TheBasicsofPatchAntennas

ByD.OrbanandG.J.K.Moernaut OrbanMicrowaveProducts www.orbanmicrowave.com

Introduction Thisarticleintroducessomeofthebasicconceptsofpatchantennas.Themainfocuswillbeon explainingthegeneralpropertiesofpatchantennasbyusingthesimplerectangularprobefed patch.Itwillcovertopicsincluding:principlesofoperation,impedancematching,radiation patternandrelatedaspects,bandwidth,andefficiency.

PropertiesofaBasicMicrostripPatch Amicrostriporpatchantennaisalowprofileantennathathasanumberofadvantagesover otherantennas itislightweight,inexpensive,andeasytointegratewithaccompanying electronics.Whiletheantennacanbe3Dinstructure(wrappedaroundanobject,forexample), theelementsareusuallyflathencetheirothername,planarantennas.Notethataplanarantenna isnotalwaysapatchantenna. Thefollowingdrawingshowsapatchantennainitsbasicform:aflatplateoveragroundplane (usuallyaPCboard).Thecenterconductorofacoaxservesasthefeedprobetocouple electromagneticenergyinand/oroutofthepatch.Theelectricfielddistributionofarectangular patchexcitedinitsfundamentalmodeisalsoindicated.

fringefield probe feed

fringefield toplayer substrate groundplane

electricalfield

feedline

Theelectricfieldiszeroatthecenterofthepatch,maximum(positive)atoneside,and minimum(negative)ontheoppositeside.Itshouldbementionedthattheminimumand

maximumcontinuouslychangesideaccordingtotheinstantaneousphaseoftheappliedsignal. Theelectricfielddoesnotstopabruptlyatthepatch'speripheryasinacavityrather,thefields extendtheouterperipherytosomedegree.Thesefieldextensionsareknownasfringingfields andcausethepatchtoradiate.Somepopularanalyticmodelingtechniquesforpatchantennasare basedonthisleakycavityconcept.Therefore,thefundamentalmodeofarectangularpatchis oftendenotedusingcavitytheoryastheTM10mode. Sincethisnotationfrequentlycausesconfusion,wewillbrieflyexplainit.TMstandsfor transversalmagneticfielddistribution.Thismeansthatonlythreefieldcomponentsare consideredinsteadofsix.Thefieldcomponentsofinterestare:theelectricfieldinthez direction,andthemagneticfieldcomponentsinxandydirectionusingaCartesiancoordinate system,wherethexandyaxesareparallelwiththegroundplaneandthezaxisisperpendicular. Ingeneral,themodesaredesignatedasTMnmz.Thezvalueismostlyomittedsincetheelectric fieldvariationisconsiderednegligibleinthezaxis.HenceTMnmremainswithnandmthe fieldvariationsinxandydirection.Thefieldvariationintheydirection(impedancewidth direction)isnegligiblethusmis0.Andthefieldhasoneminimumtomaximumvariationinthe xdirection(resonancelengthdirection)thusnis1inthecaseofthefundamental.Hencethe notationTM10. Dimensions Theresonantlengthdeterminestheresonantfrequencyandisabout l/2forarectangularpatch excitedinitsfundamentalmode.Thepatchis,infact,electricallyabitlargerthanitsphysical dimensionsduetothefringingfields.Thedeviationbetweenelectricalandphysicalsizeis mainlydependentonthePCboardthicknessanddielectricconstant. Abetterapproximationfortheresonantlengthis: L 0.49 ld =0.49

l0 . er

Thisformulaincludesafirstordercorrectionfortheedgeextensionduetothefringingfields, with: L=resonantlength ld =wavelengthinPCboard l0 =wavelengthinfreespace er =dielectricconstantofthePCboardmaterial

Otherparametersthatwillinfluencetheresonantfrequency: Groundplanesize Metal(copper)thickness Patch(impedance)width

ImpedanceMatching Lookingatthecurrent(magneticfield)andvoltage(electricalfield)variationalongthepatch, thecurrentismaximalatthecenterandminimalneartheleftandrightedges,whiletheelectrical fieldiszerointhecenterandmaximal neartheleftandminimalneartherightedges.Thefigures belowclarifythesequantities.

Fromthemagnitudeofthecurrentandthevoltage,wecanconcludetheimpedanceisminimum (theoreticallyzero W )inthemiddleofthepatchandmaximum(typicallyaround200 W ,but

dependingontheQoftheleakycavity)neartheedges.Putdifferently,thereisapointwherethe impedanceis50 Wsomewherealongthe"resonantlength"(x)axisoftheelement.

FundamentalSpecificationsofPatchAntennas RadiationPattern Thepatch'sradiationatthefringingfieldsresultsinacertainfarfieldradiationpattern.This radiationpatternshowsthattheantennaradiatesmorepowerinacertaindirectionthananother direction.Theantennaissaidtohavecertaindirectivity.ThisiscommonlyexpressedindB. Anestimationoftheexpecteddirectivityofapatchcanbederivedwithease.Thefringingfields attheradiatingedgescanbeviewedastworadiatingslotsplacedaboveagroundplane. Assumingallradiationoccursinonehalfofthehemisphere,thisresultsina3dBdirectivity. Thiscaseisoftendescribedasaperfectfronttobackratioallradiationtowardsthefrontandno radiationtowardstheback.Thisfronttobackratioishighlydependentongroundplanesizeand shapeinpracticalcases.Another3dBcanbeaddedsincethereare2slots.Theslotsaretypically takentohavealengthequaltotheimpedancewidth(lengthaccordingtotheyaxis)ofthepatch andawidthequaltothesubstrateheight.Suchaslottypicallyhasagainofabout2to3dB(cfr. simpledipole).Thisresultsinatotalgainof8to9dB. Therectangularpatchexcitedinitsfundamentalmodehasamaximumdirectivityinthe directionperpendiculartothepatch(broadside).Thedirectivitydecreaseswhenmovingaway frombroadsidetowardslowerelevations.The3dBbeamwidth(orangularwidth)istwicethe anglewithrespecttotheangleofthemaximumdirectivity,wherethisdirectivityhasrolledoff3 dBwithrespecttothemaximumdirectivity.Anexampleofaradiationpatterncanbefound below.

Typicalradiationpatternofasimplesquarepatch.

Sofar,thedirectivityhasbeendefinedwithrespecttoanisotropicsourceandhencehastheunit dBi.Anisotropicsourceradiatesanequalamountofpowerineverydirection.Quiteoften,the antennadirectivityisspecifiedwithrespecttothedirectivityofadipole.Thedirectivityofa dipoleis2.15dBiwithrespecttoanisotropicsource.Thedirectivityexpressedwithrespectto thedirectivityofadipolehasdBdasitsunit. AntennaGain Antennagainisdefinedasantennadirectivitytimesafactorrepresentingtheradiationefficiency. Thisefficiencyisdefinedastheratiooftheradiatedpower(Pr)totheinputpower(Pi).The inputpoweristransformedintoradiatedpowerandsurfacewavepowerwhileasmallportionis dissipatedduetoconductoranddielectriclossesofthematerialsused.Surfacewavesareguided wavescapturedwithinthesubstrateandpartiallyradiatedandreflectedbackatthesubstrate edges.Surfacewavesaremoreeasilyexcitedwhenmaterialswithhigherdielectricconstants and/orthickermaterialsareused.Surfacewavesarenotexcitedwhenairdielectricisused. Severaltechniquestoprevent oreliminatesurfacewavesexist,butthisisbeyondthescopeof thisarticle. Antennagaincanalsobespecifiedusingthetotalefficiencyinsteadoftheradiationefficiency only.Thistotalefficiencyisacombinationoftheradiationefficiencyandefficiencylinkedtothe impedancematchingoftheantenna.

Polarization Theplanewhereintheelectricfieldvariesisalsoknownasthepolarizationplane.Thebasic patchcovereduntilnowislinearlypolarizedsincetheelectricfieldonlyvariesinonedirection. Thispolarizationcanbeeitherverticalorhorizontaldependingontheorientationofthepatch.A transmitantennaneedsareceivingantennawiththesamepolarizationforoptimumoperation. Thepatchmentionedyieldshorizontalpolarization,asshown.Whentheantennaisrotated90, thecurrentflowsintheverticalplane,andisthenverticallypolarized. Alargenumberofapplications,includingsatellitecommunication,havetroublewithlinear polarizationbecausetheorientationoftheantennasisvariableorunknown.Luckily,thereis anotherkindofpolarizationcircularpolarization.Inacircularpolarizedantenna,theelectric fieldvariesintwoorthogonalplanes(xandydirection)withthesamemagnitudeanda90 phasedifference.Theresultisthesimultaneousexcitationoftwomodes,i.e.theTM10mode (modeinthexdirection)andtheTM01(modeintheydirection).Oneofthemodesisexcited witha90phasedelaywithrespecttotheothermode.Acircularpolarizedantennacaneitherbe righthandcircularpolarized(RHCP)orlefthandcircularpolarized(LHCP).Theantennais RHCPwhenthephasesare0and90fortheantennainthefigurebelowwhenitradiates towardsthereader,anditisLHCPwhenthephasesare0and90. Fromthis,itisclearwhatneedstobedoneinordertogetcircularpolarization,namely: Splitthesignalintwoequalparts. Feedonesignaltoahorizontalradiatorandtheothertoaverticalradiator(inthiscase, eachradiatorisapairofradiatingedgesofthepatchantennaisindicatedinfigure below). Changethephaseofoneofthesignalsby90. SplittingthesignalinhalfcanbedonewithaWilkinsonpowerdividerorsimilarsplitter.Ifa squarepatchisfedwithtwofeedpointsasdepictedinthefigurebelow,averticalanda horizontalradiatorarecreatedconcurrently.Bycreatingthe90delayinoneofthesignallines andconnectingeachsignaltoonefeedingpinofthepatch,acircularlypolarizedantennais created.

Feed1 0 Feed2

90

Thoughthisworkswell,thesplitteranddelaylinetakeupvaluableboardspace,andtheyalso tendtoradiateanddegraderadiationpattern. AnotherapproachistoseethepatchasaparallelRLCresonantcircuit.Thismeansaphaseshift thatchangesversusfrequencyispresent,asshowninthefollowingplot:

Sincetherearetworesonances,faandfb(twomodes),therearetwoRLCcircuits.Whenthe correspondingresonancefrequenciesareslightlydifferent,thereisasmallfrequencybandwhere thephasedifferenceofthetwoRLCcircuitsis90. Thuscircularpolarizationcanbeachievedbybuildingapatchwithtworesonancefrequenciesin orthogonaldirectionsandusingtheantennarightinbetweenthetworesonancesatf0.Itis importantthatthetwomodesareexcitedequallystrongandwitha90phasedifference.A numberofwaysexisttoimplementthis,butcuttingtwocornersofftheelement thesocalled cornerstruncatedpatchisatechniquewidelyusedinGPSantennas(seefigurebelow).Note, however,thatthistechniqueinherentlyhasalowercircularpolarizationbandwidththanthe doublefedpatch,whosepolarizationbandwidthismainlylimitedbythesplitterphaseshifter bandwidth.

Feed

Thequalityofthecircularpolarizationiscommonlyquantifiedastheaxialratio(AR),expressed indB.A3dBaxialratioisconsideredsufficientformostapplications.Fromtheoutlinegiven previously,itisclearthattheaxialratiovarieswithfrequencyandhasanoptimum(0dB)right inbetweentheresonancefrequenciesofthetwoexcitedmodes.However,itisnotnoticeablein thepreviousoutlinethattheaxialratiovarieswithelevationaswell.Theaxialratioismostly optimalatbroadside(inthedirectionofzaxis)anddegradestowardslowerelevations(away fromzaxis).Thedegreeofdegradationishighlydependentontheantennageometry.Most antennavendorsonlyspecifyoneaxialratiovalueoranaxialratiovariationversusfrequency, andtheydontsayanythingaboutaxialratiovariationversuselevation. Anotherwayofexpressingthequalityofcircularpolarizationisshowingthecoandcrosspolar radiationpatterns.Thecopolarradiationpatternistheradiationpatternofthewanted polarization,andthecrosspolarradiationpatternistheradiationpatternoftheunwanted oppositepolarization. Bandwidth Anotherimportantparameterofanyantennaisthebandwidthitcovers.Onlyimpedance bandwidthisspecifiedmostofthetime.However,itisimportanttorealizethatseveral definitionsofbandwidthexistimpedancebandwidth,directivitybandwidth,polarization bandwidth,andefficiencybandwidth.Directivityandefficiencyareoftencombinedasgain bandwidth. Impedancebandwidth/returnlossbandwidth Thisisthefrequencyrangewhereinthestructurehasausablebandwidthcomparedtoacertain impedance,usually50. Theimpedancebandwidthdependsonalargenumberofparametersrelatedtothepatchantenna elementitself (e.g.,qualityfactor)andthetypeoffeedused.Theplotbelowshowsthereturn lossofapatchantennaandindicatesthereturnlossbandwidthatthedesiredS11/VSWR(S11 wanted/VSWRwanted).Thebandwidthistypicallylimitedtoafewpercent.Thisisthemajor disadvantageofbasicpatchantennas.Severaltechniquestoimprovethebandwidthexist,but thesearebeyondthescopeofthisarticle.

Importantnote: Severalvendorsusedifferentdefinitionsofimpedancebandwidth,suchas: VSWR=2:1andothervalues,S11valuesotherthan10dB,themaximumrealimpedance dividedbythesquarerootoftwo[Z(Re)/2,bandwidth],etc.Thistendstoturnselectingthe rightantennaforaspecificapplicationintoquiteaburden. Directivity/gainbandwidth Thisisthefrequencyrangewhereintheantennameetsacertaindirectivity/gainrequirement (e.g.,1dBgainflatness). Efficiencybandwidth Thisisthefrequencyrangewhereintheantennahasreasonable(applicationdependent) radiation/totalefficiency. Polarizationbandwidth Thisisthefrequencyrangewhereintheantennamaintainsitspolarization. Axialratiobandwidth Thisbandwidthisrelatedtothepolarizationbandwidthandthisnumberexpressesthequalityof thecircularpolarizationofanantenna.

Conclusions Inthisarticle,thebasicpropertiesoflinearandcircularpolarizedpatchantennashavebeen covered.Wedefinedabasicsetofspecificationsthatallowtheusertounderstandandwriteaset ofrequirementsforaspecificapplication. Besides theonescoveredhere,manymoredesign optionsanddifferentimplementationsofpatchantennasareavailable.Coverageofthese alternativesisbeyondthescopeofthisarticle,buttheyshouldbeconsideredduringthe specificationanddevelopmentphasesoftheantenna.