Chapter 4

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS OF MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS

Page No.

4.0 Introduction ... 89

4.1 Design considerations … 89
4.2 Design of conventional rectangular microstrip
antenna (CRMA) … 91
4.2.1 RMSA design parameters … 92
(a) Design of elemental width (W) … 92
(b) Design of extension length (ΔL) … 92
(c) Design of actual length of the patch (L) … 93
(d) Design of microstripline feed … 93
(e) Design of quarter wave transformer … 94
(f) Design of ground plane … 96
4.3 Fabrication process of antennas … 96
4.4. Design and fabrication of conventional rectangular
microstrip antenna (CRMSA) … 100
4.4.1 Geometry of CRMSA … 100
4.4.2 Measured and simulated return loss
characteristics of CRMSA … 101
4.4.3 2D and 3D radiation patterns of CRMSA … 102
4.4.4 Surface current distribution of CRMSA … 103
4.5. Design and fabrication of rectangular monopole … 104
antenna (RMA)
4.5.1 Antenna geometry … 104
4.5.2 Measured and simulated return loss
characteristics of RMA … 106
4.5.3 2D and 3D radiation patterns of RMA … 107
4.5.4 Surface current distribution of RMA … 108
4.0 Introduction

This chapter presents the different steps taken in the design of MSAs namely

CRMS, RMA and gap-coupled RMAs. The various TEM equations are available for

the design of patch, feed line, slots, ground plane etc. All the dimensions are lies in

term of operating wavelength. The improper design leads spurious radiation and

limited bandwidth and gain of the antenna. The fabrication process of various

antennas is also described in this chapter. At the beginning the antenna parameters

such as impedance bandwidth, gain, radiation patterns etc of CRMA, monopole RMA

have been presented. The study is conducted to improve these parameters by adopting

novel geometries of monopole and by applying gap-coupled technique. The obtained

results and the use of antennas for various applications are explained in the fifth

chapter.

4.1 Design considerations

The basic parameters required for the design of suitable and appropriate geometry are:

1. selection of dielectric substrate material with appropriate thickness

2. dielectric constant

3. operating frequency

The choice of the substrate material is the first important step in the successful

design of MSAs. For the selected substrate, the major electrical properties taken into

considerations are relative dielectric constant (r) and loss tangent (tanδ). A high

dielectric constant results in small patch, which reduces impedance bandwidth as well

as it results in tighter fabrication tolerances. A high loss tangent reduces antenna

efficiency and increases feed losses. The substrate thickness (h) is chosen as large as

possible to maximize impedance bandwidth and efficiency but not so large as to risk

surface wave excitation. The use of high dielectric constant substrate material reduces
radiation losses because most of the EM-field is concentrated in the dielectric between

the conductive strip and the ground plane. Another benefit of having a high dielectric

constant is that, the antenna size decreases by the square root of the effective

dielectric constant. The value of h is chosen as per the equation,

( ) (4.1)
√

where, c is the velocity of light in cm and f0 is the maximum operating frequency in

GHz. The other factors taken into considerations are stability, operating temperature

range, dimensional changes with temperature, thermal conductivity, merchantability

and flexibility. Table 4.1 shows the specifications of the substrate material, which is

used for the design of proposed antennas.

Table 4.1 Specifications Of Substrate Material

Material Relative permittivity Loss factor Thickness

(r) (tanδ) (h) in cm
Glass Epoxy 4.2 0.02 0.16

Once these parameters are selected and chosen, the next step is to calculate

elemental dimensions of antenna geometry. Design equations are derived based on the

experimental analysis. In this study modified glass epoxy substrate material has been

selected for the design of various RMSAs, because this material is commercially

available and inexpensive. The equations are validated for a parametric study of gap-

coupled rectangular microstrip antenna operating at 3.5GHz band and may find

applications for DCS, Blutooth, WLAN and WiMax applications. The artwork of

designed antennas is developed using automatic-computer aided design (Auto-CAD)

to achieve better accuracy. The step-by-step fabrication procedure of the antennas is

also discussed. The antennas are fabricated using computerized photolithography

process.
4.2 Design of conventional rectangular microstrip antenna (CRMSA)

For the design point of view, the transmission-line model has been selected

because it gives good physical insight for the design of CRMSA. The CRMSA is

designed by using direct microstripline feed technique. In direct feed, the feeding

point is on one edge of the patch as shown in Fig. 4.1. Direct feed needs a matching

network between the feed line and the patch (such as quarter wavelength transformer).

The quarter wave length transformer compensates the impedance differences between

the patch and the 50Ω feed line. The quarter wave length transformer is calculated

according to formulas found in literature.

Fig. 4.1: Top view geometry of CRMSA.

where,
h Height of the substrate material

WP Width of rectangular patch

LP Length of rectangular patch

Wtr Width of quarter wave transformer

Ltr length of quarter wave transformer

Wf Width of microstripline feed

Lf Length of microstripline feed

Ws Width of substrate material

Ls Length of substrate material

4.2.1 RMSA design parameters: In this section, a design procedure is outlined

which leads to practical designs of CRMSA. The procedure assumes that, the

specified information includes the dielectric constant of substrate ( r), the frequency

(fr ) and the height of the substrate h. The procedure is as follows:

a) Design of elemental width (W): The elemental width W of CRMSA is found

by using the equation,

( ) (4.2)

b) Design of extension length (ΔL): The extension length Δl is deducted from

calculated length L of CRMSA for retaining actual length of the patch

unchanged. The extension length virtually appears due to fringing field and is

given y,

0( ). /1 (4.3)
 where, is effective dielectric constant which is based on height of substrate
and is given by the equation,

( ) (4.4)

c) Design of Actual length of the patch (L): Once the extension length ∆l and
effective dielectric constant ( eff) is calculated using the above equations then
elemental length CRMSA is found using the equation,

cm (4.5)
√

(d) Design of microstripline feed: The 50 Ω microstripline feed is designed by

calculating the values of Wf /h ratio and comparing this ratio to the numerical term on

the right hand side of the equation for the known values of characteristic impedance

Z0 and r. The Wf/h ratio equations are given by [8].

{ (4.6)
* ( ( ), -)+

where,

√ ( ) (4.7)

(4.8)
√

By using equations (4.3) to (4.6) the width of microstripline feed Wf may be

determined after multiplying the value of h to the value obtained from equation (4.3)

Wf
or (4.4) as per their condition. The length of microstripline feed Lf in cm is
h

obtained from effective guide wavelength g. The length Lf is commonly taken as g/4

cm for single element CRMSA in order to keep minimum loss in microstripline feed.
However, Lf can be extended to any value as it acts as connecting link between patch

and source. It is given by [8],

(4.9)

where,

(4.10)
√

( ) (4.11)
( )

( ) (4.12)

(4.13)

(4.14)

and

(4.15)

The 50 Ω microstripline feed of length Lf and width Wf is designed as per the above

procedure. This feed line will be connected at the center point along the length L of

the rectangular radiating patch shown in Fig. 4.1. But the impedance offered by the

patch at centre point along the length may not be equal to 50 Ω. Hence, microstripline

feed need not be connected at this point as impedance mismatch occurs. In such case a

matching transformer must be used between center point and 50 Ω microstripline for

better impedance matching.

(e) Design of quarter wave transformer: A very important circuit component in

most microstrip designs is the quarter wave transformer having length Ltr and width

Wtr is used as shown in Fig. 4.1. As its length is one fourth of the guide wavelength
(g) so the name quarter wave transformer. The quarter wave transformer transforms

the impedance of two dissimilar sections. The impedance of quarter wave transformer

in Fig. 4.1 is given by [9],

√
(4.16)

This transformer is not only used to transform between two different

impedances, but also should be used when there is a possible impedance mismatch.

For example, the single patch antenna shown in Fig. 4.1, Zt is used between 50 Ω

microstrip line feed and the center point feed location along the width of the patch.

For instant, the impedance at center point along its width is 252.45 Ω (obtained in the

present study by the calculation if antenna is designed for 3.5 GHz). This impedance

is not same as that of the impedance of microstripline. Therefore a quarter wave

transformer may be used between the microstripline and center point along the width

of rectangular patch element for matching their impedances and to minimize such

mismatches. For matching the impedances, first it is necessary to determine the

impedance offered by the patch at the center point along the width of the patch. For

this the following equations are used to determine the impedance Rin at the center

point along the width (W) of CRMSA [8],

2
 377h 
120λ 0  + 
2
 tan βl
2

R in   ε r .L  Ω (4.17)
240×L×λ 0 1+tan 2βl 

2π ε r
where, β= (4.18)
λ0

θπ W
l= = cm (4.19)
180β 2
The impedance of quarter wave transformer Zt in equation 4.16, the Z1 is replaced by

Rin and is given by Zt = R in ×Z0 . The width of quarter wave transformer Wt is

obtained by using equations (4.3) to (4.6). The length of quarter wave transformer Lt

is obtained by using equations (4.7) to (4.13) by replacing Z0 by Zt. By using the

above procedure the CRMSA has been designed which is shown in Fig. 4.1. The size

of substrate selected in Fig. 4.1 is Ls × Ws.

(f) Design of ground plane: 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 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 for better efficiency. Hence,

the ground plane dimensions should be,

Lg = 6h+L cm (4.20)

Wg = 6h+W cm (4.21)

On the selected substrate area which is as per equations 4.20 and 4.21 the

rectangular radiating element is placed with feed geometry on the top surface of the

substrate and on the bottom of the substrate a ground is etched as shown in Fig. 4.1.

4.3 Fabrication process of antennas

The considerable care is required in the fabrication process of MSA. The

slight error in the dimension causes drastic changes in the antenna parameters. Hence,

high dimensional tolerances are maintained during the fabrication process of MSAs.

The steps typically involved in the fabrication of MSAs are shown in Fig. 4.2. The

first step in the fabrication process is to generate the artwork from drawing. Here the

artwork of the test antenna is developed using computer software Auto-CAD to

achieve better accuracy. In the development of artwork of MSAs the accuracy is

maintained to a maximum decimal point. Accuracy is vital at this stage and depending

on the complexity and dimensions of the MSAs either full or enlarged scale artwork

should be prepared on stabline or rubylith film which is prepared on a butter paper.

Using the precision cutting blade of a manually operated co-ordinograph the opaque

layer of the stabline or rubylith film is cut to the proper geometry and can be removed

to produce either a positive or negative film representation of the MSAs. The design

dimensions and tolerances are verified on a cordax measuring instrument using

optical scanning. Enlarged artwork should be photo reduced using a high precession

camera to produce high resolution negative, which is later used for exposing the photo

resists.

The laminate should be cleared using the substrate manufacturer-

recommended procedure to ensure proper adhesion of the photo resist and the

necessary resolution in the photo development process. The photo resist is now

applied to both sides of the laminate using laminator. The laminate is then allowed to

attain normal at room temperature prior to exposure and development. The

photographic negative must be now held in very close contact with the polyethylene

cover sheet of the applied photo resist using a vacuum frame copy board or other

technique, to assure the fine line resolution required. With exposure to proper

wavelength of light, polymerization of the exposed photo resist occurs making it

insoluble in the developer solution. The both side of MSA is exposed completely

without a mask, since the copper file is retained to act as a ground plane. The

protective polythene cover sheet of the photo-resist is removed and the antenna is now

developed in a developer, which removes the soluble photo-resist material. Visual

inspection is needed to assure proper development of MSA.

 When these steps are completed, the antenna is ready for etching. These are

the critical steps and require considerable care so that proper etch rates are achieved.

After etching, photo-resist is removed using a strip line solution. Visual and optical

inspection should be carried out to ensure a good product and to ensure

performance with dimensional to tolerances, with a final acceptance or rejection

being based on resonant frequency, radiation patterns and impedance measurement.

For acceptable units, the edges are smoothened and the antenna is rinsed in water and

dried. If desired, a thermal cover bonding may be applied by placing a bonding film

between the laminates to be bonded out placing these between tooling plates. Dowel

pins can be used for alignment and the assembly is then heated under pressure until

the bonding temperature is reached. The assembly is allowed to cool under pressure

below the melting point of the bonding film and the laminate is then removed for

inspection.
 Fig. 4.2: Steps involved in fabrication process of MSA.

The above procedure comprises the general steps necessary in producing a

MSA. The substances used for the various processes e.g. cleaning, etching or the tools

used for machining etc. depend on the substrate chosen. By using the fabrication

procedure explained above, the MSA have been designed and fabricated.
4.4. Design and fabrication of conventional rectangular microstrip antenna
(CRMSA)
By using the step by step procedure explained earlier for the design of RMSA

the CRMSA has been fabricated as shown in Fig. 4.3.

4.4.1 Geometry of CRMSA: The top view geometry of CRMSA is as shown in Fig.

4.3. The CRMSA is designed for the resonant frequency of 3.5 GHz using the

formulae available in the literature for the design of MSA. The antenna is printed on a

1.6mm thick gloss epoxy dielectric substrate of relative permittivity ( r) 4.2 and loss

tangent( δ) 0.05 with size of Ws x Ls. The antenna consists of a radiating patch of

width Wp and length Lp. The antenna is excited through a simple 50Ω microstripline

feeding having length Lf and width Wf. The quarter wave length matching

transformer having length Ltr and width Wtr is used to match the impedance between

the center feed point along the width of the radiating rectangular patch with 50Ω

microstripline feed. Below the substrate a tight copper shielding is used as a ground

plane. The designed parameters of CRMSA are given in Table. 4.2. The simulation

work of antenna is carried out by using Ansoft HFSS software. The photograph of

fabricated antenna is shown in Fig. 4.4.

Table 4.2: Design parameters of CRMSA.

Antenna parameter Dimensions (in mm)
Substrate width (Ws) 50
Substrate length( Ls) 60
Patch width (Wp) 26.6
Patch length( Lp) 20.4
Width of feed line(Wf ) 3.2
Length of feed line(Lf) 21.8
Length of quarter wave length 10.9
transformer Ltr
Width of quarter wave length 0.6
transformer Wtr
Substrate thickness (h) 1.6
 Fig. 4.3: Top view geometry of CRMSA.

(a) Top view (b) Bottom view

Fig. 4.4: Photograph of fabricated CRMSA (a) Top view and (b) Bottom view

4.4.2 Measured and simulated return loss characteristics of CRMSA: The

variation of return loss versus frequency of CRMSA is as shown in Fig. 4.5. From this

figure, it is observed that, the antenna resonates at 3.27GHz which is close to the

design frequency of 3.5GHz with minimum return loss of -47.50dB. The impedance

bandwidth is calculated using the equation,

 (4.22)

where, fL and fH are the lower and upper cut of frequencies of the band, respectively,

when its return loss reaches -10 dB and fc is the centre frequency between fH and fL.

The maximum impedance bandwidth obtained for CRMSA is 3.65% (3.22GHz-

3.36GHz) with a peak gain of 2.76dB found in its operating band. The simulated

results of return loss verses frequency curve of CRMSA is also shown in Fig. 4.5. The

experimental and simulation results are in good agreement with each other.

Fig. 4.5: Variation of return loss verses frequency plot of CRMSA.

4.4.3 2D and 3D radiation patterns of CRMSA: Figure 4.6 shows the typical 2D

and 3D E and H-plane radiation patterns of CRMSA measured at the resonant

frequency of 3.27 GHz. From the radiation patterns it is seen that, the patterns are

broadsided and linearly polarized in both E and H plane.

 Fig. 4.6: 2D and 3D radiation pattern of CRMSA measured at 3.27 GHz.

4.4.4 Surface current distribution of CRMSA: To know the radiation mechanism

of CRMSA the simulated surface current distribution is measured at resonant

frequency of 3.27GHz. From this figure it is seen that, surface current

distribution is observed on the center of the patch and on the edges of the

microstripline feed and quarter wave transformer.

Figure 4.7: Surface current distribution of CRMSA measured at 3.27GHz

From this study is clear that, the impedance bandwidth and gain of CRMSA is

very small. Hence, many applications of CRMSA are limited by these parameters.

Therefore, vast study has been conducted by many researchers in order to improve

these parameters as it has becomes one of the thrust areas in the field of antenna

design. Hence, the present study is also carried out in this direction in order to
improve the parameters of CRMSA without increasing its actual size. The attempt is

also made to get even better results of MSA with smaller physical size compared to

the size of CRMSA.

4.5. Design and fabrication of rectangular monopole antenna (RMA)

4.5.1 Antenna geometry: Figure 4.8 shows the top view geometry of RMA which is

realized from CRMSA by using a single 50Ω microstripline feed of length (Lg+g) =

27.7mm. This length of feed line is 28.8% shorter than the length (Lf+ Ltr) of

microstripline used for CRMSA as shown in Fig. 4.3 which makes RMA compact in

its physical size and simplifies the design structure. The microstripline of RMA is

connected at the centre along the width of the rectangular patch. A continuous copper

ground plane of height Lg = 26mm is placed below the microstripline feed on the

bottom layer of the substrate. The distance between the radiating patch and the partial

ground plane is g = 1.7 mm. The design of RMA is mainly dependent on the two

important parameters such as height of partial ground plane Lg and feed distance g.

By controlling these parameters the performance of RMA may be improved. These

parameters are repetitively changed in the simulation in order to get better antenna

results such as impedance bandwidth and gain and obtained parameters are termed as

optimized parameters of RMA. By using these parameters the antenna has been

fabricated. The optimized design dimensions of RMA are given in Table 4.3.
 Fig. 4.8 Top view geometry of RMA.

a) Top view (b) Bottom view

Fig. 4.9: Photograph of fabricated RMA (a) Top view and (b) Bottom view.
 Table 4.3: Optimized design dimensions of RMA.
Antenna parameter Dimensions (in mm)
Substrate width (Ws) 50
Substrate length( Ls) 60
Patch width (Wp) 26.6
Patch length( Lp) 20.4
Width of feed line(Wf ) 3.2
Length of feed line(Lf) 27.7
Gap between the radiating patch 1.7
and ground plane (g)
Substrate thickness (h) 1.6
Length of the ground plane (Lg) 26

4.5.2 Measured and simulated return loss characteristics of RMA: When CRMSA

is modified as RMA, the antenna operates from 1.98 GHz to 4.52 GHz as shown in

Fig. 4.10. This means that, the antenna operates for a wide band of frequencies BW1

which is quite large compared to the operating band width BW1 of CRMSA shown in

Fig. 4.5. The magnitude of impedance bandwidth of RMA is found to be 78.40%.

Hence 3.65% of impedance bandwidth of CRMSA has been enhanced to 78.40 % by

constructing RMA. Further, from Fig. 4.10 it is clear that, the lower cut off frequency

of RMA is 1.98 GHz. By comparing the lower cut off frequency of CRMA shown in

Fig. 4.5 which is at 3.22 GHz, the RMA also shows the property of virtual size

reduction which is 51.87%. The peak gain of CRMSA and RMA are measured in their

operating bands and they are found to be 2.76 dB and 8.83 dB respectively. Hence, by

constructing RMA gain can be enhanced to 3.2 times more than the peak gain of

CRMSA.
 Fig. 4.10: Variation of return loss verses frequency plot of RMA.

4.5.3 2D and 3D radiation patterns of RMA: Figure 4.11 shows the typical 2D and

3D E and H-plane radiation patterns of RMA measured at the resonant frequency.

From the radiation patterns it is seen that, the patterns are nearly omnidirectional in

both E and H plane. Hence, the broadside radiation pattern of CRMSA shown in Fig.

4.6 have been converted in to omnidirectional radiation pattern by constructing RMA.

The antennas with omnidirectional radiation pattern show better applications than

broadside radiation characteristic antennas in many wireless communication systems.

Fig. 4.11: 2D and 3D radiation pattern of RMA measured at 3.43 GHz.

 4.5.4 Surface current distribution of RMA: To understand the radiation mechanism

of RMA the simulated surface current distribution are measured at the resonant

frequency of 3.43 GHz. From this figure it is seen that, the current distribution is

towards the edge point of the microstripline feed, on the lower surface of patch and

uniform current distribution is observed at the ground plane surface of the antenna

causing wideband operation.

The RMA is simple and compact in its design compared to the size of CRMA.

The impedance bandwidth of CRMA is enhanced from 3.65% to 78.40% and gain

from 2.76 dB to 8.83dB by the construction of RMA. The RMA also shows the

property of virtual size reduction of 51.87%. The designed antenna may be used for

WLAN and WiMax applications. The various parameters of CRMSA and RMA have

been compared and is shown in Table 4.4.

Figure 4.12: Surface current distribution of RMA measured at 3.43GHz

Table 4.4: Comparison table of CRMSA and RMA

Number of Resonant Minimu Impedance Max

Antenna resonant frequenc m return bandwidth gain Radiation
modes y GHz loss dB % dB pattern

CRMSA 1 3.27 -47.50 3.65% 2.76 Broad sided

RMA 1 3.43 -27.15 78.40% 8.83 Omnidirectional