Anal ysi s and Synthesi s of Mi l l i meter-Wave

Mi crostri p Gri d-Array Antennas

B. Zhang and Y r Zhang
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore
E-mail: bzhang0447@gmail.com; eypzhang@ntu.edu.sg
Abstract
This paper describes the analysis and synthesis of microstrip grid-array antennas at millimeter-wave frequencies. T he
basic principle of operation is revisited through careful examination of current distributions, impedance, and radiation
characteristics on a typical microstrip grid-array antenna. An extensive analysis of microstrip grid-array antennas of
diferent meshes on a variety of substrates is conducted, showing that the choice of substrate has a strong influence on
the performance of the microstrip grid-array antenna. A set of closed-form formulas is obtained for an initial synthesis
of a microstrip grid-array antenna. A paricular design example is given. A comparison of simulated and measured
performance showed good agreement, which confirmed the validity of the analysis and synthesis.
Keywords: Millimeter wave; high-gain antenna; planar array antenna; microstrip patch array antenna; microstrip grid
array antenna; antenna arrays; microstrip
1 . I ntroducti on
T
he grid-array antenna was proposed by Kraus in 1 964 as a
linearly polarized traveling-wave (nonresonant) antenna,
with the main lobe of radiation in a backward-fre direction
[ I ] . The grid-array antenna was implemented in microstrip
technology by Conti et al. in 1 98 1 as a l i nearly polarized
standing-wave (resonant) antenna, with the main beam of
radiation in the broadside direction [2] . While some success
was obtained in the design of mi crostrip grid-array antennas,
published work was either of an experimental nature [ 1 ] , or
based on approximate network models [2] . Hi ldebrand and
McNamara therefore examined the functioning of a microstrip
grid-array antenna with an integral-equation moment tech
nique in 1 993, and validated earlier intuitive reasoning used in
devi sing this type of antenna [3] . Palmer and Cloete suggested
the design of the mi crostrip grid-array antenna as microstrip
dipole elements fed by microstrip lines in 1 997 [4] .
The gri d-array antenna has received consi derable atten
tion by Nakano and his associates. Since the middle of the
1 990s, they have repored the design and analysis of various
grid-array antennas [ 5- 1 6] . For example, in 1 994 [ 5] , Nakano
et al. conducted a fl l-wave analysis of a mi crostrip grid-array
antenna with the Method of Moments, and revealed that the
main radiation beam moves toward the antenna's plane as the
frequency decreases. They proposed a single-Iayer grid-array
antenna and a double-Iayer grid-array antenna in 1 995 . Both
grid-array antennas were driven from their center terminals.
The double-Iayer grid-array antenna can simultaneously radi
ate horizontally and verti cally polarized beams [6] . In 1 997,
Nakano and Kawano miniaturized a grid-array antenna by
meandering the l ong sides of the meshes. A 62% reduced
grid-array antenna showed the same frequency bandwidth for
the gain as the reference un-miniaturized grid-array antenna
[7] . In 1 998, Kawano and Nakano proposed adding a l ayer
of C-fgured elements onto a grid-array antenna, to change a
linearly polarized wave into a circularly polarized wave [8] . In
1 999, they combined two grid-array antennas into a cross-mesh
array antenna, and in 2000, they refned the cross-mesh-array
antenna to radiate dual l inearly polarized wav
e
s [ 1 0] . They also
demonstrated that the cross-mesh-array antenna and a layer of
C-fgured elements can radiate dual ci rcularly polarized waves.
In 200 1 , Nakano et al . further studied the cross-mesh-array
antenna with four feeding terminals [ l I ] . They showed that
the cross-mesh-array antenna can radi ate l inearly or circularly
polarized waves with proper feeding schemes. More recently,
Nakano et al. have shifed their interest in modifying the shape
of the short sides of the meshes for circular polarization or
beam scanning [ 1 5, 1 6] .
Zhang and Sun revived microstrip grid-aray antennas
in the development of antenna-in-package technology [ 1 7] .
They demonstrated that a mi crostrip grid-array antenna i s the
antenna of choice for highly-integrated 60 GHz radio, because
of its advantages of high gain, broad bandwidth, simple feed,
42 I SSN 1045-9243/2011/$26 2011 I EEE IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 20 1 1
and easy construction [ 1 8-20] . Chen et al. developed a parallel
genetic algorithm to optimize the design of mi crostrip grid
array antennas [2 1 , 22] .
AIthough the mi crostrip grid-array antenna has the
advantages noted above (with more given in [23] ) , it has not
found wide applications or received enough attention. A l it
erature survey shows that there have been only about 20 papers
publ i shed over the last 45 years. The maj ority of these have
dealt with microstrip grid-array antennas on substrates of lower
perittivity at lower frequencies [ 1 - 1 6, 2 1 , 22] . However, none
of these provides detai l s on the efects of the permittivity or
thickness of the substrate on the performance of the microstrip
grid-array antenna, nor design formulas for apriori designs.
In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of
microstrip grid-array antennas on a vari ety of substrates at
mi l l i meter-wave (mm-wave) frequencies around 60 GHz. At
such high frequencies, a small variation in a mesh dimension
becomes a destructive factor for phase synchronization. Satis
factory performance of mi crostrip grid-array antennas depends
largely on synchronized surface current: the design of micro
strip grid-array antennas i s much more involved at mi l l imeter
wave frequenci es. The remainder of the paper is organized
as fol Iows. The basic principle of operation of the mi crostrip
grid-array antenna i s revi sited in Section 2. An extensive
analysis of microstrip grid-array antennas of di ferent meshes
on a variety of substrates i s conducted in Section 3. A synthe
sis of a mi crostrip grid-array antenna, and a compari son of the
simulated and measured performance, are presented i n Sec
tion 4. Final ly, we conclude the paper in Section 5.
2. Revi si ti ng the Pri nci pl e of Operati on
A novel microstrip grid-array anten na i s shown i n Fi g
ure I . The grid-array radi ator is on the top surface of a substrate
with relative permittivity c
/
loss tangent o , length L, width b,
and thickness h. It is fed at a single point by a pin of diameter p
h
.
)

A
``
` |
~ 0
Figure 1 . The confguration of a novel microstrip grid-array
antenna proposed by Nakano, who added two more short
sides to make an equal number of short sides (radiating
elements) in both the xand ] directions.
through an aperture of diameter d on the ground plane on the
bottom surface ofthe substrate. The grid-array radi ator consi sts
of rectangular meshes the long sides of which have a length l
and a width W , with short si des of length s and wi dth W . As
pointed out by Kaus, in the operation of the antenna, the proper
choice of frequency, lengths l and s, and the feed point permit
the gri d-array structure to operate as either a nonresonant or a
resonant antenna. This paper concentrates on the latter type,
wh ich requires that approximately l= A
g
and s = A
g
]2 , where
A
g
is the guided wavelength at the center frequency of
operation [8] . The radiation i s essentially from the short si des,
with the long si des acting mainly as guiding or transmission
lines. This i s because the current on each shor si de i s basically
in-phase, while each long side supports a ful l wavelength
current. With such a current di stribution, the maximum radiation
would be broadside to the array.
Assure that the novel mi crostrip grid-array antenna i s
made on a substrate wi th c
/
= 4. 5 , tan o= 0. 002 , a = 25 mm,
b = 25 mm, and h = 0. 254 mm, with mesh dimensions of
1 = 2. 84 mm, W = 0. 1 mm, s = 1 . 42 mm, and W = 0. 1 mm.
Let the feeding-pin diameter be p = 0. 1 25 mm and the aperure
diameter be d = 0. 25 mm. We simulated the performance with
the three-dimensional fnite-element ful l-wave solver tr
from Ansoft. Figure 2a shows the simulated input i mpedance of
the antenna as a function of frequency. It was seen that the
antenna exhibited a series resonance at 57 GHz, and a paral lel
resonance at 60 GHz. Figure 2b shows the simulated

of
the antenna as a function of frequency. It was evi dent that the
antenna was poorly matched at 57 GHz but weil matched at
60 GHz to a 50 source. At 52 GHz, the magnitude of

was -8 dB, indi cating an acceptable matching. It was chosen to
examine the behavior of the antenna i n the nonresonant
condition. Fi gure 2c shows the peak realized gain ofthe anten na
as a function of frequency. It could be seen that the maximum
gain of 14 dBi appeared at the parallel resonance of 60 GHz,
with a 3 dB gain bandwi dth of 5 GHz.
Figure 3a shows the current di stribution of the anten na
at the parallel resonance at 60 GHz. It was interesting to note
that the current on each short si de was indeed in-phase, while
the current on each long side changed the phase at its mi ddle
to form a full wavelength current. Consequently, it was the
current on the short si de that contributed to the far-feld radia
tion more domi nantly than that on the long side. The far-feld
radiation patters i n both the E and H planes of the anten na
at the paral lel resonance at 60 GHz are shown i n Fi gures 3b
and 3c, respectively. As expected, the main beam of radiation
was defnitely in the broadside direction. The si delobe level was
quite low. The radiation was l inearly polarized. The stronger
co-polarized component was due to the exi stence of the same
phase of the currents on all the shor si des, while the weaker
cross-polarized component was due to the presence of anti
phase current couplets on all the long sides. The phase transi
tion of the currents on the long si des accounted for the nul l s
on the cross-polarized patters. Fi gure 4a shows the current
di stribution of the antenna at the series resonance at 57 GHz.
Note that the phase of the current on each short side was no
IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine. Vol . 53, No. 6, December 201 1 43
a
'
80

. 60
L
_ 40
L
20
T
0
c
. - - 20
.

L
L
50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
|equecy GHz)
`' U

-4

- 8
T

; - 1 2
U
- 1 6

I

50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
|equecy GHz)
' 1 6

1 2
H 8
T

L
4
U
50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70
eq uecy GHz)
A

Figure 3a. The eurrent distribution at the parallel reso

nanee, 60 GHz.
270
240
21 0
U
-40
-OU
-
co
c|oss
1 80
30
1 50
Figure 3b. The E-plane patterns at the parallel resonanee,
60 GHz.
270
21 0
U
co
c|oss
30
1 20
1 50
Figure 2. (a) The input impedanee, (b) the magnitude of 1 80
Sl l q and (e) the peak realized gain as funetions of fre-
Figure 3e. The H-plane patterns at the parallel resonanee,
queney. 60 GHz.
44 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 201 1
Ion ger the same, which indicated that not all the short sides
could simultaneously work as efective radiating elements,
resulting in lower gain i n Fi gure 2c. In addition, a strong anti
phase current could be detected near the feeding point, which
was another reason for lower gain at the series resonance. The
current also tended to point away from the antenna, leading
to the far-feld radiation patters shown in Fi gures 4b and 4c.
The main beam of radiation in the H plane was slightly shifed
from the broadside direction, and the undesired cross-polar
ized radiation was greatly enhanced by the in-phase curent on
the long side. Fi gure 5a shows the current di stribution of the
anten na at the non-resonant frequency of 52 GHz. It was seen
that large portions of the grids did not provide efective radia
tion for t\e scarcity of surface currents on them. The radiation
patters ir. both the E and H planes of the antenna, as shown in
Figures 5b and 5c, were squinted at 52 GHz. The polarization
purity became degraded.
This revisit confrmed the basic principle of operation of
the microstrip grid-array antenna. The radiation i s controlled
by the grid geometry. The resonant frequency depends on the
mesh dimensions. The resonant characteristics of the whole
array's structure determine the overall frequency response.
More i mporantly, the revisit has revealed that the microstrip
grid-array performs better at the parallel resonance than at the
series resonance, which i s a usefl fnding for the circuit mod
eli ng of the antenna in the antenna-circuit co-design of a radio.
3. Analysi s
The simple array theory [ 1 ] , the transmission-line and
S-parameter method [2] , the Method of Moments [ 3, 5, 1 3] , as
weil as the Finite-Diference Time-Domain Method [ 1 0, 1 1 ]
have been employed to analyze microstrip grid-array antennas
on substrates of lower permittivity at lower frequencies. In this
section, we present an extensive analysis of microstrip grid
array antennas on a variety of substrates at mi l l imeter-wave
frequencies, around 60 GHz, using HFSS. Microstrip grid-array
antennas with four, nine, and 1 6 meshes were analyzed. The
microstrip grid-array antenna with nine meshes, shown in
Fi gure I , has 1 6 short sides (or 1 6 radiating elements). The
microstrip grid-array antennas with four and 1 6 meshes have
nine and 25 radiating elements, respectively. The substrates
were 0. 254 mm ( 0. 0508:), 0. 3 8 1 mm ( 0. 0762:), and
0. 508 mm ( 0. 1 0 1 6:) thick, respectively, and had the same
planar dimensions: a = b = 25 mm ( 5: ^ 5:). The meshes
and the ground planes were 0. 01 7-mm thick copper. Because
relative permittivities,
I
and loss tangents, o , for the maj or
ity of marketed substrates were unknown at 60 GHz, we
assumed
I
= 2.2 and tan o= 0. 0009 for Rogers 5880,

I
= 3 . 66 and tan o= 0. 004 for Rogers 4350 and fsed si l i ca,

I
= 4. 5 and tan o= 0. 002 for Rogers TMM4,
I
= 6 and
tan o= 0. 0023 for Rogers TMM6 and Ferro LTCC A6,

I
= 9. 2 and tan o= 0. 0022 for Rogers TMMI O and Kyocera
LTCC GL950, and
I
= 1 0. 2 and tan o= 0. 003 for Rogers
32 1 0, in our analysi s. We also fxed the feed placement as weil
/

Figure 4a. The current distribution at the se ries resonance,

57 GHz.
ZJU
ZT U
U
-ZU

-c
co
c|oss
T OU
U
T OU
Figure 4b. The E-plane patterns at the series resonance,
57 GHz.
ZJU
Z4U
ZT U
U
-ZU
- 4U
-c
... :'
-co
c|oss
T OU
oU
1 ZU
1 OU
Figure 4c. The H-plane patterns at the se ries resonance,
57 GHz.
IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 20 1 1
45
X
)'
Figure 5a. The current distribution at non-resonance,
52 GHz.
00
Z0
-ZJ
O0

-40
OU _ J0
4

. 0#
_ T Z0
ZT 0
CO
C| OSS
T oJ
D0
Figure 5b. The E-plane patterns at non-resonance, 52 GHz.
Z10
J
0

0
0
/
Z T 0
-40
-O0
CO
C| OSS
T o0
D0
O0
Figure 5c. The H-plane patterns at non-resonance, 52 GHz.
as the characteri stic impedances to be 1 00 for the long sides
and 1 00 for the short sides of the microstrip grid-array
antennas throughout the analysi s.
3. 1 Resonant Frequency
The resonant frequency is the frequency at wh ich the
parallel resonance occurs for the microstrip grid-array antenna.
Fi gure 6 shows the simulated resonant frequency for the
three di ferent thicknesses as a fnction of relative permit
tivity, with the number of radiating elements as a parameter.
As the substrate thickness was taken into account in calculat
ing the efective relative permittivity to design the microstrip
grid-array antenna, it could be noted that the resonant fre
quency changed slightly with the substrate thickness or with
the number of radiating elements. For instance, the resonant
frequency changed within 5% for most cases with a fxed
relative permittivity as the substrate thickness vari ed from
0. 254 mm, 0. 3 8 1 mm, and 0. 508 mm, or the number of radi
ating elements, n, varied among nine, 1 6, and 25. It was further
noted that the resonant frequency generally decreased with an
increase in relative permittivity.
3. 2 I mpedance Bandwi dth
The impedance bandwidth of a microstrip grid-array
anten na is typically from 6% to 1 2% for -1 0 dB [2] .
Fi gure 7 shows the simulated impedance bandwidth for the
three di ferent thicknesses as a function of the relative permit
tivity, with the number of radiating elements as a parameter. As
with all microstrip structures, the substrate thickness and
relative permittivity have a strong infuence on the i mpedance
bandwidth. Generally, a thicker substrate with a lower relative
permittivity ofers a microstrip grid-array antenna with a wider
impedance bandwi dth. Taking the mi crostrip grid-array antenna
with nine radiating elements on the substrate of c_ 2. 2 and
h 0. 1 0 1 6- as an example, it achieved a 36% impedance
bandwidth. Si mi larly to other resonant array antennas, the
impedance bandwidth of the microstrip grid-array antenna
depends on the number of radiating elements. Simply stated, for
a given substrate size and controlled by the gain-bandwidth
relationship, the more radiating elements there are, the narrower
is the impedance bandwidth.
3. 3 Half-Power Beamwi dth
The half-power beamwidth of a microstrip grid-array
antenna can be wider or narrower, depending mainly on the
number of radiating elements. Figure 8 shows the simulated
hal f-power beamwi dth ac ross the main radiation lobe in the
E plane for the three diferent thicknesses as a function of the
relative permittivity, with the number of radiating elements as
a parameter. The half-power beamwidth in the H plane was
very simi lar. As expected, the half-power beamwi dth decreased
46
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 20 1 1
+
4

L
C
0 c

C
0

w
+
C
0

C
L
U
0

\
>
_ 4
L
C
0
z

C
c
M
H
C

K
C
C

U
0

-.- n=9

-.- n= 1 6

n=25
f-
.
s

.
-.

2 4 ! c
Rel at i ve per mi tti vi ty

. ~.
z 4
-.- n=9
-.- n= 1 6
~A n=25
-g
c
Rel ati ve permi tt i vi ty

-. - n=9

-.- n = 1 6
-.- n=25
a
,~.

z 4 c
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty
Figure 6. The resonant frequency as a function of the rela
tive permittivity: (a) h = 0. 254 mm, (b) h = 0. 3 8 1 mm, and
(c) h = 0. 508 mm.

J
+
4

C
1
0
J
0
L
2
C
0

0
!
L
E

>
>
J 4
H

z
c

0
L
4
C

./.
/
2 4
-.- n=9
-.- n=1 6
~A~ n=25

! 0
Rel at i ve permi tti vi ty

.
\

K
z

a
\ ~

C
z 4 c
Rel at i ve per mi tt i vi ty
4c

J
c
z

C
zc
K

0
c
L
C
K

0
c
C
C
z 4 8 c
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty
Figure 7. The impedance bandwidth as a function of the
relative permittivity: (a) h = 0. 254 mm, (b) h = 0. 3 8 1 mm,
and (c) h ~ 0. 508 mm.
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 20 1 1 47
>
0
c y
C
0
| c

J
c
.
4c
0
1c
L
zc
L

w
0

>
0
z 4 c
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty

zc
C

0
_ cc
J

c

C
c
0
0
J
4c
L
0

zc
C

w
0

~
0
0
L
C
c
0
c
~
c
c
C c
4c
J
_ 1c
z

4 c
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty
+

zc
C

w
0

z 4 c
Rel ati ve permi tt i vi ty
Figure 8. The half-power bearwidth as a function of the
relative perrittivity: (a) h = 0. 254 rr, (b) h = 0. 3 8 1 rr,
and (c) h = 0. 508 rr.
with the number of radiating elements. The half-power
beamwidth is sensitive to the substrate's relative perittivity,
but is not sensitive to the substrate's thickess. The higher i s
the substrate's relative permittivit, the wider i s the half-power
beamwidth, due to the excitation of a stronger surface wave.
3. 4 Gai n
A microstrip grid-array antenna is a high-gain anten na
[2, 4, 23] . Fi gure 9 shows the simulated gain in the broadside
direction for the three di ferent thicknesses as a function of
relative permittivity, with the number of radiating elements
as a parameter. Note that the gain decreased with relative per
mi ttivity or thickness, but increased with the number of radi
ating elements. The gain increment with the number of radi
ating elements will be l i mited by the attenuation of the micro
strip l i nes that form the array. The gain decrement due to a
higher permittivity or a thicker substrate can mainly be attrib
uted to the excitation of a stronger surface wave. The larger
attenuation of the microstrip l ines due to a higher permittivity
and more feeding loss for a thicker substrate also reduce the
gain. Furthermore, control over the phase synchronization
for more radiating elements on a thicker substrate of a higher
permiuivity becomes more di fcult for a higher gain .
3. 5 Gai n Bandwi dth
In addition to the impedance bandwidth, a number of
bandwidths can be defned under the radiation-patter charac
teristics (i . e. , patter shape, si delobe level, gain, cross polari
zation, etc. ). It was found that the most stringent bandwi dth
criterion i s seen to be the gain bandwidth [2] . Figure 10 shows
the simulated gain bandwidth for the three diferent thick
nesses as a function of relative permittivity, with the number
of radiating elements as a parameter. Note that the gain band
width of the microstrip grid-array anten na decreased with the
number of the radiating elements, which was simi lar to other
resonant array antennas. The gain bandwidth i s sensitive to the
substrate's thickness. The thicker the substrate is, the wider is
the gain bandwi dth.
4. Synthesi s
The synthesis of microstrip grid-array antennas has been
attempted [ I , 2, 4] ; however, no direct synthesis method or
design procedure has been developed. In this section, we
describe the synthesis and outl ine the design steps required to
implement a microstrip grid-array antenna.
In synthesizing the microstrip grid-array anten na to satisf
specifc performance requirements, the choice of the substrate
must frst be made, to know the relative permittivity 8 , the
loss tangent, o , and thickness, h. The mesh lengths, l and s,
necessary for the microstrip grid-array antenna to operate at the
required resonant frequency, ) ,can then be calculated as
48
IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 20 1 1
20
1 8
1 6
D
1 4
-
C
K
1 2
\
1 0
8
1 8
1
c 1 4
D

1 2
-
C
1 0
K
~ 8

1 6
1 4
1 2
D
1 0

K 8
\
6
4

2
.

a .

.
0 `.
" a

a ~"
4 6 8
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty

"
::

4 8
Rel at i ve permi tti vi ty
*.

4 6 8
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty
1 0

1 0

1 0
Figure 9. The realized peak gain as a function of the relative
permittivity: (a) h = 0. 254 mm, (b) h = 0. 3 8 1 mm, and (c)
h = 0. 508 mm.
20

>
!

-
!
J
+

! 4

! 2
C
! 0 0
J
C
-
--
-

'
0

\
0
_

A
2 4 ! 0
Rel at i ve permi tt i vi ty
bb
-.- n=
0
-.- n=1 6
>
4 n=25
s 4
_40
1
10
2
20
C
! _
_
__j
C 0

0
0
L

J 0
=

40

C
0
1c
J
C
20
0
' ! 0
2 4
Rel ati ve permi tti vi ty

'
-.
0

a
0

.,~
.-
2 4
Rel at i ve permi tt i vity
! 0

A
! 0
Figure 1 0. The gain bandwidth as a function of the relative
permittivity: (a) h = 0. 254 mm, (b) h = 0. 3 8 1 mm, and (c)
h = 0. 508 mm.
IEEE Antennas and Prpagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 201 1 49
.
and
:
for phase synchronization, where L is the velocit of light in
free space and c
,,
is the substrate's efective perittivity.
The choices of the mesh widths, and , are more
involved. These are govemed by the impedance, transmission,
and radiation properties. As previously stated, the long sides act
mainly as transmission lines. The currents on them generate the
undesired cross-polarized radiation. Hence, the width,
should be narrower to reduce this. A narrower width,
implies a higher characteri stic impedance, as the characteristic
impedance i s approximately inversely proportional to the
width, A narower width, , also causes higher transmis
sion loss. Because the transmission loss increases rapidly when
the characteristic impedance i s above ::a :+j , the width,
, can be chosen to sati sf
z
,

,
) ::a ,
where z
,
represents the characteristic impedance of the long
sides.
The short sides act as both radi ating elements and trans
mission lines. The currents on them produce the desired co
polarized radi ation. The curents can be uniforly di stributed,
or tapered by varying the width, To fnd the proper width,

'
the radiation resi stance of a short side was evaluated. Fig
ure . . shows the simulated radiation resi stance at the parallel
resonance, -a GHz, for the three diferent thicknesses and the
same loss tangent, tan o a aa: , as a function of the width,
with the relative permittivity as a parameter. General ly, the
radiation resistance noticeably decreased with the width for
< a mm, but varied slowly as a fnction of the width for
` a mm. The radiation resistance was higher for a lower
relative permittivity, and was lower for a thicker substrate. The
radiation resistance varied from . aa to s:a . The radiation
resi stance can be considered to be the loads to the transmission
l ines of both the long and short sides. The appl ication of
matching condition at the input terminal to the source yields the
required width,
Based on the formula for the radiation resistance of a
re sonant half-wavelength microstrip line fed at one end :j and
simulated data, we obtained a formula to calculate the radiation
resi stance of a short side by cure ftting. It i s expressed as
(4)
where z

represents the characteri stic impedance of the short

side, and
I = ( /J | - +},, ) - a
/ c,
-[ a ass:- -
a ass:-}c, - a a-:
/ c, (

J
-[ a :+s | + -
a a |}c, - a . -ss
/ ,
, |
,,
l
|
:
with the empirical factor
=
-
a | a:s - O. --+:/
- . --s:
-
-::+/ - : :+s:/` -
-
: :: - . + a++/
-
. /`
for a a: /} a a-::
=
-
a . a:s - O. --+:/
-[ . -- .
- . + a++/ - . /`
- - a-:a:
,

1
. a-:: - a aa-++c, -
a a. +-,
for a a-: /} a as , and
=
-
a | a:s - a --+:/
- [ a :-:-- - a -s |

- - a:-a:
,

_

-
- | :s+
,
_
- )

1
: : . s - a : . :c, - a a:s-, s
for a as: /} a . :
It must be stressed that Equation was derived from
asymptotic expansions that not only makes it simple to calcu
late the radiation power integral, but also lends insight into the
dependence of the radiation resistance upon the line width and
substrate permittivity ::j Nevertheless, some loss in accuracy
was encountered, and this was overcome by introducing the
empirical factor.
Next, the substrate's length, a, and width, b, can be deter
mined from the number of meshes required by the gain. The
gain in dBi for the microstrip grid array can be estimated as
where
a IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magaine, Vol . No. - December :a . .
_ 700
J
L
-
0
600
L
L
K
+
500 U
U
0

L
400
C
+
K
T
K

J
_ 800
-
0
L
C
600
K
+
U
U
0
400

C
C
+
K
200
T
K

-
C
o 800
-
0
L
600
C
K
+
U
400 U
0

C
200 C
+
K
T
K

-. - " =2. 2 L =3. 7

, ,
" , =4. 5 -. , =6. 0
,
,
0 . 1 0. 2 0. 3 0 . 4 0. 5 0. 6
Wi dth W ( mm)

-
_ -
\
__-__-_"
,
_=_2_2_- _e_-_"
,
_=_3. _7

-.- " =4. 5 -. - , =6. 0
, ,
-
__
_- --
-
-

P_ 4
_
#

___ -#~P
0 . 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0. 5 0. 6
Wi dth W ( mm)
s
-
-

-. - " =2. 2 -e - " =3. 7

, ,
-.- " =4. 5 L =6. 0
, ,
-

"
-
-
-
-
--e
~
q
--
#
-
#
-

--
#
-

0 . 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0 . 5 0. 6
Wi dth W ( mm)
s
Figure 1 1 . The radiation resistance as a function of the
width of the short side: (a) h = 0. 254 mm, (b) h = 0. 3 8 1 mm,
and (c) h = 0. 508 mm.

g
1
_ n,= 2 1 6 - 0. 52n +0. ln
2
g
2
_n,= -1 43. 2 - 1 . l 3n - 0. 058n
2
g
3
_ n,= 30. 3 + 0. 74n
for 0. 0375 :hj : 0.0625 ,

g
1
_ n,= -505 + n. 62n - 2. 3 1 n
2
g
2
_ n,= 1 33. 57 - 26. 52n + 0. 83n
2
g
3
_ n,= 1 7. 43 + l . 77n - 0. 038n
2
for 0. 0625 :hj :0. 0875 , and

g
1
_ n,= -362 + 22n - 0. 59n
2
g
2
_ n,= 1 4 1 - I On + 0. 24n
2
g
3
_ n,= 9 + 1 . 46n - 0. 024n
2
for 0. 0875 :hj :0. 1 2 .
( 1 0)
( 1 1 )
( 1 2)
The gain of a microstrip grid-array antenna is increased by
3 dBi when the number of radiating elements is doubled.
However, thi s does not imply that the gain can be increased
arbitrarily with an increased number of radiating elements, in
practice. According to our experiments, the upper limit for a
probe-fed mi l l imeter-wave microstrip grid-array anten na with
only one layer of radiating elements on a substrate of size
3 ^ 3, with a relative permittivity ranging from 2. 2 to 1 0
and a thickness ranging from 0. 1 mm to 0. 6 mm, i s not higher
than 25 dBi .
Finally, the feeding point must be located, typically at the
joint of the long and short sides near the middle of the antenna.
The diameter, p, of the feeding pin and the diameter, d, of the
aperture on the ground plane should be consistent with the
feeding cable or connector.
In the fol l owing, the actual design procedure is dem on
strated for an example of a microstrip grid-array antenna
designed to operate at 60 GHz, with a maximum gain of : 1 3 . 5
dBi , and an i mpedance bandwidth on GHz [26-32] . It i s shown
that the formulae apply weil at 60 GHz. In addition, we have
also tested the formulae when designing microstrip grid-array
antennas at 24 GHz, and they have proven to be efective.
The Ferro LTCC A6-S ceramic type was chosen to be the
substrate, wh ich had a relative permittivity of 5. 9 and a loss
tangent of O. 002. The substrate was 0. 385 mm ( 0. 077 ) thick
to avoid the excitation of the TE
1
mode surface wave. For the
sake of low cost and easy fabrication, the width and thickness
of the meshes were kept uniform at 0. 1 5 mm and 0. 01 mm,
respectively. Though fne tuning of the wi dths of the short and
long sides, one can design a microstrip grid-array antenna for
better performance. This is usually undertaken with an
opti mization tool, and is quite time consuming. The meshes
were made of gold. At 60 GHz, the substrate' s efective
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine. Vol . 53, No. 6, December 201 1 5 1
penmttlVlty was s__ = 4. 3 , and the guided wavelength was
A
g
= 2.42 mm. The mesh lengths were l= 2. 5 mm A
g
and
s = 1 . 365 mm A
g
]2 . The characteristic i mpedances for the
long and short sides of the mesh were equal : Z
o
/ = Z
O
s = 1 02
Q; the widths were W = Ws = 0. 1 5 mm. The radiation resi stance
of a short side was = 250 Q.
Gi ven the specifed gain value of 1 3 . 5 dBi , the required
number of meshes was found to be at least 1 4, which led to an
estimation of the length and width of the substrate as a = 1 1 . 5
mm and b = 5 mm, respectively. Considering the requirement
for singulation in LTCC, we enlarged the length to a = 1 3. 5 mm
and the width to b = 8 mm. The di ameter of the feed pin was
p = 0. 1 5 mm, and the diameter of the aperure on the ground
plane was d = 0. 3 mm. Figure 1 2 shows a photo ofthe fabricated
microstrip grid-aray antenna.
Figure 1 3 shows the simulated results with the measured
values for the microstrip grid-array antenna. It was evident
from the fgure that the measured 1 0 dB impedance bandwidth
was 8. 7 GHz, from 56. 3 GHz to 65 GHz, wh ich covered the
whole band of 57-64 GHz. Figure 1 4 compares the simulated
with the measured radiation patters of the microstrip grid-
Figure 12. A photo of the 60-GHz microstrip grid-array
antenna in LTCC.
c
D
- c

! D

-zc
0 D
-1c
-1
c
Measured
Si mul ated
z 4
~|aq0acy [ GHz)
Figure 13. The simulated and measured I SI I I as a function
of frequency.

1
3
1cc
- 1c
zc
- 10
zc
N6B5u|6D
c| 0u| Bl6D
z c c
c
Figure 14a. The co-polar E simulated and measured radia
tion patterns.

11

Z
1cc -
/
zc
z+c
/
- 1c

-

- 1c ;
N6B5u|6D

c| 0u| BI6D
z cc
c
c
c
zc
Figure 14b. The cross-polar E simulated and measured
radiation patterns.
1cc
- 1c
zc -

- 1c
z+c
N6B5u |6D
zc
c| 0u| Bl6D
z c c
c
Figure 1 4c. The co-polar H simulated and measured radia
tion patterns.
52 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 201 1

Z1

- T O
-
-
-N6B5u|6D
c| 0ul Bl6D
T O
T O

Figure 14d. The cross-polar H simulated and measured

radiation patterns.
array antenna. They revealed that both the E- and H-plane
patters had the main radiation beam in the broadside direction,
with small cross-polarization radiation components. Note that
the measured and simulated co-polar patters at 60 GHz agreed
very wei l .
5. Concl usi on
This paper described a most comprehensive study of the
microstrip grid-array antenna for the frst time. It was found in
revi siting the basic principle of operation that the microstrip
grid array performs better at the parallel resonance than at the
series resonanee. This i s a useful result for circuit modeIing
of the antenna in the antenna-circuit co-design of a radio. An
extensive analysi s was presented, with an emphasis on the
efeets of the substrate and the number of radiating elements.
It was shown that the substrate has a strong infuence on the
performance of the microstrip grid-array antenna. A thin sub
strate at mi l limeter-wave fequencies provides adequate gain,
bandwidth, and cross-polarization quality. As the substrate
becomes thieker, more surface-wave modes can propagate, and
ean carry more power. They are difracted from the substrate's
edges, possibly causing undesirable efects on sidelobe levels,
polarization, or main-beam shape [ 33] . It was also shown that
the microstrip grid-array antenna follows a gain-bandwidth
relationship: the more radiating elements there are, the narrower
i s the impedanee bandwidth, and the higher is the gain. A set
of c1osed-form formulas was obtained for the initial synthesis,
and the design steps were developed. A design example was
given, and the measured results demonstrated the validity ofthe
analysis and synthesis.
6. Acknowl edgment
The authors would l i ke to acknowledge Dr. M. Sun for her
contribution.
7. References
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I ntroduci ng the Feature Arti cl e Authors
Ring Zhang was bor in 1 982 in Taiyuan, China. He
received his BE from the Ci vi l Aviation University of China,
Tianj in, China, in 2004, and his ME from Shanxi University,
Taiyuan, China in 2008, both in Electrical and Electronic
Engineering. He is currently working toward the PhD in the
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Nanyang
Technological University, Si ngapore. His research interests
include design and optimization of RF oscillators and low
noise ampl ifers, design and optimization of microstrip array
antennas, and antenna-in-package for wireless communication.
54 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . 53, No. 6, December 20 I l
Yue Ping Zhang received a BE and ME from Taiyuan
Polytechnic Institute and Shanxi Mining Institute of Taiyuan
University of Technology, Shanxi, China, in . -s: and . -s,
respectively. He received a PhD from the Chinese University
of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, in . --, all in Electronic Engi
neering.
From . -s: to . -s+, he worked at Shanxi Electronic
Industry Bureau. From . --a to . --:, he worked at the Uni
versity of Li verpool, Liverpool, UK, and from . --- to . --,
he worked at Ci ty University of Hong Kong. From . -s to
. --a, he taught at Shanxi Mining Institute, and from . -- to
. --s, he taught at the University of Hong Kong. He was pro
moted to a ful l Professor at Taiyuan University of Technology
in . --- He i s now an Associate Professor with the School of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore. He has broad interests in radio science
and technology. He has delivered scores of invited papers/
keynote addresses at interational scientifc conferences.
Prof Zhang received the Sino-British Technical Col l abo
ration Award in . --a for hi s contribution to the advancement
of subsurface radio science and technology. He received the
Best Paper Award from the Second IEEE Interational Sym
posium on Communication Systems, Networks and Digital
Signal Processing, July . s:a, :aaa, Bouremouth, UK, and
the Best Paper Prize from the Third IEEE Interational Work
shop on Antenna Technology, March : . :, :aa, Cambridge,
UK. He was awarded a Wi l l i am Mong Vi siting Fellowship
from the University of Hong Kong in :aa He was a Guest
Editor of the International Journal / and Micrwave
Computer-Aided Engineering, and an Associate Editor of the
International Journal / Microwave Science and Technolog.
He serves as an Editor of the ETRI Joural, and an Associate
Editor of the Interational Journal / Electromagnetic Waves
and Applications. He also serves on the editorial boards of a
large number of j ourals, including IEEE Transactions on
Micrwave Theor and Techniques and IEEE Microwave and
Wireless Components Letters .
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Magazine, Vol . , No. -, December :a . .