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Ka BAND MICROSTRIPANTENNAARRAYS WITH EIGE EFFICIENCY
Ka BAND MICROSTRIPANTENNAARRAYS WITH EIGE EFFICIENCY
Ka BAND MICROSTRIPANTENNAARRAYS WITH EIGE EFFICIENCY
A. SABBAN
Rafael, P.O.Box 2250 Haifa,31021, Israel, Tel. 97248794360,Fax 972-4-8792037
ABSTRACT
Microdp antennas posses attractive features such as low profile, light weight, small volume and low
production cost. In addition, the benefit of a compact low cost feed network is attained by integrating
the microstrip feed structure with the radiating elements on the same substrate. However, losses in the
microstrip feed network form a significantlimit to the achievable gain in microstrip antenna arrays.
Losses are the major disadvantageof nun-wave microstrip antenna arrays.
Tbis paper presents the design of mm-wave microstrip antenna arrays with high efficiency. Methods
to minimize losses in the microstrip antenna array feed network are described in this paper. A planar
multiport network modelmg approach is employed in this work to compute losses in the microstrip
antenna feed network.
Design considerations, computationalresults and measund results of 64 and 256 patch arrays with
high efficiency at mm waves are presented in this paper.
INTRODUCTION
This paper presents the design of Ka band microstrip antenna arrays with high efficiency. Gain
l i t a t i o n in microstrip antenna arrays due to conductor loss and equations to calculate conductor loss
and dielectric loss in microstrip lines are given in [l]. However ,thisdiscussion is limited to a l2GHz
plane slot array and radiation and dielectric losses are neglected. A planar multiport network
modelig approach has been used to evaluate radiation loss from microstrip discontinuities as
presented in [2]. The multiport networkmodelmg approach has been used to awlyze microstrip
patches and microstripfeed networks [2]-[3].
Full-wave analysis has been used [4] to calculate radiation conductance of an open-circuited
microstrip line. Full-wave analysis methods and software are available for characterization of
microstrip discontinuities. These analysis include radiation effects also. The power radiated from a
discontinuity may be evaluated from the computed S parameters. However, evaluation of power
radiated from the computed S parameten requires a high numerical accuracy of the computed results.
Accurate calculation of S parameters up to the fourth decimal place require a large CPU time.
Therefore radiation loss values based on full-wave analysis are not widely available.
In this paper losses in 64 and 256 patch antenna array at Ka band are evaluated. Methods to minimize
these losses and to improve the antenna efficiency are presented.
MULTIPORT MODELING OF MICROSTIUP LINES AND PATCHES
The multiport network model is based on the parallel-plate wave-guide model [5] for microstrip lines.
A similar network modeling approach has been used for analysis of microstrip discontinuities [2] and
microstrip antennas [3]. The planar waveguide model consists of two parallel conductors bounded by
magnetic walls in the transverse directions. In this modeling approach for microstrip structures, fields
underneath the microstrip configuration,the external fields (radiated fields, surface waves) are
modeled separately in terms of multiports subnetworks by adding an equivalent edge admittance
network connected to the edges of the microstrip configuration. These subnetworks are characterized
in terms of Z-matrices that are evaluated by using the Greens function approach. The sub-networks
are combined using the segmentationtechnique to obtain circuit characteristicssuch as scattering
parameters. Equations to compute the subnetworks 2-matrices are given in [6].
EVALUATION OF MICROSTRIP FEED NETWORK LOSSES
Equations to calculate conductor loss and dielectric loss in microstrip lies are given in [l]. Dielectric
loss is incorporatedin the multiport network analysisby considering a complex dielectric constant.
Conductor losses are included in the analysis by defining an equivalent loss tangent 6c ,given by
&d
Uwgah, where (Iis the strip conductivity, h is the substrate height and p is the h e space
permeability.
IEEE.
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multiport network model is used to evaluate the voltage distributions at the open ports, voltages at the
discontinuity edges are represented by equivalentmagnetic current sources. The amplitude M of the
magnetic current elements is twice that of the edge voltage at that location and the phase of the
magnetic current is equal to the phase of the corresponding voltage. The total radiation is computed
using the superpositionof the far-field radiated by each section.
The radiated power may be expressed as a fiaction of input power IOlogl~(F,/i) dB.Equations to
calculate Prare given in [2]. The radiation loss may be expressed as
RadiationLoss (a)=
lOlog~~(l-P,IPi)
(1)
where Pi is the input power at port 1. Pi is calculated from input w e n t and the input impedance of
the discontinuity terminated in matched loads at other ports.
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bends(&)
Radiation loss steps(dB)
Mismatch Loss (dB)
Expected Gain(dBi)
Efficiency ( % )
0.045
0.5
24.0
58.9
0.5
23.35
50.7
0.045
0.5
24.6
67.6
CONCLUDING REMARKS
A 64 microstrip antenna array with efficiency of 67.6% and a 256 microstrip antenna array with
efficiency of 50.47% has been presented in this paper. Methods to reduce losses in mm-wave
microstrip antenna arrays have been described in this article.
The results presented in this paper point out that radiation losses need to be taken into account for
accurate microstrip antenna array design at mm wave frequencies. By minimizingthe number of bend
discontinuitiesthe gain of the 256 microstrip antenna array has been increased by IdB.
REFERENCES
I. J.R James, P.S Hall and C. Wood, Microstrip Antenna Theory and Design,l981.
2. A. Sabban and KC. Gupta, Characterization of Radiation Lou from Microstrip Discontinuities
Using a Multiport Network Modeling Approach, 1.E.E.E Trans. on M.T.T, Vol. 39,No. 4,April
1991,pp. 705-712.
3. A. Benalla and K.C. Gupta, Multiport network model and transmission characteristics of two port
rectangular microstrip antennas IEEE Trans. A.P vol. 36,pp. 1337-1342, Oct. 1988.
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discontinuities in millimeter-wave integrated circuits, IEEE Tans. Microwave Theory Tech, vol.
pp. 1029-1035, Oct. 1985.
5. G.Kompa and R. Mehran, Planar waveguide model for computing microstrip components,
Elecbon Lett., vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 459-460, 1975.
6. A. Sabban, Ph.D Thesis, Multiport Network Model for Evaluating Radiation Loss and Coupling
Among Discontinuities in Microstrip Circuits, University of Colorado at Boulder, January 1991.
7. A. Sabban,A New Wideband Stacked Microstrip Antenna, 1.E.E.E Antenna and Propagation
Symp.,Houston, Texas,U.S.A, June 1983.
S. A. Sabban, E. Navon A MM-Waves Microstrip Antenna Array, 1.E.E.E Symposium, Tel-Aviv,
March 1983.
9. A. Sabhan, Wideband Microstrip Antenna Arrays, 1.E.E.E Antenna and Propagation Symposium
MELCOM, Tel-Aviv,l981.
Fig. l a
Fig. 2.a
Fig. 2.b
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