antenna Magus has been improved. Of particular importance is performance at startup and when updating search results in the find mode.
• Busy indicators have been added during some tasks that typically may take a few minutes.
• When in Design mode, the Designs and Tweaks list is always visible.
• Color blocks assigned to specific designs and tweaks are not shown until a performance estimation has been completed.
• Derived quantities show complete descriptions in tooltips when hovering over them with the mouse pointer.
• When in Find mode, the search results list may be navigated using up/down arrows, page up/down or by scrolling with the mouse scroll wheel (previously scrolling was not possible when the mouse cursor was located over the antenna thumbnails list).
• The choice of Cartesian/Polar display for quantities plotted against angle is applied to all representations in the selected chart (previously each representation view had to be switched separately.
• Under certain circumstances, charts may have been out of sync with visibility and format settings. This has been improved.

Release notes: Version 1.6.0
Release date: 13 January 2010

6 new antennas added to the database

• Dielectric resonator antenna (cubic)
• 4-arm Sinuous antenna
• Waveguide-fed short backfire
• CPW-fed trapezoidal monopole
• Diagonal horn antenna
• Classical monocone antenna

Improvements to the analysis algorithms for various antennas
(faster analysis while maintaining acceptable accuracy within Antenna Magus design ranges)

• Circular EM-Coupled Patch
• Circular stacked pin-fed Patch
• Dualband PIFA with L-shaped cutout
• Dualband PIFA with U-shaped cutout
• Patch Elliptical Edge-fed Circular-polarised Patch
• PIFA
• Planar Bowtie
• Planar Coax-fed Slot Antenna
• Planar CPW-fed bowtie slot
• Planar CPW-fed Trapezoid monopole
• Planar Elliptical monopole
• Planar elliptical-rectangular monopole
• Planar Rounded Bowtie
• Planar Trapezoid monopole
• Pyramidal Pin-fed Horn
• Rectangular dual-band slot-loaded Patch
• Rectangular Dual-pin-fed Circular-Polarised Patch
• Rectangular EM-Coupled Patch
• Rectangular Stacked Pin-Fed Patch
• Square Truncated Edge-fed Circular-polarised patch
• Square Truncated Pin-fed Circular-polarised Patch

New export models available to FEKO
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Linearly tapered slot (Secondary model)
• Stacked microstrip patch array (Secondary model)
• Notched patch (Secondary models)

Release notes: Version 1.5.0
Release date: 7 December 2009

6 new antennas added to the database

• Probe-fed cheese antenna
• Stacked patch array
• Conical helix antenna
• Wire Biquad antenna
• Horn-fed Cassegrain reflector antenna
• Circular edge-fed patch antenna with sectoral slot

Improvements to the analysis algorithms for various antennas
(faster analysis while maintaining acceptable accuracy within Antenna Magus design ranges)

• 2x2 rectangular patch array
• 2x2 sequentially rotated patch array
• Circular edge-fed patch
• Circular inset-fed patch
• Circular pin-fed patch
• Circular pin-fed patch circular polarized (notched)
• Corner fed dipole reflector
• Elliptical ring pin-fed patch
• Linear tapered slot antenna
• L-probe SPA
• Printed LPDA
• Rectangular dual-edge-fed patch
• Rectangular edge-fed patch
• Rectangular inset-fed patch
• Rectangular pin-fed patch
• SPA antenna
• Square ring patch
• Triangular pin-fed patch
• Vivaldi exponentially tapered slot antenna
• Wire Yagi-Uda array

New export models available to CST MWS
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Horn-fed parabolic reflector antenna

New export models available to FEKO
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Notched circular patch (secondary models)
• slot-loaded cross patch (secondary model)

Added features and improvements

• Various corrections and improvements to antennas.
• Possible crashes when designing Conical Log spiral or Rectangular edge-fed patch antennas have been resolved.
• Installation and licensing has been remarkably improved and reworked.

Release notes: Version 1.4.0
Release date: 21 October 2009

6 new antennas added to the database

• Planar microstrip-fed slot antenna.
• Printed inverted-F Antenna.
• Linearly tapered slot antenna.
• Rectangular cavity-backed spiral.
• T bar cavity-backed slot antenna.
• Quarter-wave balun fed dipole antenna.

New export models available to CST MWS
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Printed log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) now fully validated.
• Sequentially rotated 2 by 2 array of pin-fed notched circular patches fully validated.
• Aperture-matched waveguide-fed pyramidal horn.
• Square truncated edge-fed circularly polarised patch.
• Models optimised for specific solvers for the coaxial-cavity horn.
• Models optimised for specific solvers for the rectangular inset-fed microstrip patch.

New export models available to FEKO
(In addition to models for new antennas)

• Circular inset-fed linearly polarised patch (secondary model).
• Dualband pin-fed circular-polarised slotted cross patch (secondary model).

Added features and improvements

• Export to CHAMP for conical corrugated horn antenna is now possible.
• Various corrections and improvements to antennas.
• When restoring a backup or saved state, Antenna Magus may have removed antennas from the collection if multiple antennas of the same type were present. This is now correctly handled.
• The wire grid array antenna can now be designed for discrete gain objectives.

Release notes: Version 1.3.0
Release date: 9 September 2009

6 new antennas added to the database

• Linear resonant waveguide slot array with longitudinal broad-wall slots.
• Coaxial-cavity horn.
• Cavity-backed log spiral.
• Cavity-backed self-complimentary Archimedes spiral
• Wire grid.
• Vivaldi.

Release notes: Version 1.2.1
Release date: 26 August 2009

New export models available to CST MWS

• Rectangular stacked pin-fed patch model is now available (validated for F and T solver).
• Circular stacked pin-fed patch model is now available (validated for F and T solver).
• Vertical ground plane model is now available (validated for F and T solver).

Added features and improvements

• Various export models for both FEKO and CST MICROWAVE STUDIO have been improved and updated.
• Suspect items in the FEKO infinite ground plane export model of the rectangular edge-fed patch antenna have been removed.
• The design of the L-slot PIFA antenna has been repaired.
• The calculation of 3dB bandwidth on Gain vs. Frequency charts has been fixed.
• Keywords were improved for some antennas.

Release notes: Version 1.2.0
Release date: 29 July 2009

5 new antennas added to the database

• Circular inset-fed patch
• 2-by-2 Sequentially rotated array of notched patches
• Dual-band normal mode helix
• Pin-fed elliptical patch
• CPW-fed bowtie slot

Added features and improvements

• The export view now indicates version-compatibility of export models, as well as the preferred solver for FEKO and MICROWAVE STUDIO models.
• A reference impedance indication is now displayed for each port in an S-parameter chart.
• General user interaction improvements were made to the info browser, graph views, tables and usability.
• The licensing was made more robust to avoid specific installation errors.
• Improvements to the design and performance estimation processes of various antennas.
• Version compatibility issues with backup files were resolved.