Microstrip Patch Antenna

By
Mohd Kashif
Content
Introduction
Types of Antennas
List of Fundamental Parameter of Antenna


INTRODUCTION
What is an Antenna?
An antenna is a device for radiating and receiving radio waves.
The antenna is the transitional structure between free-space and
a guiding device.
ANOTHER TYPES OF
ANTENNAS
Wire antennas
Aperture antennas
Array antennas
Reflector antennas
Lens antennas


Wire antennas
seen virtually everywhere- on automobile,
building, ships, aircraft, and so on.
Shapes of wire antennas:
straight wire (dipole), loop (circular), and helix,
Loop antenna may take the shape of a
rectangle ,
ellipse or any other shape configuration



Aperture Antenna
6
Note: The aperture concept is applicable also to wired antennas.
For instance, the max effective aperture of linear /2
wavelength dipole antenna is
2
/8


EM wave
Power
absorbed: P [watt]
Effective
aperture: A[m
2
]
Aperture antennas derived
from waveguide technology
(circular, rectangular)

Can transfer high power
(magnetrons, klystrons)
Utilization of higher
frequencies

Applications: aircraft, and spacecraft

Array Antennas
a collection of simple antennas
- gives desire d radiation characteristics
- The arrangement of the array may be such that the radiation from the
elements adds up to give a radiation maximum in a particular
direction or directions, minimum in others, or otherwise as desired
- Examples: yagi-uda array, aperture array, microstrip patch array,
slotted waveguide array






Reflector Antennas
- used in order to transmit and receive signals that had to travel
millions of miles
- A very common reflector antenna parabolic reflector



Lens Antennas
lenses are primarily used to
collimate incident divergent
energy to prevent it from
spreading in undesired directions

Transform various forms of
divergent energy into plane
waves

Used in most of applications as
are the parabolic reflectors,
especially at higher frequencies.
Their dimensions and weight
become exceedingly large at
lower frequencies.



Microstrip Antenna
consist of metallic patch on a grounded
substrate
Examples: rectangular and circular shape
Applications: aircraft, spacecraft, satellite, missiles,
cars etc


RECTANGLE

CIRCLE
Patch Antennas
Radiation is from two slots on left and right edges of patch where slot is
region between patch and ground plane
Length
d
=
o
/c
r
1/2
Thickness typically 0.01
o

The big advantage is conformal, i.e. flat, shape and low weight
Disadvantages: Low gain, Narrow bandwidth (overcome by fancy shapes and
other heroic efforts), Becomes hard to feed when complex, e.g. for wide
band operation
Patch Antenna Pattern
Parameters of Antennas
Radiation Pattern
Radiation Power Density
Radiation intensity
Directivity, Gain, Antenna efficiency, Beamwidth
Bandwidth
Linear, circular, and elliptical polarization
Polarization loss factor and efficiency
Antenna Input Impedance
Elementary idea about self and mutual impedance
Radiation efficiency
Effective aperture, Antenna Temperature
Radiation Patterns

The E-plane pattern is typically broader than the H-plane pattern.
The truncation of the ground plane will cause edge diffraction,
which tends to degrade the pattern by introducing:
rippling in the forward direction
back-radiation

Note: Pattern distortion is more severe in the E-plane, due to the
angle dependence of the vertical polarization E
u
and the SW
pattern. Both vary as cos (|).
Directivity
The directivity is fairly insensitive to the substrate thickness.
The directivity is higher for lower permittivity, because the patch
is larger.






c
r
= 2.2 or 10.8 & W/ L = 1.5


0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.1
h /
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
D
I
R
E
C
T
I
V
I
T
Y


(
d
B
)
exact
CAD
= 2.2
10.8
c
r
Gain
The gain of the antenna is related to the directivity of
the antenna. Gain takes into account the directional
capabilities as well as the efficiency of the antenna .
The gain of an antenna (in a given direction) is
defined as the ratio of the intensity, in a given
direction, to the radiation intensity that would result
if the power fed to the antenna were radiated
isotropically. The radiation intensity corresponding
to the isotropically radiated power is equal to the
power from the generator, to the antenna divided by
4.
Beamwidth
The beamwidth of an antenna is defined as the
angular separation between two identical points on
opposite sides of the pattern maximum. There are a
number of beamwidths in the antenna pattern. One
of the most widely used beamwidths is the Half-
Power Beamwidth (HPBW).
Bandwidth
The bandwidth of an antenna is defined as the range
of frequencies within which the performance of the
antenna, with respect to some characteristics,
conforms to a specified standard. The bandwidth
can be considered to be the range of frequencies on
either side of the center frquency where the antenna
characteristics are close to those at the center
frequency.
Geometry of Rectangular Patch








Note: L is the resonant dimension. The width W is usually chosen to be larger
than L (to get higher bandwidth). However, usually W < 2L. W = 1.5L is typical.
x
y
h
L
W
Geometry of Rectangular Patch (cont.)
21
View showing coaxial feed
x
y
L
W
feed at (x
0
, y
0
)
A feed along the
centerline is the most
common (minimizes
higher-order modes
and cross-pol.)
x
surface current
Advantages
Low profile (can even be conformal).
Easy to fabricate (use etching and
phototlithography).
Easy to feed (coaxial cable, microstrip line, etc.) .
Easy to use in an array or incorporate with other
microstrip circuit elements.
Patterns are somewhat hemispherical, with a
moderate directivity (about 6-8 dB is typical).
Disadvantages
Low bandwidth (but can be improved by a variety
of techniques). Bandwidths of a few percent are
typical. Bandwidth is roughly proportional to the
substrate thickness.
Efficiency may be lower than with other antennas.
Efficiency is limited by conductor and dielectric
losses*, and by surface-wave loss**.

SOME OF THE MORE COMMON
METHODS FOR FEEDING
MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS ARE
SHOWN.

Feeding Methods
Feeding Methods: Coaxial Feed
Advantages:
Simple
Easy to obtain input match
Disadvantages:
Difficult to obtain input match for thicker substrates,
due to probe inductance.
Significant probe radiation for thicker substrates
2
0
cos
edge
x
R R
L
t
| |
=
|
\ .
25
Feeding Methods: Inset-Feed
Advantages:
Simple
Allows for planar feeding
Easy to obtain input match
Disadvantages:
Significant line radiation for thicker substrates
For deep notches, pattern may show distortion.
26
Feeding Methods: Inset Feed
Recent work has
shown that the
resonant input
resistance varies as
2
0
2
cos
2
in
x
R A B
L
t | |
| |
=
| |
\ .
\ .
L
W
W
f
S
x
0
The coefficients A and B depend on the notch width S
but (to a good approximation) not on the line width W
f
.
Y. Hu, D. R. Jackson, J. T. Williams, and S. A. Long, Characterization of the Input
Impedance of the Inset-Fed Rectangular Microstrip Antenna, IEEE Trans. Antennas
and Propagation, Vol. 56, No. 10, pp. 3314-3318, Oct. 2008.
27
Feeding Methods: Proximity (EMC) Coupling
Advantages:
Allows for planar feeding
Less line radiation compared
to microstrip feed
Disadvantages:
Requires multilayer fabrication
Alignment is important for input match
patch
microstrip line
28
Feeding Methods: Gap Coupling
Advantages:
Allows for planar feeding
Can allow for a match with high edge
impedances, where a notch might be too large
Disadvantages:
Requires accurate gap fabrication
Requires full-wave design
patch
microstrip line
gap
29
Feeding Methods: Aperture Coupled Patch (ACP)
Advantages:
Allows for planar feeding
Feed-line radiation is isolated from patch radiation
Higher bandwidth, since probe inductance
restriction is eliminated for the substrate thickness,
and a double-resonance can be created.
Allows for use of different substrates to optimize
antenna and feed-circuit performance
Disadvantages:
Requires multilayer fabrication
Alignment is important for input match
patch
microstrip line
slot
30