MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS

By :

Dr. A. Dr A. Dastranj
School of Electrical & Computer Engineering Shiraz University adastranj@shirazu.ac.ir adastranj@shirazu ac ir

May 28, 2011

Chapter 5
Microstrip antennas

Microstrip antennas Are considered the most practical antennas For mobile communication !
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Microstrip Mi i Antennas

Outline
1- Components 2- Types of microstrip Antennas 3- Feeding techniques 4- Advantages 5- Disadvantages 6- Techniques to overcome Disadvantages 7- Microstrip arrays 8- Feeding of arrays 9- Microstrip vs. reflectors.

6.1. C 6 1 Components t

A microstrip antenna consists of : Patch ( radiating Element )

Feed

Dielectric Ground plane copper

The patch ( radiating element ) may be circular , rectangular or any other shape .
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Components : Design parameters C t D i t

)

Design parameters : ( W , L , f ,

o = c / f

g = /

The microstrip antennas have a main radiating edge , the other edge is weaker .

6.2 T 6 2 . Types of microstrip antennas f i ti t

Open circuit microstrip Short circuit microstrip

-The patch is totally isolated From the ground plane -Higher efficiency than short Circuit microstrip antennas . -Side length of the p g patch is g / 2.

-The patch is connected to p The ground -Have only one radiating Edge . - Side length is g / 4 .
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Types of microstrip antennas T f i ti t

As it is difficult to manufacture a short circuit microstrip antenna , we use shorting Posts instead .

Shorting posts have : -Inductance in each one -Capacitance between them > As number of posts increase Resonant frequency increase .

Shorting Posts

6 3 F di t h i 6.3. Feeding techniques

Feeding by coupling Microstrip line Feed Direct feeding by coaxial Feed line ( probe ) Aperture p coupled feed Proximity p coupled feed

Feeding techniques : Direct feed by g q y

coaxial fees line

The inner ( central ) of the coax is attached to the patch while The outer ground is welded to the ground of the microstrip ( like the monopole ) .

Patch

Coaxial Equivalent circuit

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Feeding techniques : Mi F di t h i Microstrip feed li i f d line

It is a conducting strip of much smaller width compared to the Patch , it is easy to fabricate and simple to match .. y p

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Feeding techniques : f di b coupling F di t h i feeding by li

Aperture coupled feed Proximity coupled feed

The most difficult to fabricate And has a narrow band , Depends on two substrates and A ground with a slot . d ith l t

Has a band width of 13% , however it is difficult to fabricate.

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6.4 Ad t 6 4 . Advantages

1 High accuracy in manufacturing , the design is executed by Photo etching g

2 Easy to integrate with other devices

3 An array of microstrip antennas can be used to form a Pattern that is difficult to synthesize using a single element.

4 We can obtain high directivity using microstrip arrays

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Advantages Ad t

5 Have a main radiating edge , this makes it useful for mobile Phones to avoid radiation inside the device .

6 S ll sized applicable f h dh ld portable communication Small i d li bl for handheld t bl i ti

7 Smart antennas when combined with phase shifters .

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6.5 Di d t 6 5 . Disadvantages

1 Narrow band width ( 1% ) , while mobiles need ( 8% )

2 Low efficiency , especially for short circuited microstrip antenna 3 Some feeding techniques like aperture and proximity Coupling are difficult to fabricate

4 An array suffers presence of feed network decreasing Efficiency , also microstrip antennas are relatively expensive .
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6.6 . Techniques for overcoming q g disadvantages

Conventional techniques Non conventional techniques

1- Decreasing dielectric Constant 2- Increasing thickness 3 3- Increasing width .

1- Aligned parasitic elements 2- Using stacked parasitic Elements.

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Techniques for overcoming q g disadvantages : Aligned parasitic elements

Feeding one patch by coax Probe and the other two Patches are fed by coupling , This makes the antenna has Three resonating frequencies And the ultimate resonance Is of a wider band width. Patch #1 : Fed by F d b coax Feed line Patch #2 , 3 : Fed by Coupling. Single element Parasitic elements

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Techniques for overcoming q g disadvantages : Stacked parasitic elements

Rather than aligning them , We can even combine the two Methods and modulate the Patchs shape to yield widest Band width .

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6.7 Mi 6 7 . Microstrip Arrays ti A

2^n

Feed Network

2^n
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Microstrip Arrays
The optimum spacing is 0.8, length must be <= o to avoid Multiple g p grating lobes and also must be >= lambda / 2 . g Advantages of microstrip arrays 1 Used to synthesize a required pattern difficult to achieve with A single element. 2 Used to scan the beam of an antenna system 3 Increases directivity .
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Microstrip Arrays
Disadvantages of microstrip arrays

1 Narrow bandwidth ( 1 % ) . 2 Low efficiency y 3 If the separation is more than lambda , grating lobes appear 4 Feed network decreases efficiency .

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6.8 F di 6 8 . Feeding of arrays f

A microstrip antenna uses feed network which may be either :

1 Series feed 2 Corporate feed .

Sometimes feed networks are synthesized with the antenna !

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Feeding f F di of arrays : S i f d Series feed

Series feed

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Feeding f F di of arrays : C Corporate f d t feed

Corporate feed

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Flat l Fl t plane Microstrip Antenna Mi ti A t

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