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.
electricalfield
probefeed
feedline
fringefield fringefield
toplayer
substrate
groundplane
z
y
x
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 l
d
=0.49
r
e
l
0
.
Thisformulaincludesafirstordercorrectionfortheedgeextensionduetothefringingfields,
with:
L=resonantlength
l
d
=wavelengthinPCboard
l
0
=wavelengthinfreespace
e
r
=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
Feed2
0
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.