A new approach to determination of the input impedance of a dipole antenna

In terms of the example of a tubular dipole, a new diffraction approach is developed for determining its input impedance. This approach makes it possible to avoid conventional a priori specification of the exciting electric field in the dipole’s gap. Two problems of diffraction of an E-polarized wave by the corresponding structures formed from metal tubes are solved. It is also shown that, when the widespread method involving specification of the form of the electric field in the dipole’s gap is applied, the quasi-electrostatic character of the field and the field singularities on the dipole’s edges should be taken into account. Then, the input impedance of the dipole can be calculated with a small error.