CHAPTER 2 ANALYSIS OF FEEDING METHODS AND DIELECTRIC MATERIALS

CHAPTER-2

ANALYSIS OF FEEDING METHODS AND DIELECTRIC

MATERIALS
Different feeding techniques of micro strip patch antennas with different spiral
defected ground structures are presented in this chapter. In the analysis of the impact
of feeding on the parameters of the antennas will be considered work bandwidth
antennas, impedance matching and shape of the radiation pattern. We try sought a
solution that will give the wideband of work while maintaining a directional radiation
patterns. The most popular types are micro strip line feed, coaxial feed, aperture
coupled, proximity coupled, probe feed patch and so on. A number of feed
mechanisms have been developed for micro-strip antennas. Most often it is the feed
mechanism that determines the complexity of the antenna design. Popular feed
techniques can be classified into four broad categories are as follows.

2.1 Micro strip feed line:

This method of feeding is very widely used because it is very simple to design
and analyse and very easy to manufacture. Figure-3.1 shows a patch with micro strip
line feed from the side of the patch. It is widely used in both one patch antenna and
multi-patches (array) antennas. Micro strip feed line is a conducting strip and it is
directly connected to the edge of the micro strip patch. The advantage of this structure
is the ability to place circuitry near the elements on the same substrate and avoid a
multi-layer board. Also elements can be connected in parallel in the same plane to
form an array.

Figure-2.1: Micro strip line feed

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With this type of feed, impedance transformation to a useful value is needed as

the impedance near the edge of the patch is quite high (a couple hundred Ω typical).

2.2 Coaxial Feed Line:

A classic way to feed a patch antenna is by using a coaxial probe or connector

mounted at the appropriate impedance point and we will look at a couple of alternate
ways to connect to a patch. Since in most patch antennas, the impedance bandwidth is
much smaller than the radiation bandwidth, we will also look at some techniques to
increase the bandwidth. While the probe feed discussed so far has a bandwidth of only
a couple %, it is still very useful for a lot of applications like GPS and WLAN. The
coaxial feed cable has two conductor-inner conductor and outer conductor. In figure
the coaxial feed line is connected to the radiating patch and the outer conductor is
connected to the ground. In coaxial feed line technique input is given to patch through
coaxial cable. And patch is on the substrate as it is in the case of line feeding
technique. By changing coaxial feed coordinates we can achive impedence matching.

Figure-2.2: Probe feed rectangular micro strip antenna

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2.3 Aperture coupled feed:

An aperture-coupled design is proposed for Micro strip slot antenna to

improve its radiation pattern as well as bandwidth. It is based on coupling of an
aperture between the patch antenna and Micro strip slot line. The first aperture
coupled micro strip antenna was introduced in 1985 by D M Pozer. The geometry of
an aperture coupled micro strip antenna is shown in Fig. 3.2. It consists of two
substrates bonded together, with a ground plane in between. The radiating patch is
printed on the top (antenna) substrate; while a microstrip feed line is printed on the
bottom (feed) substrate. A small non resonant aperture in the ground plane. The
impedance bandwidth of a basic patch is a couple % at best. The radiation bandwidth
is usually much larger and can be up to 50%. Aperture coupling to a patch is a classic
impedance bandwidth enhancement technique. The microstrip fed aperture coupled
patch may suffer from a reduced front to back ratio. A strip line feed avoids this: the
feed line is ‘captured’ between two ground layers.

Figure-2.3: Aperture coupled feed

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2.4 Proximity Coupled Feed:

This type of feed technique is also called as the electromagnetic coupling

scheme. As shown in figure 3.4, two dielectric substrates are used such that the feed
line is between the two substrates and the radiating patch is on top of the upper
substrate. The main advantage of this feed technique is that it eliminates spurious feed
radiation and provides very high bandwidth of about 13%, due to increase in the
electrical thickness of the microstrip patch antenna. This scheme also provides
choices between two different dielectric media, one for the patch and one for the feed
line to optimize the individual performances.

Figure-2.4: Proximity Coupled Feed

2.5 Dielectric Materials:

2.5.1 Introduction:

A dielectric material is a substance that is a poor conductor of electricity, and

used as an insulating layer in the PCB build up. Porcelain, mica, glass, plastics and
some metal oxides are good dielectrics. The lower the dielectric loss, (the proportion
of energy lost as heat) the more effective the dielectric material. If the voltage across a
dielectric material becomes too great -- that is, if the electrostatic field becomes too
intense. The material will suddenly begin to conduct current. This phenomenon is

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called dielectric breakdown. Four dielectric materials are chosen to evaluate the
performance of the antenna.
 RT-Duroid.
 Teflon.
 FR4.
 Nematic phase Liquid crystal.

2.5.2 FR4-Substrate:

FR4 means - Fire Retardant UV-94 meaning Flame dies off in less than 10
seconds and Glow less than 30 seconds and there must be no falling burnt ash.

FR-4 material provides the base standard for PCB substrates, delivering a
widely effective balance between cost, manufacturability, electrical properties,
durability and performance. It has much more dielectric loss than microwave
substrates. Supported frequency up to 4GHz to ensure dielectric constant stays
between 4.2 to 4.9, usually 4.7 are commonly available in the market. If operated it
above 4 or 5GHz, dielectric constant will be greater causing tangent loss.
FR-4 is mostly used to keep the price down where loss is unimportant. Making
RF on FR-4 can be done, but it is easier and more stable to make it on i.e. a Rogers
substrate which is ceramic and not an epoxy treated glass fiber substrate as FR-4 is.
Rogers is more expensive but it varies very little from your design and therefore
making it more stable than the FR-4. This is very important when the frequency is
increase to some GHz, because the ceramic surface is more plane and not so bendable
as FR-4.Also FR-4 does not matter on digital signals. Mostly it's a problem on RF
signals because of the frequency change due to the nonlinear surface of FR-4. So
usually FR-4 are used because it's cheap for signals that does not make any or little
difference anyway, meaning less expensive product for the customer.

2.5.3 Teflon and RT-Duroid Substrate:

Teflon substrate (better and more consistent properties for microwave, but
more expensive and mechanically weak), will get about 2.2 as relative dielectric
constant. Ceramic (GPS patch antennas), has better electrical and mechanical
properties.
Rogers RT/duroid high frequency laminates in the 6002 and 6202 product
lines are suited for high reliability, high frequency applications which require very

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low loss and low dielectric constant with tight tolerance control. These materials offer
a low thermal coefficient of dielectric constant, and a CTE matched with copper.
RT/duroid 6202 features limited woven glass reinforcement, adding rigidity and
enhancing dimensional stability.
RT/duroid 6002 and 6202 Product Features:
 Low loss for excellent high frequency performance.
 Tight dielectric constant and thickness control.
 Excellent electrical and mechanical properties.
 Extremely low thermal coefficient of dielectric constant In-plane expansion
coefficient matched to copper Low Z-axis expansion.
 Low out gassing: ideal for space applications.
 RoHS compliant, environment friendly.
The FR-4 material is the basic standard for PCB substrates and offers a highly
effective balance between cost, manufacturing capacity, electrical properties,
durability, and performance. But if electrical features and advanced performance are
fundamental to our designs, Rogers’s materials are ideal.
2.6 Features and benefits of Rogers RT/duroid 5880™:
 Low loss of electrical signal.
 Large range of values Dk (dielectric constant) vales (2.55-10.2).
 Low-cost circuit manufacturing.
 Low outgassing for space applications.
2.7 Properties of RT Duroid 5880:
 The very low electrical loss chances for any reinforced PTFE material.
 Lower moisture absorption.
 Isotropic.
 Uniform electrical properties on the frequency.
 Excellent chemical resistance, including solvents and reagents used in printing
and coating.
 Friendly environment.
2.8 Uses:
Rogers RT/duroid 5880™high frequency laminates are used in:
 Commercial airline broadband antennas.
 Micro strip and strip line circuits.

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 Millimetre wave applications.

 Military radar systems.
 Missile guidance systems.
 Point-to-point digital radio antennas.

2.9 Comparison between FR4 and RT duroid:

Table-2.1: Comparison between FR4 and RT duroid

parameters FR4 RT

W(transmission line
3.9 mm 4.9 mm
width)

W/H 1.88 3.06

E0 (effective
3.32 1.87
permittivity)

ET (relative permittivity) 4.4 2.2

FR(central frequency) 5 GHz 5 GHz

A(radius) 8.7 mm 10 mm

Z(impedance) 50.83 50.49

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