Microstrip Line

Microstrip Line
(Mohammed Belal Abdulazim & Omar Khalid Abdul-sahfy)
(Electrical Dep. Communication Sec., MTI university/faculty of engineering, MOHAMED.89922@eng.mti.edu.eg)
(Electrical Dep. Communication Sec., MTI university/faculty of engineering, OMAR.89921@eng.mti.edu.eg)

Introduction:
Microstrip is a type of electrical transmission line which can be fabricated with any technology
where a conductor is separated from a ground plane by a dielectric layer known as "substrate".
Microstrip lines are used to convey microwave-frequency signals.

Microstrip line is one of the most popular types of planar transmission lines primarily because it
can be fabricated by photolithographic processes and is easily miniaturized and integrated with
both passive and active microwave devices.

Microstrip design
A microstrip transmission line consists of a narrow metallic trace separated from a metallic
ground plane by a slab of dielectric material, as shown in Figure 1. This is a natural way to
implement a transmission line on a printed circuit board, and so accounts for an important and
expansive range of applications.

A microstrip line is single-ended1 in the sense that the conductor geometry is asymmetric and the
one conductor – namely, the ground plane – also normally serves as ground for the source and
load. The spacer material is typically a low-loss dielectric material having permeability
approximately equal to that of free space (𝜇 ≈ 𝜇0) and relative permittivity 𝜖𝑟 in the range 2 to
about 10 or so.
 Microstrip Line

Advantages:
 less expensive than traditional waveguide
 far lighter and smaller and more compact
 easy to fabricate.
 easy to troubleshoot.

Disadvantages:

 lower power handling capacit y and higher losses comparing wit h

waveguide.
 poor isolat ion among adjacent lines
 unwanted radiat ion in uncovered configurat ion
 higher losses

Despit e these drawbacks, microstrip line is st ill widely used in microwave circuits due
to its low cost, low loss, and abilit y to be easily integrated into PCBs. Advances in
technology have also led to the development of new materials and techniques that can
mit igate some of the issues associated wit h microstrip lines, making it a versat ile and
reliable option for many microwave applications.

Applications:
Microstrip lines' primary functions are transferring power from one point to another, dividing or
combining power signals, and generating phase shifts. The size of the microstrip section is related to
the guide wavelength, and depending on the length, transmission lines are classified into quarter-
wave microstrip lines and half-wave microstrip lines. Half-wave and quarter-wave microstrip lines
are used to design lumped elements and are a critical part of RF and microwave components such as
filters, resonators, and couplers.

 Microstrip lines transfer power from one point to another, divide or combine power
signals, and generate phase shifts.
 Half-wave and quarter-wave microstrip lines are used to design lumped elements.