magnetic wall.

From w3x, we know that the value of the

STUDY OF A SLIT CUT ON A inductance on a microstrip line can be calculated as follows:
MICROSTRIP ANTENNA AND
ITS APPLICATIONS D Ls m 0p lX1 2
s ž / Ž2.
Xue-Xia Zhang1 and Fan Yang1 h 4 W9
1
Department of Electronic Engineering
Tsinghua University where lX1 and W9 are the equivalent length of the slit and the
Beijing, 100084, P.R. China width of the microstrip line.
Considering the difference between the transmission line
Recei¨ ed 5 January 1998 and the antenna, the formula should multiply a factor of 1r2
because, on the transmission line, the current has one direc-
ABSTRACT: The slit cut on a microstrip antenna is studied in this tion, while on the antenna, the current has two directions.
paper, and a multiport series inductance network is established for Thus, the inductance can be calculated by the following
analysis. Based on this study, two slit applications are proposed: to adjust
formula:
the resonant frequency, and to make a small microstrip antenna. Experi-
ments agree well with the theoretical analysis. Q 1998 John Wiley &
h m 0p lX1 2
Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 18: 297]300, 1998. Ls s ž / . Ž3.
8 W9
Key words: slit; multiport series inductance network; microstrip antenna
Considering the electromagnetic field distribution along
the slit, an inductance distribution is needed to simulate the
INTRODUCTION
field around the magnetic wall. Here, we adopt a linear
The microstrip antenna is now widely used. It has many distribution. From Figure 1, we can see that at the center of
advantages, such as low profile, light weight, low production the slit, the effect of the slit is larger than at the edge. So the
cost, conformal nature, etc. But once it is fabricated, its susceptance at the center is smaller than at the edge. Thus,
features are fixed and difficult to adjust. Some methods have the susceptance can be calculated as
been proposed to solve this problem. In addition, the method
for cutting a slit on the microstrip patch proposed in this
paper is an effective one. This method is to cut a slit at an
¡Y s 2i
i s 1, 2, . . . , N
Y s~
adequate position and of an adequate length. The method 2 N Ž N q 1.
Ž4.
¢2 Ys 2 Ž 2 N q 1 y i .
i
used to make the slit is very easy: one only needs to draw a
i s N q 1, . . . , 2 N
slit on the metal patch using a sharp knife as shown in N Ž N q 1.
Figures 1Ža. and 3Ža.. The slit has the effect of decreasing the
resonant frequency. Because of this effect, the slit has two 1
Ys s Ž5.
applications. First, when the resonant frequency shifts and is j2p fL s
greater than the initial design, cutting a slit can adjust the
resonant frequency to the expected frequency. Second, an H where 2 N is the port number of the network, and i is
slit can effectively minimize the size of the microstrip an- numbered from the bottom to the top.
tenna from a half wavelength to nearly a quarter wavelength. Using the segmentation method w4x, the impedance of the
slit microstrip patch antenna can be calculated as
ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTS
y1
Modeling of the Trans¨ erse Slit. The main mode of a mi- Zin s Z p p y Z p q Ž Z q q q Zr r q Zl . Zq p
crostrip patch antenna is the TM 10 mode, so it can be treated
¡1
~Y
as an open circuit resonator. The current flows along the
isj
length direction. Thus, the resonant frequency can be ob-
tained as follows:
Zl i j s
¢0i
i/j
Ž6.

kL e s p
where k is the wavenumber in the substrate and L e is the
equivalent length of the current flow path.
When a slit is cut on the patch, it cuts off the flow path of
the electrical current. The current has to flow around the slit,
and the equivalent length of the current flow path gets
longer. Thus, the resonant frequency will decrease. This
effect can be described in terms of an equivalent series
inductance, as shown in Figure 1Žb..
The multiport network model is used for analysis w1x. To
calculate the effect of the slit carefully, a series slit network
model is established. The two patches are linked together
through this multiport slit network, as shown in Figure 1Žc..
Since the slit is only a line, the effect of the slit can be
modeled by inserting a transverse magnetic wall of zero
thickness into the microstrip patch. Wheeler’s equivalent
volume concept w2x is applied to calculate the effect of this
Ž1.
where Zin is the input impedance of the antenna, Z p p , Z p q ,
Z q p , and Zr r are the impedance matrixes of the patch which
can be calculated according to w5x, and Zl i j is the element of
matrix Zl describing the action of the slit.
From Eq. Ž6., the resonant frequency can be obtained.
Some experiments were carried out to verify the multiport
slit network model. Different frequency bands and different
positions of the slit were used in the experiment, Figure 2Ža.
shows a microstrip antenna whose initial resonant frequency
is 2.59 GHz. The upper two curves represent the results when
the slit is cut on a place which is a quarter of the length to
the edge, and the lower two curves represent the results when
a slit is cut on the middle of the patch. Figure 2Žb. shows a
microstrip antenna whose initial resonant frequency is 913
MHz. From the figures, we can see that when the slit length-
ens, the frequency decreases more, and when the slit is cut on
the middle of the patch, the frequency decreases the most.

MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 18, No. 4, July 1998 297
 Figure 1 Ža. Narrow slit in a microstrip patch antenna. Some current lines Žsolid. and magnetic field lines Ždotted. show the effect of
the slit. Žb. Equivalent insertion inductance. Žc. Multiport model of the microstrip patch antenna with a slit

The latter feature results from the fact that the amplitude of
the current is maximum in the middle of the patch. We also
find that the calculation results fit well with the experimental
results.
Modeling of the H Shape Slit. To determine the slit effect
thoroughly, an H shape slit is cut on the patch, and its
features are studied. The current distribution is shown in
Figure 3Ža.. Because the equivalent current length of the H
slit is longer than the transverse slit, the frequency decreases
more, and its effect can also be characterized as an induc-
tance. Now, part of the slit L2 is parallel to the electrical
current, which is different from the former slit, so another
formula is needed for this part. Based on the transmission
line theory and according to the current around L2, the
reactance can be calculated as follows:
jX s jZ0 tan Ž kL2r2.
Z0 s Ž Z01 q Z02 . r2
where Z01 and Z02 are the characteristic impedances of the
microstrip lines with widths of ŽW y L1 .r2 and L1. Z0 repre-
sents the average effect of Z01 and Z02 .
Equation Ž5. should be modified, and the total suscep-
tance of the H slit can be calculated as
1
Ys s . Ž8.
1
j2p fL s q jX
2
Substituting Ž8. into Ž4. and Ž6., the resonant frequency
can be calculated.
Figure 3 shows the slit shape and its effects. From the
figure, we can see that using an H shape slit can decrease the
resonant frequency more significantly than using only a
straight line slit. And the experimental result agrees well with
the calculated result.
APPLICATIONS
Adjusting the Resonance Frequency of the Microstrip Antenna.
The main shortcoming of a microstrip antenna is its narrow
Ž7.
bandwidth. The narrow bandwidth requires that the resonant
frequency be designed accurately. But this is difficult because
of the uncertainty of the dielectric constant. For example, a
microstrip patch antenna, whose resonant frequency is 908
MHz, dielectric constant is 2.86, and thickness h is 1.5 mm,

Figure 2 Ža. L s 34.7 mm, W s 39.6 mm, h s 1.5 mm, « r s 2.65. Žb. L s 101 mm, W s 115 mm, h s 1.5 mm, « r s 2.8

298 MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 18, No. 4, July 1998
 Figure 3 Ža. H slit on the patch, current line Žsolid. and magnetic filed lines Ždotted.. Žb. L s 60 mm, W s 70 mm, h s 1.5 mm,
« r s 2.65

has an impedance bandwidth ŽVSWR - 2. of only 0.7%. But
if the dielectric constant varies 0.06 Žusually within the fabri-
cation tolerance., the resonant frequency shifts 9.25 MHz,
that is, 1.02% of the initial frequency. So this microstrip
antenna cannot be used because the expected frequency is
out of the practical band.
The usual method to solve this problem is to design
another antenna in accordance with the discrepancy between
the expected and the practical features, and fabricate a new
antenna. Sometimes, this procedure may be repeated several
times to get the ideal antenna. This requires more time and
more money. There are some other methods such as adding
shorting posts, tearing off a segment of patch, etc. But the
main drawback of these methods is that the operation is quite
complex.
Based on the study above, we find that cutting a slit on a
microstrip antenna is an effective and easy method to adjust
the resonant frequency. As the length of the slit gets longer,
the resonant frequency will decrease consecutively. The ad-
justable range of this method is wide. In Figure 2Žb., the
frequency decreases 22%.
Making a Small Microstrip Antenna. In some cases, such as for
portable telephones, the microstrip antenna is too large to be
used. So making a small microstrip antenna is a new trend in
the development of microstrip antennas. There are three
major methods: adding shorting posts, using very high-permit-
tivity materials, and adopting a meandering microstrip patch.
When adding a shorting post, it was found that the input
impedance of a probe-fed antenna is very sensitive to the

Figure 4 Radiation pattern of the H slit antenna at 910 MHz, L s 60 mm, W s 70 mm, h s 1.5 mm, « r s 2.65. Ža. E-plane radiation
pattern. Žb. H-plane radiation pattern

MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 18, No. 4, July 1998 299
distance of the separation of the shorting post and the
feeding probe. WHen using high-permittivity materials, the
gain is very low, and the radiation pattern of the meandering
patch antenna is not very good.
In this paper, a new kind of small microstrip antenna is
proposed. From the study of an H slit on the microstrip
patch, we find that the final resonant frequency is about 60%
of the initial frequency. This means that cutting an H slit can
minimize the antenna size from a half wavelength to a
quarter wavelength. To demonstrate this idea, an H slit
antenna which resonated at 910 MHz was fabricated. Its size
was 60 mm = 70 mm compared to the usual size of 101
mm = 115 mm. From the comparison, we can see that cutting
an H slit can effectively minimize the size of the antenna.
Another advantage is its radiation pattern, as shown in Fig-
ure 4. The 3 dB beamwidth is 1058 in the H-plane and 908 in
the E-plane, and the cross polarization is less than 10 dB.
This method may be combined with other methods to
obtain better features.
CONCLUSION
A multiport series inductance network model is established
for the analysis of a slit cut on a microstrip patch antenna.
Based on this analysis, two applications of the slit are pro-
posed: to adjust the resonant frequency, and to make a small
microstrip antenna. Experiments validate the model and the
applications.
REFERENCES
1. K. C. Gupta, ‘‘Multiport Network Modeling Approach for Com-
puter-Aided Design of Microstrip Patches and Arrays,’’ IEEE
AP-S Int. Symp. Antennas Propagat. Dig., Vol. 2, June 1987, pp.
786]789.
2. H. A. Wheeler, ‘‘Coupling Holes Between Resonant Cavities or
Waveguides Evaluated in Terms of Volume Ratios,’’ IEEE Trans.
Microwa¨ e Theory Tech., Vol. MTT-12, Mar. 1964, pp. 786]789.
3. W. J. R. Hoefer, ‘‘Equivalent Series Inductance of a Narrow
Transverse Slit in Microstrip,’’ IEEE Trans. Microwa¨ e Theory
Tech., Vol. MTT-25, Oct. 1977, pp. 822]824.
4. R. Chadha and K. C. Gupta, ‘‘Segmentation Method Using
Impedance Matrices for Analysis of Planar Microwave Circuits,’’
IEEE Trans. Microwa¨ e Theory Tech., Vol. MTT-29, Jan. 1981, pp.
71]74.
5. T. Itoh, Numerical Techniques for Microwa¨ e and Millimeter-Wa¨ e
Passi¨ e Structure, Wiley-Interscience, New York, pp. 312]316.
Q 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
CCC 0895-2477r98
the current inside the inhomogeneous transmission line are found and
presented. The beha¨ ior of the input impedance for an exponentially
tapered nonuniform transmission line (ETNUTL) is studied for different
¨ alues of the tapering factor. Finally, an equi¨ alent two-port circuit
representation for the ETNUTL by an impedance matrix, whose elements
are dependent on the tapering factor, is deri¨ ed. Q 1998 John Wiley &
Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 18: 300]302, 1998.
Key words: nonuniform transmission lines; impedance matrix
I. INTRODUCTION
In a multisection quarter-wave transformer used to match
two transmission lines with different characteristic imped-
ances, the change in impedance is obtained in a number of
discrete steps. An alternative is to use a tapered transition
which has a characteristic impedance that varies continuously
in a smooth fashion from the impedance of one line to that of
the other line. A transition of this type is referred to as a
tapered or nonuniform transmission line.
Tapered or nonuniform transmission lines are widely used
as broadband matching sections in microwave circuits, which
explains the abundance of previous studies on tapered lines
in the frequency domain. In the area of radio-frequency
systems, the NUTLs have many applications such as in power
systems and microwave systems. In the area of power systems,
NUTLs have been employed to connect a nonlinear transmit-
ter network to a linear receiving system. Also, we can find
applications of NUTLs in radio-frequency systems as
impedance transformers, impedance matching networks, fil-
ters, etc. NUTLs show advantages when used as impedance
transformers in terms of bandwidth. Also, they show a larger
rejection bandwidth when used as filters.
An approximate theory of tapered transmission lines can
be readily developed, and can be easily found in the litera-
ture. In this paper, the frequency response of tapered lines by
means of hypergeometric confluent functions is studied in a
rigorous way. From the solution of the NUTL equations for
the voltage and current in terms of hypergeometric confluent
functions, we show that a tapered line can be generally
treated as a two-port linear circuit. We present, also, an
equivalent circuit representation of an ETNUTL in terms of
an impedance matrix whose elements are dependent on the
tapering factor.
II. BASIC THEORY
A tapered line as a matching section is illustrated in Figure 1
where h Ž z . and g Ž z . denote the characteristic impedance
and the propagation wavenumber.

IMPEDANCE MATRIX REPRESENTATION

FOR EXPONENTIALLY NONUNIFORM
TRANSMISSION LINES
L. Vegni1 and A. Toscano1
1
Department of Electronic Engineering
Third University of Rome
84-00146 Rome, Italy

Recei¨ ed 6 January 1998

ABSTRACT: This paper deals with the solution of nonhomogeneous

transmission line (NUTL) equations in terms of hypergeometric func-
tions. Formal expressions in a closed analytical form for the ¨ oltage and Figure 1 Nonuniform transmission line

300 MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 18, No. 4, July 1998