International Journal of u- and e- Service, Science and Technology

Vol. 6, No. 3, June, 2013

Performance Comparison of Micro-strip Antennas with Different

Shape of the Patch

Sanjeev Sharma, Bharat Bhushan, Shailender Gupta and Preet Kaur

Department of Electronics Engineering, YMCA University of Science and Technology,
Faridabad, Haryana, India
sanjusharma183@gmail.com, bhrts@yahoo.com, shailender81@gmail.com,
preetmoar@gmail.com

Abstract
The growth of portable wireless communication devices has pushed designers to design
miniature size antennas. The most prized among miniature antenna choices is the micro-strip
patch antenna. These antennas have significant advantages such as low profile, light weight,
relatively low manufacturing cost, and polarization diversity. This paper compares the
performance of micro-strip patch antenna having different shapes of the patch (Square,
Elliptical, Annular ring, Triangular) at a frequency of 2.43 GHz. To compare and analyze the
performance, High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) software was used. The results show
that the size of the antenna will be smallest in case of square shape patch antenna followed by
elliptical, triangular and annular ring. These results can be very useful while designing micro-
strip patch antenna.

Keywords: Micro-strip, Antennas, Annular Ring

1. Introduction
With the advancement in wireless communication technology, the need for light
weight and miniature size antennas [1-3] has become a mandatory requirement in today’s
world. The most popular antenna in this category is micro-strip patch antenna. The
micro-strip patch antenna [1-3] is a type of radio antenna with a low profile that can be
mounted on a flat surface. These antennas consist of a flat rectangular sheet or "patch" of
metal, mounted over a larger sheet of metal called as ground plane. The assembly is
usually contained inside a plastic radome, which protects the antenna structure from
damage. These antennas have several advantages [1] over other antennas such as low
profile, low weight, relatively low manufacturing cost, simple fabrication process,
polarization diversity and can be easily modified and customize.
This paper considers four shapes of the patch used in micro-strip patch antenna that are
as follows:
 Square shaped patch micro-strip antenna.
 Elliptical shaped patch micro-strip antenna.
 Annular ring shaped patch micro-strip antenna.
 Triangular patch micro-strip antenna.

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Vol. 6, No. 3, June, 2013

(a)Square shaped micro-strip patch antenna (b) Elliptical shaped micro-strip patch
antenna

(c)Annular ring shaped micro-strip patch (d) Triangular shaped micro-strip patch
antenna antenna

Figure 1. Geometry of the Antennas Designed

The geometry of the antennas analysed is shown in Figure 1. Antenna in the Figure
1(a) has the square shaped patch of length l = 28.8 mm, designed on FR4-epoxy substrate
with relative permittivity =4.4 and thickness h = .8 mm. Antenna in the Figure 1(b)
consist of the elliptical patch which has the dimensions as the length of the minor
axis=16.56 mm and the major axis = 17.1 mm, designed on FR4-epoxy substrate with
relative permittivity = 4.4 and thickness h = .8 mm. Antenna in the Figure 1(c) has the
annular ring shaped patch having outer radius = 36.81 mm and inner radius = 21.59,
designed on FR4-epoxy substrate with relative permittivity = 4.4 and thickness h = .8
mm. Antenna in the Figure 1(d) has the triangular shaped patch having sides of length =
38.7 mm, designed on FR4-epoxy substrate with relative permittivity = 4.4 and
thickness h = .8 mm. All these antennas with different shape of the patch were simulated
and analysed using HFSS-11.1.
The rest of the paper is organised as follows: Section 2 gives a brief description of the
antennas under consideration. Section 3 provides the simulation results showing how the
shape of the patch affects the performance of the antenna. Section 4 provides the
concluding remarks followed by references.

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2. Antennas under Consideration:

The antennas that were taken into consideration are as follows:

2.1. Square Shaped Patch Micro-Strip Antennas (SMPA):

For an efficient radiator, practical length [4-6] that leads to good radiation efficiencies
is calculated by transmission line model equation:

Where L is the length of the square shaped patch

fo is taken as 2.43 GHz

is the relative permittivity of the substrate.

The effects of the fringe field at the edge of the square patch and those of the dielectric
substrate are taken into account by the following equations:
The effective dielectric constant is obtained by referring to equation

Where w is given by the equation

The value of length extension ΔL can be obtained by using equation

The effective length of the patch which is used in this antenna is given by

The transmission line model is applicable to infinite ground planes only. However, for
practical considerations, it is essential to have a finite ground plane. Similar results for
the finite and infinite ground plane can be obtained if the size of the ground plane is
greater than the patch dimensions by approximately six times the substrate thickness all
around the periphery. Hence, for this design, the ground plane dimensions would be
given as:

Where L g and W g are the length, width of the ground and h is the height of the
substrate. The dimensions for the substrate are similar to the ground except height.

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2.2. Elliptical Shaped Patch Micro-Strip Antenna (EMPA):

Micro-strip antenna of circular or rectangular shapes usually radiate linearly polarized
waves [8]. In many practical applications circular polarization is required. Circular
polarization may be obtained by using multiple feeds or by altering the shape of a
rectangular Micro-strip antenna. An elliptical patch on a microwave printed circuit board
can be made to radiate circularly polarized waves [8-9]. Such an antenna requires only
one feed, and its geometrical shape is simple enough to permit theoretical analysis to be
carried out in a standard coordinate system. The effects of the fringe field at the edge of
the elliptical patch and those of the dielectric substrate are taken into account in the
following formula:
For an ellipse of semi major axis a and semi minor axis b, the foci are at where

c= (a 2 – b2)
.

Where and are the permeability and the permittivity of the substrate
respectively. The values of the relative permeability and relative permittivity for the
FR4-epoxy substrate are 1 and 4.4 respectively. Frequency f for the antenna is taken as
2.43 GHz. P is an empirical constant ranging from 0.27 to 0.29. Normally p is taken as
0.275 which agrees very well with the empirical value.
The eccentricity of the ellipse is defined as

The desired circularly polarized radiation communicability may best be achieved by

limiting the eccentricity of the ellipse to a range of 15 to 25 percent.
We have taken E c as 25.09% of the value of semi major axis a.

2.3. Triangular Shaped Patch Micro-Strip Antenna (TMPA):

It is well known that the theoretical resonant frequencies obtained from the assumption
of a perfect magnetic wall must be corrected if a good agreement between theoretical and
experimental values is to be obtained. The correction factors for rectangular, circular and
square are well established. The situation with regard to the equilateral triangular patch is
less clear. The resonant frequency F of the equilateral patch of side length a is given by
the formula [10-13]:

Where the integers m, n, l satisfies the equation m+n+l=0 and is the effective side
length of the triangular patch. The height of the substrate h is taken as 0.8 mm and
is the effective dielectric constant of the substrate.

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3. Simulation and Discussion

3.1. Impact of Patch Shape of the Antenna on Return Loss:

Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 1 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 1 HFSSDesign1

0.00 0.00
-2.0443

-5.00 -5.00

-10.00 -10.1557
-10.00

-15.00
-15.00

-20.00
Y1

-20.00

Y1
-25.00
-25.00
-30.00
-30.00
-35.00

-35.00
-40.00

-40.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 -45.00
Freq [GHz] 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Freq [GHz]
MX1: 5.0000
MX1: 5.0000

Return loss of square shaped patch micro-strip Return loss of elliptical shaped patch micro-
antenna = -39.2762 dB. strip antenna = -42.4581 dB
Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 1 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 1 HFSSDesign1
0.00 0.00

-3.4395
-5.00
-5.00

-10.00
-10.00

-15.00

-15.00
-20.00
Y1

Y1
-20.00
-25.00

-25.00 -30.00

-35.00
-30.00 m1

-40.00
-35.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Freq [GHz] -45.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
MX1: 5.0000 Freq [GHz]

Return loss of annular shaped micro-strip antenna Return loss of triangular shaped patch
= -30.87 dB. micro-strip antenna = -40.7632 dB
Figure 2. Graphs of Return Loss Vs Frequency
The return loss may be defined as the loss of the signal power due to discontinuity in
the transmission line or the optical fibre i.e. "Return Loss" refers to that portion of a
signal that cannot be absorbed by the end of line termination, or can’t cross an impedance
change at some point in the transmission system .This component of the signal is
reflected from the impedance discontinuity and travels back up the line from that point,
since it can’t be absorbed by the termination, or traverse the impedance irregularity. This
causes two signals to appear on the coaxial cable, one going in one direction and the
other in the reverse direction. These two signals cancel and add along the line at various
points. When these cancellations occur at a receiving terminal end of the cable, data may
be lost forever. To measure the return loss we use return loss Vs frequency graphs as
shown in the Figure 2. The result shows the return loss of square, elliptical and triangular
are quite similar while the annular shaped patch antenna has low value of return loss in
comparison to other shapes.

3.2. Impact of Shape on Bandwidth:

Figure 2 shows the comparison of bandwidth of various micro-strip patch antenna
having different shapes of the patch. It is measured between those points on the S
parameters graph where the value of the return loss is -10 dB for a particular undershoot.
The following points can be inferred from the results:
 The elliptical micro-strip patch antenna and the square micro-strip patch antenna
have nearly equal maximum allowable bandwidth. This is due to the fact that the

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Vol. 6, No. 3, June, 2013

ratio of major Vs minor axis in case of elliptical micro-strip patch is nearly equal
to 1.
 The annular ring patch antenna has lowest bandwidth among all the shapes taken.
 The allowable bandwidth of the micro-strip antennas in which it can work are as
follows:
a) Bandwidth for the SMPA =46 MHz (1.89 %).
b) Bandwidth for the EMPA =47.6 MHz (1.95 %)
c) Bandwidth for the ARMPA =34.9 MHz (1.43%)
d) Bandwidth for the TMPA =42.2 MHz (1.73 %).

3.3. Impact of Shape on Radiation Pattern:

Figure 3 shows the radiation pattern for different patch shape. The following inference
can be drawn:
 For the annular ring patch antenna the radiation pattern have high side lobe level
which is undesirable. This can be improved by increasing the size of the annular
patch.
 All the other shapes have almost same radiation pattern.

Ansoft Corporation Radiation Pattern 1 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation Radiation Pattern 1 HFSSDesign1

0 0

-30 30 -30 30
-1.00 -2.00

-7.00 -9.00
-60 60 -60 60
-13.00 -16.00

-19.00 -23.00

-90 90 -90 90

-120 120 -120 120

-150 150 -150 150

-180 -180

Radiation pattern for the SMPA. Radiation pattern for the EMPA.

Ansoft Corporation Radiation Pattern 1 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation Radiation Pattern 1 HFSSDesign1

0 0

-30 30 -30 30
-16.50 -8.00

-20.50 -16.00
-60 60 -60 60
-24.50 -24.00

-28.50 -32.00

-90 90 -90 90

-120 120 -120 120

-150 150 -150 150

-180 -180

Radiation pattern for the ARMPA. Radiation pattern for the TMPA.

Figure 3. Radiation Pattern for the Different Micro-Strip Patch Antennas

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Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 7 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 6 HFSSDesign1

80.00 70.00

70.00
60.00

60.00
50.00
50.00

40.00
40.00

Y1
Y1

30.00 30.00

20.00
20.00

10.00
10.00
0.00

0.00
-10.00

-20.00 -10.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Freq [GHz] Freq [GHz]

Impedance plot for the SMPA Impedance plot for the EMPA
Real part=50.4380 Ω. Real part=50.0025 Ω.
Imaginary part=0.3360 Ω. Imaginary part=0.4509 Ω.

Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 7 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 6 HFSSDesign1

120.00 120.00

100.00 100.00

80.00 80.00

60.00 60.00
Y1

Y1
40.00 40.00

20.00 20.00

0.00 0.00

-20.00 -20.00

-40.00 -40.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Freq [GHz] Freq [GHz]

Impedance plot for the ARMPA Impedance plot for the TMPA
Real part=48.09153 Ω. Real part=50.3042 Ω.
Imaginary part=2.7687 Ω. Imaginary part=0.1589 Ω.

Figure 4. Impedance Plot for the Different Micro-Strip Patch Antennas

3.4. Impact of Shape on Impedance Plot:

Figure 4 shows the value of impedance at 2.43 GHz for the different micro-strip patch
antennas showing a good matching of the antennas to the feed line as most of the antennas have
the values of impedance real part near 50 Ω

3.5. Impact of Shape on VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio):

The most common purpose for measuring and examining VSWR is while installing and
tuning antennas. When a transmitter is connected to an antenna by a feed line, the
impedance of the antenna and feed line must match exactly for maximum energy transfer
from the feed line to the antenna to be possible. When an antenna and feed line do not
have matching impedances, some of the electrical energy cannot be transferred from the
feed line to the antenna. Energy not transferred to the antenna is reflected back towards
the transmitter. It is the interaction of these reflected waves with forward waves which
causes standing wave patterns. VSWR must lie in the range of 1-2.

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Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 2 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 5 HFSSDesign1

700.00 800.00

600.00 700.00

600.00
500.00

500.00
400.00
Y1

Y1
400.00
300.00
300.00

200.00
200.00

100.00
100.00

0.00 0.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Freq [GHz] Freq [GHz]

VSWR for the SMPA at 2.43 GHz=1.0220 VSWR for EMPA at 2.43 GHz=1.0152
Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 5 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 5 HFSSDesign1
250.00 600.00

500.00
200.00

400.00

150.00
Y1

Y1
300.00

100.00

200.00

50.00
100.00

0.00 0.00
1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 4.50 5.00
Freq [GHz] Freq [GHz]

VSWR for the ARMPA at 2.43 GHz=1.0589 VSWR for the TMPA at 2.43 GHz=1.0185

Figure 5. VSWR for the Different Micro-Strip Patch Antennas

3.6. Impact of Shape on Directivity:

Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 4 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 3 HFSSDesign1
4.00 4.50

3.50 4.00

3.50
3.00

3.00
2.50
DirTotal

2.50
DirTotal

2.00

2.00
1.50
1.50
1.00
1.00

0.50
0.50

0.00
-200.00 -150.00 -100.00 -50.00 0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 0.00
Theta [deg] -200.00 -150.00 -100.00 -50.00 0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00
Theta [deg]

Directivity of the SMPA Directivity of the EMPA

a) 3.8363 at =0 deg. a) 4.0114 at =0 deg.
b) 3.8387 at =90 deg. b) 4.0114 at =90 deg.

Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 3 HFSSDesign1 Ansoft Corporation XY Plot 3 HFSSDesign1

0.35 3.50

0.30 3.00

0.25 2.50

0.20 2.00
DirTotal

DirTotal

0.15 1.50

0.10 1.00

0.05
0.50

0.00
-200.00 -150.00 -100.00 -50.00 0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00 0.00
Theta [deg] -200.00 -150.00 -100.00 -50.00 0.00 50.00 100.00 150.00 200.00
Theta [deg]

Directivity of the ARMPA Directivity of the TMPA

a) 0.3443 at =0 deg. a) 3.3706 at =0 deg.
b) 0.3318 at =90 deg. b) 3.3609 at =90 deg.

Figure 6. Directivity of the different micro-strip patch antennas

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Directivity measures the amount of energy radiated in a specific direction, usually the
maximum energy. It can be seen from the Figure 6 that the directivity of elliptical
antenna is the best among all the antennas.

4. Conclusions
On the basis of the above results we conclude that:
 It can be easily seen from the results that when there is a need for miniaturization
then square shaped patch antenna should be considered. On the other hand when
we can compromise somewhat with the size then elliptical antenna should be used
as it gives best antenna performance parameters such as return loss, directivity,
bandwidth, VSWR, radiation pattern.
 Annular ring micro-strip patch antenna has the worst result among all of the
antennas taken in this paper and its results can be improved by increasing the size
of the annular ring. Certainly this annular antenna cannot be used when
miniaturization is prime requirement.
 The order of antenna in terms of miniaturisation is: Square, elliptical, triangular
and then annular ring antenna.
The results can be very fruitful for researchers working in the direction of
miniaturization of antenna.

References
[1] C. A. Balanis, “Antenna theory: Analysis and Design”, 2nd ed., John Willey and & Son, Inc., (1997) pp. 722-
775.
[2] I. J. Bahl and P. Bhartia, “Micro-strip Antennas”, Dedham, MA;Artech House, (1980).
[3] J. R. James, “Handbook of Microstrip Antenna”, Peter Peregrinus Ltd.: London, (1989).
[4] U. Farooq, M. J. Asad and H. Jamal, “Design of circularly polarized Square micro-strip patch”, Antenna
Proceedings IEEE INMIC, (2003).
[5] W. Cho Chew and Q. Liu, “Resonance Frequency of a Rectangular Micro-strip Patch”, IEEE Transactions on
Antennas and Propagation, (1988) August.
[6] H. A. Elshiekh, E. A. Eldiwani, M. E. Nasr and A. -A. T. Shalabi, “Transient Response of a Square Micro-strip
Patch Antenna Using Natural Modes”, 26th National Radio Science Conference (NRSC2009), Egypt.
[7] D. Bhardwaj, S. Sancheti and D. Bhatnagar, “Design of Square Patch Antenna with a Notch on the Substrate”,
Proceedings of Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference, (2007).
[8] L. C. Shen, “The Elliptical Micro-strip Antenna with Circular Polarization”, IEEE Transactions on Antennas
And Propagation, vol. AP-29, no. 1, (1981) January.
[9] T. M. Habashy, J. A. Kong and W. C. Chew, “Resonance and Radiation of the Elliptic disk Micro-strip
structure”, Part I: Formulation’, IEEE Trans., vol. AP-35, (1987), pp. 877-886.
[10] V. Sharma, V. K. Saxena, K. B. Sharma, J. S. Saini and D. Bhatnagar “Probe Feed Elliptical Patch Antenna
with Slits for WLAN Application”, Proceedings of International Conference on Microwave, (2008).
[11] J. S. Dahele and K. F. Lee, “Experimental study of the triangular micro-strip antenna”, in IEEE AP/S Int. Symp.
Dig., (1984), pp. 283-286.
[12] J. L. Dahele and K. -F. Lee,“ Communications on the Resonant Frequencies of the Triangular microstrip Patch
Antenna”, IEEE Transaction On Antennas And Propagation, vol. AP-35, no. 1, (1987) January.
[13] W. Chen, K. -F. Lee and J. S. Dahele, “Theoretical and Experimental Studies of the Resonant Frequencies of
the Equilateral Triangular Micro-strip Antenna”, IEEE Transactions On Antennas And Propagation, vol. 40, no.
10, (1992) October.

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Vol. 6, No. 3, June, 2013

Authors
Sanjeev Sharma is B. Tech (Electronics and Communication) from NC College Israna,
Panipat and currently pursuing his M. Tech from YMCA University of Science and
Technology, Faridabad. His academic intrest include Antenna Design and Wireless
Communication. E-mail: sanjusharma183@gmail.com.

Shailender Gupta is B. Tech (Electronics) and M. Tech and Ph. D (Computer Engg.) from
YMCA University of Science and Technology,faridabad. His academic interests include
network security, automata theory and fuzzy logic. Assistant Professor (Electronics Engg.) in
YMCA University of Science and Technology, Faridabad. E-mail: shailender81@gmail.com

Bharat Bhushan is B. Tech (Electronics) from PEC, Chandigarh and M.Tech (Electronics)
from YMCA University of Science and Technology, Faridabad. His academic interests include
Mobile Ad-hoc Network, Network Security. Assistant Professor (Electronics Engg.) in YMCA
University of Science and Technology, Faridabad. E-mail: bhrts@yahoomail.com.

Preet Kaur is B. Tech (Electronics) from DCRUST, Murthal and M.Tech (Electronics)
from IIT Roorkee and currently pursuing her Ph. D from YMCA University of Science and
Technology, Faridabad. Her academic interests include antenna design and Electromagnetic
Wave Theory. Assistant Professor (Electronics Engg.) in YMCA University of Science and
Technology, Faridabad. E-mail: preetmoar@gmail.com

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