Microstrips: Effect of Width on Operation

William Keller Purdue University

Abstract At high frequencies in the microwave range of the electromagnetic spectrum both circuit elements and the connecting media affect the impedance of the circuit significantly. Microstrips were developed to have more control in this respect. In this experiment we examine the effect of width of microstrips on the operation of them as the connecting medium in high frequency circuits. We conclude that the wider the microstrip in comparison to the height of the dielectric it rests upon, the better its performance in higher frequency circuits. Index Terms Microstrips

reff = (c/v)^2 A. Purpose

(5)

The purpose of this experiment was to vary the width of a microstrip and send a voltage pulse wave down it to measure its operation as a function of width. B. Theory Figure 1 shows the geometry of a microstrip. As the width to height ratio increases, more of the electric flux lines are contained in the dielectric between the two conductors. This causes the velocity to decrease since V = c/sqrt(r) (6)

I. INTRODUCTION When circuits begin working with higher frequencies - in the microwave spectrum in this case the wires connecting circuit components begin to have more of an effect on circuit operation, and must be considered in the design. To do this, the wires the medium connecting circuit components are considered to have a distributed impedance proportional to its geometric properties, spread out over the length of them. Microstrips have been developed as a connecting medium to replace wires at these higher frequencies due to their efficient operation in this frequency range. As stated, the geometry of circuit elements and this connecting medium become important at higher frequencies. In this experiment we varied the width of the microstrip and sent voltage wave pulses down it while measuring the response. The reflected voltage wave V- was measured, along with the time TD it took to propagate along the microstrip, the originating voltage wave V+, as well as the geometric dimensions of the microstrip, length L, width w, and height h of the dielectric of the microstrip as shown in Figure 1 in the Theory section. These measurements were then used to calculate the reflection coefficient , the characteristic impedance of the microstrip Z0, the velocity of the wave in the microstrip v, the attenuation of the wavelength of the wave /0, and the effective dielectric constant reff. These were calculated using equations developed in [1], and supplied below for reference. The width of the microstrip was then compared to these important parameters of operation. = V /V
+

And the dielectric constant r is greater in the dielectric than in air. The capacitance also increases when this happens, and since Z0 = sqrt(L/C), Z0 of the microstrip is expected to increase. The other parameters are then expected to change as a result of this as found by examining equations (1) (5).

Figure 1 Geometry of a microstrip [1]

II. PROCEDURE 1) Cut out 6 microstrips out of tinfoil of widths 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 mm, each of length about 5 cm. After cutting them out, measure these dimensions and write them down. 2) Tape these to a given dielectric supplied by the lab instructor. 3) Use the TDR to measure and obtain the values V+, V-, and T D. 4) Use Equations (1) (5) to calculate the rest of the desired values using these measurements. 5) Plot Z0, v, /0, and reff vs. width w.

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Z0 = 50*(1+)/(1-) V = L/TD /0 = v/c

III. CONCLUSION (RESULTS) Table 1 summarizes the results and Figures 2 through 5 show the plots of Z0, v, /0, and reff vs. width w. The height h of the dielectric was measured to be 1.5 mm.
width, w (mm) w/h length (cm) V+ (mv) V- (mv) TD (nsec) Z0 () v (m/sec) /0 reff

24 16 4.96 201.1 -73.7 -0.366484 0.4105 23.180495 1.21E+08 0.4027609 6.1646082

12 8 5.26 201.1 -71.5 -0.35554 0.459 23.77109 1.15E+08 0.38199 6.853247

9 6 5 201.1 -54.72 -0.2721 0.4495 28.60996 1.11E+08 0.370782 7.273809

6 4 5.3 201.1 -45.2 -0.22476 0.459 31.6484 1.15E+08 0.384895 6.750192

3 2 5.42 201.1 -14 -0.06962 0.4395 43.4914 1.23E+08 0.411073 5.917819

Figure 4 - /0 vs. w

Table 1 TDR Measurements and subsequent calculations

Figure 5 - reff vs. w

Figure 2 Z0 vs. w

Figure 3 v vs. w

It is apparent from Figure 2 that Z0 approaches a constant value as the width of the microstrip gets larger in comparison to the height of the dielectric h a value about equal to 24ohms. Judging from the Figures, in order for this microstrip to have a characteristic impedance of 50 ohms, it would have to have a width of about 2 to 2.5 mm, other dimensions held constant. At this characteristic impedance, the velocity of the wave through it would be about 1.25 * 10^8 m/s. The velocity did not get smaller as w/h increased as expected. This may be due to extra reactances in the microstrips of greater width due to wrinkles in the tinfoil. Error may also be due to the interface between the transmission line and the microstrip, which caused the measurement of TD to be inaccurate. As expected, reff approaches a constant value as w/h increases. As explained in [1], it approaches r as w/h approaches infinite, so using Figure 5, r can be estimated to be about 5.5. Compared to the given value of 4.5, this constitutes an error of about 20%.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Lab Partner Yin Ling REFERENCES

[1] M. O. Sadiku, Elements of Electromagnetics, New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. [2] C. L. Chen, "Notes on Transmission Lines," Sec. 10-11. (1986)