SUMMER TRAINING REPORT

ON
ANTENNA DESIGN
Project: Patch Circular Antenna

Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering

SWAMI SARVANAND GIRI PANJAB UNIVERSITY

REGIONAL CENTRE

Una road, Bajwara, Hoshiarpur, Panjab

Submitted by :-

ECE Branch 7TH Semester

6 weeks Training Programme at
NITTTR,Chd.
In MICROSTRIP ANTENNA DESIGN

SUBMITTED TO:
SUBMITTED BY:
Dr. S. S. Patnaik

EC
th
E Branch 7 Semester
 INDEX
1. Profile of the Institute

2. Antenna

3. Types of Antenna

4. Parameters of planar antenna

5. Zeland Simulator

6. Circular Patch Antenna

7. Performance Graphs
 Profile of the Institute

National institute of technical teachers’ Training and Research

(NITTTR), Chandigarh is one of the four institutes established by the
Government of India in 1967 for the development of technical
education in the country with focus on the states of northern region.
The institute had the collaboration of the Royal Netherlands
Government for a period of seven years in initial stage.

The institute is an autonomous organization registered under the

Societies Registration Act 1860. It is managed by a Board of
Governors.

The institute is situated in a well developed campus in Sector 26,

Chandigarh covering an area of over 6.667 hectares. The institute
has also residential campuses in sector 26, 29 and 42. The institute
is about 5 km from Chandigarh Railway Station as well as Inter State
Bus Terminus.
NITTR has collaboration / interaction with institutes of Higher
Learning and Industry at National Level and International Level.

The institute has faculty strength of 65 with 16 Professors, 26

Assistant Professors and 23 Lecturers. The strength of technical,
administrative and other supporting staff is 220.

Strengths and Services:

Over the years the institute has developed the capability to offer
wide ranging services to both the technical education system as well
as industry. This is made possible by highly qualified, experienced
and dedicated faculty, technical supporting and other staff backed
by well-developed infrastructure and other facilities. This institute
provides professional education and training in the field of
engineering and technology for advancement of learning, towards
promoting excellence in technical education and training.

This institute provides services in the following fields:

• Applied sciences

• Civil engineering

• Computer science and engineering

• Education and educational management

• Educational television centre

• Electrical engineering

• Electronics and communication engineering

• Electronics services centre

 • Information management and coordination

• Entrepreneurship development and industrial coordination

• Mechanical engineering

• Media development

• Human resources development

The following labs are available in the electronics department at

NITTTR:

• Audio and video lab

• Microwave lab

• Antenna design lab

• Research lab

• Basic electronics and microprocessors lab

• Digital and data communication lab

Softwares available:

Expensive softwares like IE3D, MATLAB, fidelity etc are also

available in electronics department of NITTR.
ANTENNA
An antenna (or aerial) is a transducer that transmits or receives
electromagnetic waves. In other words, antennas convert
electromagnetic radiation into electrical current, or vice versa.
Antennas generally deal in the transmission and reception of radio
waves, and are a necessary part of all radio equipment. Antennas
are used in systems such as radio and television broadcasting,
point-to-point radio communication, wireless LAN, cell phones, radar,
and spacecraft communication. Antennas are most commonly
employed in air or outer space, but can also be operated under
water or even through soil and rock at certain frequencies for short
distances.

Physically, an antenna is an arrangement of one or more

conductors, usually called elements in this context. In transmission,
an alternating current is created in the elements by applying a
voltage at the antenna terminals, causing the elements to radiate an
electromagnetic field. In reception, the inverse occurs: an
electromagnetic field from another source induces an alternating
current in the elements and a corresponding voltage at the
antenna's terminals. Some receiving antennas (such as parabolic
and horn types) incorporate shaped reflective surfaces to collect the
radio waves striking them and direct or focus them onto the actual
conductive elements.

THE TERM ‘ANTENNA’

The words antenna and aerial are used interchangeably; but usually
a rigid metallic structure is termed an antenna and a wire format is
called an aerial. In the United Kingdom and other British English
speaking areas the term aerial is more common, even for rigid
types. The noun aerial is occasionally written with a diaeresis mark—
aërial—in recognition of the original spelling of the adjective aërial
from which the noun is derived.

The origin of the word antenna relative to wireless apparatus is

attributed to Guglielmo Marconi. In 1895, while testing early radio
apparatuses in the Swiss Alps at Salvan, Switzerland in the Mont
Blanc region, Marconi experimented with early wireless equipment.
A 2.5 meter long pole, along which was carried a wire, was used as a
radiating and receiving aerial element. In Italian a tent pole is known
as l'antenna centrale, and the pole with a wire alongside it used as
an aerial was simply called l'antenna. Until then wireless radiating
transmitting and receiving elements were known simply as aerials or
terminals. Marconi's use of the word antenna would become a
popular term for what today is uniformly known as the antenna.

A Hertzian antenna is a set of terminals that does not require the

presence of a ground for its operation (versus a Tesla antenna which
is grounded]). A loaded antenna is an active antenna having an
elongated portion of appreciable electrical length and having
additional inductance or capacitance directly in series or shunt with
the elongated portion so as to modify the standing wave pattern
existing along the portion or to change the effective electrical length
of the portion. An antenna grounding structure is a structure for
establishing a reference potential level for operating the active
antenna.

TYPES OF ANTENNA
A classification of antennas can be based on:

• Frequency and size. Antennas used for HF are different from

antennas used for VHF, which in turn are different from
antennas for microwave. The wavelength is different at
different frequencies, so the antennas must be different in size
to radiate signals at the correct wavelength. We are
particularly interested in antennas working in the microwave
range, especially in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies. At 2.4
GHz the wavelength is 12.5cm, while at 5 GHz it is 6cm.
• Directivity. Antennas can be omnidirectional, sectorial or
directive. Omni-directional antennas radiate roughly the same
pattern all around the antenna in a complete 360° pattern. The
most popular types of omnidirectional antennas are the dipole
and the ground plane. Sectorial antennas radiate primarily in a
specific area. The beam can be as wide as 180 degrees, or as
narrow as 60 degrees. Directional or directive antennas are
antennas in which the beamwidth is much narrower than in
sectorial antennas. They have the highest gain and are
therefore used for long distance links. Types of directive
antennas are the Yagi, the biquad, the horn, the helicoidal, the
patch antenna, the parabolic dish, and many others.
• Physical construction. Antennas can be constructed in many
different ways, ranging from simple wires, to parabolic dishes,
to coffee cans.
When considering antennas suitable for 2.4 GHz WLAN use, another
classification can be used:

• Application. Access points tend to make point-to-multipoint

networks, while remote links are point-to-point. Each of these
suggest different types of antennas for their purpose. Nodes
that are used for multipoint access will likely use omni
antennas which radiate equally in all directions, or sectorial
antennas which focus into a small area. In the point-to-point
case, antennas are used to connect two single locations
together. Directive antennas are the primary choice for this
application.

Different types of antennas on the basis of physical construction are:

• Wired Antennas
• Planar or Microstrip or Patch Antennas
• Aperture Antennas
• Array Antennas
• Lens Antennas
• Reflector Antennas

WIRED ANTENNAS:
A wire antenna is a radio frequency antenna consisting of a wire
whose length does not bear a relation to the wavelength of the radio
waves used, but is typically chosen more for convenience. This type
of antenna sometimes is called the zig-zag antenna, as it may be
strung back and forth between trees just to get enough wire into the
air. For example, an antenna for 3MHz might be 20 m (66 ft) - 40 m
(131 ft) long. Such antennas are usually not as effective as antennas
whose length is adjusted to resonate at the wavelength to be used.
They are widely used as receiving antennas on the long wave,
medium wave, and short wave bands, as well as transmitting
antennas on these bands for small outdoor, temporary or
emergency transmitting stations, as well as in situations where more
permanent antennas cannot be installed.
 1 A simple wired antenna

Usually, it is a long (at least one quarter wavelength) wire with one
end connected to the radio and the other in free space, arranged in
any way most convenient for the space available. Folding (to fit in
space available) will reduce effectiveness and make theoretical
analysis extremely difficult. (The added length helps more than the
folding typically hurts.) If used for transmitting, a wire antenna
usually will also require an antenna tuner, as it might have random
impedance that varies nonlinearly with frequency.

Typically this antenna is constructed from a number 12 or 14 AWG

(1.6 to 2.0 mm (0 in) diameter) wire of nearly any length. Such an
antenna can be used for transmitting on practically any frequency
with a properly tuned matching network. Although random wire
antennas can be made from nearly any length of wire, one-quarter
wavelength works best, and one half wavelengths will work poorly
with most tuners.

The antenna is fed directly from output of the matching network or a

tuned circuit, without a feed line. Since the antenna is located very
close to the transmitter, RF feedback can be an issue. RF feedback
can be minimized by selecting a wire length that causes the low
feed-point impedance at a current loop to occur at the transmitter.
Alternately, a remote tuner can be fed with feedline, and the tuner
located on the antenna.

The ground for a wire antenna may be chosen by experimentation.

Grounds could be returned to the transmitter, a nearby cold water
pipe or a wire that's approximately one-quarter wavelength long.
PLANAR ANTENNA
A planar antenna (also known as a Microstrip or patch Antenna) is
a popular antenna type. Its name is attributed to the fact that it
consists of a single metal patch suspended over a ground plane. The
assembly is usually contained inside a plastic radome, which
protects the antenna structure from damage (as well as concealing
its essential simplicity). Patch antennas are simple to fabricate and
easy to modify and customize. They are the original microstrip
antenna as described by Howell , which are a length of microstrip
transmission line of approximately one-half wavelength. The
radiation mechanism arises from discontinuities at each truncated
edge of the microstrip transmission line. The radiation at the edges
causes the antenna to be slightly larger than its physical dimension
electrically. In order to obtain a resonant condition at the antenna
driving point, a shorter than a one-half wavelength section of
microstrip transmission line is used. A patch antenna is generally
constructed on a dielectric substrate, usually employing the same
sort of lithographic patterning used to fabricate printed circuit
boards.

A planar antenna includes a ground plane having a ground point. A

main radiating element has a feeding point positioned adjacent to
the ground point. The main radiating element is positioned adjacent
to a contact side of the ground plane such that a space is formed
there between. A parasitic element is positioned adjacent to the
contact side such that a space is formed there between. The main
radiating element has a shape such that the space between the
main radiating element and the contact side becomes larger as the
main radiating element becomes closer to the parasitic element and
the parasitic element has a shape such that the space between the
parasitic element and the contact side becomes larger as the
parasitic element becomes closer to the main radiating element.
Additionally, the parasitic element may have a slit formed therein.

The main radiating element has a shape such that the space
between the main radiating element and the contact side of the
ground plane becomes larger as the main radiating element
becomes closer to the parasitic element and the parasitic element
has a shape such that the space between the parasitic element and
the contact side becomes larger as the parasitic element becomes
closer to the main radiating element.

The simplest patch antenna uses a patch which is one half-

wavelength-long with the dielectric loading included over a larger
ground plane separated by a constant thickness. Electrically large
ground planes produce stable patterns and lower environmental
sensitivity but of course make the antenna bigger. It isn’t
uncommon for the ground plane to be only modestly larger than the
active patch. When a ground plane is close to the size of the radiator
it can couple and produce currents along the edges of the ground
plane which also radiate. The antenna pattern becomes the
combination of the two sets of radiators.

The current flow is along the direction of the feed wire, so the
magnetic vector potential and thus the electric field follow the
current, as shown by the arrow in the figure labeled E. A simple
patch antenna of this type radiates a linearly polarized wave. The
radiation can be regarded as being produced by the ‘’radiating
slots’’ at top and bottom, or equivalently as a result of the current
flowing on the patch and the ground plane

A planar antenna is a narrowband, wide-beam antenna fabricated by

etching the antenna element pattern in metal trace bonded to an
insulating dielectric substrate with a continuous metal layer bonded
to the opposite side of the substrate which forms a groundplane.
Common microstrip antenna radiator shapes are square,
rectangular, circular and elliptical, but any continuous shape is
possible. Some planar antennas eschew a dielectric substrate and
suspend a metal patch in air above a ground plane using dielectric
spacers; the resulting structure is less robust but provides better
bandwidth. Because such antennas have a very low profile, are
mechanically rugged and can be conformable, they are often
mounted on the exterior of aircraft and spacecraft, or are
incorporated into mobile radio communications devices.

Microstrip antennas are also relatively inexpensive to manufacture

and design because of the simple 2-dimensional physical geometry.
They are usually employed at UHF and higher frequencies because
the size of the antenna is directly tied to the wavelength at the
resonance frequency. A single patch antenna provides a maximum
directive gain of around 6-9 dBi. It is relatively easy to print an array
of patches on a single (large) substrate using lithographic
techniques. Patch arrays can provide much higher gains than a
single patch at little additional cost; matching and phase adjustment
can be performed with printed microstrip feed structures, again in
the same operations that form the radiating patches. The ability to
create high gain arrays in a low-profile antenna is one reason that
patch arrays are common on airplanes and in other military
applications.

Such an array of patch antennas is an easy way to make a phased

array of antennas with dynamic beamforming ability.

The most commonly employed microstrip antenna is a rectangular

patch. The rectangular patch antenna is approximately a one-half
wavelength long section of rectangular microstrip transmission line.
When air is the antenna substrate, the length of the rectangular
microstrip antenna is approximately one-half of a free-space
wavelength. As the antenna is loaded with a dielectric as its
substrate, the length of the antenna decreases as the relative
dielectric constant of the substrate increases. The resonant length of
the antenna is slightly shorter because of the extended electric
"fringing fields" which increase the electrical length of the antenna
slightly. An early model of the microstrip antenna is a section of
microstrip transmission line with equivalent loads on either end to
represent the radiation loss.

The dielectric loading of a microstrip antenna affects both its

radiation pattern and impedance bandwidth. As the dielectric
constant of the substrate increases, the antenna bandwidth
decreases which increases the Q factor of the antenna and therefore
decreases the impedance bandwidth. This relationship did not
immediately follow when using the transmission line model of the
antenna, but is apparent when using the cavity model which was
introduced in the late 1970s by Lo et al. The radiation from a
rectangular microstrip antenna may be understood as a pair of
equivalent slots. These slots act as an array and have the highest
directivity when the antenna has an air dielectric and decreases as
the antenna is loaded by material with increasing relative dielectric
constant.

An advantage inherent to patch antennas is the ability to have

polarization diversity. Patch antennas can easily be designed to
have Vertical, Horizontal, Right Hand Circular (RHCP) or Left Hand
Circular (LHCP) Polarizations, using multiple feed points, or a single
feedpoint with asymmetric patch structures. This unique property
allows patch antennas to be used in many types of communications
links that may have varied requirements.

The half-wave rectangular microstrip antenna has a virtual shorting

plane along its center. This may be replaced with a physical shorting
plane to create a quarter-wavelength microstrip antenna. This is
sometimes called a half-patch. The antenna only has a single
radiation edge (equivalent slot) which lowers the directivity/gain of
the antenna. The impedance bandwidth is slightly lower than a half-
wavelength full patch as the coupling between radiating edges has
been eliminated.

Another type of planar antenna is the Planar Inverted F Antenna

(PIFA) common in cellular phones with built-in antennas. These
antennas are derived from a quarter-wave half-patch antenna. The
shorting plane of the half-patch is reduced in length which
decreases the resonance frequency. Often PIFA antennas have
multiple branches to resonate at the various cellular bands. On
some phones, grounded parasitic elements are used to enhance the
radiation bandwidth characteristics.

APERTURE ANTENNAS:
As a receiver antenna aperture can be visualized as the area of a
circle constructed broadside to incoming radiation where all
radiation passing within the circle is delivered by the antenna to a
matched load. (Note that transmitting and receiving are reciprocal,
so the aperture is the same for both.) Thus incoming power density
(watts per square metre) x aperture (square metres)= available
power from antenna (watts).Antenna gain is directly proportional to
aperture. An isotropic antenna has an aperture of
where λ is the wavelength. An antenna with a gain of G has an
aperture of

Generally, antenna gain is increased by directing radiation in a

single direction, while necessarily reducing it in all other directions
since power cannot be created by the antenna. Thus a larger
aperture produces a higher gain and narrower beamwidth.

Large dish antennas, many wavelengths across, have an aperture

nearly equal to their physical area.

An aperture antenna contains some sort of opening through which

electromagnetic waves are transmitted or received. Examples of
aperture antennas include slots, waveguides, horns, reflectors and
lenses. The analysis of aperture antennas is typically quite different
than the analysis of wire antennas. Rather than using the antenna
current distribution to determine the radiated fields, the fields within
the aperture are used to determine the antenna radiation patterns.

Aperture antennas are commonly used in aircraft or spacecraft

applications. The aperture can be mounted flush with the surface of
the vehicle, and the opening can be covered with a dielectric which
allows electromagnetic energy to pass through.

ARRAY ANTENNAS:
An array of antenna elements is a spatially extended collection of N
similar radiators or elements, where N is a countable number bigger
than 1, and the term "similar radiators" means that all the elements
have the same polar radiation patterns, orientated in the same
direction in 3-d space. The elements don't have to be spaced on a
regular grid, neither do they have to have the same terminal
voltages, but it is assumed that they are all fed with the same
frequency and that one can define a fixed amplitude and phase
angle for the drive voltage of each element.

An array antenna is made up of more than one ELEMENT, but the

basic element is generally the dipole. Sometimes the basic element
is made longer or shorter than a half-wave, but the deviation usually
is not great.

A DRIVEN element is similar to the dipole and is connected directly

to the transmission line. It obtains its power directly from the
transmitter or, as a receiving antenna, it delivers the received
energy directly to the receiver. A PARASITIC ELEMENT is located
near the driven element from which it gets its power. It is placed
close enough to the driven element to permit coupling.

A parasitic element is sometimes placed so it will produce maximum

radiation (during transmission) from its associated driver. When it
operates to reinforce energy coming from the driver toward itself,
the parasitic element is referred to as a DIRECTOR. If a parasitic
element is placed so it causes maximum energy radiation in a
direction away from itself and toward the driven element, that
parasitic element is called a REFLECTOR.

If all of the elements in an array are driven, the array is referred to

as a DRIVEN ARRAY (sometimes as a CONNECTED ARRAY). If one or
more elements are parasitic, the entire system usually is considered
to be a PARASITIC ARRAY.

MULTIELEMENT ARRAYS frequently are classified according to their

directivity. A BIDIRECTIONAL ARRAY radiates in opposite directions
along the line of maximum radiation. A UNIDIRECTIONAL ARRAY
radiates in only one general direction.

Arrays can be described with respect to their radiation patterns and

the types of elements of which they are made. However, you will
find it useful to identify them by the physical placement of the
elements and the direction of radiation with respect to these
elements. Generally speaking, the term BROADSIDE ARRAY
designates an array in which the direction of maximum radiation is
perpendicular to the plane containing these elements. In actual
practice, this term is confined to those arrays in which the elements
themselves are also broadside, or parallel, with respect to each
other.

A COLLINEAR ARRAY is one in which all the elements lie in a straight

line with no radiation at the ends of the array. The direction of
maximum radiation is perpendicular to the axis of the elements.

An END-FIRE ARRAY is one in which the principal direction of

radiation is along the plane of the array and perpendicular to the
elements. Radiation is from the end of the array, which is the reason
this arrangement is referred to as an end-fire array.

Sometimes a system uses the characteristics of more than one of

the three types mentioned. For instance, some of the elements may
be collinear while others may be parallel. Such an arrangement is
often referred to as a COMBINATION ARRAY or an ARRAY OF
ARRAYS. Since maximum radiation occurs at right angles to the
plane of the array, the term broadside array is also used.

The FRONT-TO-BACK RATIO is the ratio of the energy radiated in the

principal direction compared to the energy radiated in the opposite
direction for a given antenna.
LENS ANTENNA:
Another antenna that can change spherical waves into flat plane
waves is the lens antenna. This antenna uses a microwave lens,
which is similar to an optical lens to straighten the spherical
wavefronts. Since this type of antenna uses a lens to straighten the
wavefronts, its design is based on the laws of refraction, rather than
reflection. Two types of lenses have been developed to provide a
plane-wavefront narrow beam for tracking radars, while avoiding
the problems associated with the feedhorn shadow. These are the
conducting (acceleration) type and the dielectric (delay) type. The
lens of an antenna is substantially transparent to microwave energy
that passes through it. It will, however, cause the waves of
energy to be either converged or diverged as they exit the lens.
Consider the action of the two types of lenses. The conducting type
of lens is illustrated in figure 1-10, view A. This type of lens consists
of flat metal strips placed parallel to the electric field of the wave
and spaced slightly in excess of one-half of a wavelength. To the
wave these strips look like parallel waveguides. The velocity of
phase propagation of a wave is greater in a waveguide than in air.
Thus, since the lens is concave, the outer portions of the transmitted
spherical waves are accelerated for a longer interval of time than
the inner portion.
1Antenna lenses: A. Conducting (acceleration) type of microwave
lens; B. Dielectric (delay) type of microwave lens

The spherical waves emerge at the exit side of the conducting lens
(lens aperture) as flat-fronted parallel waves. This type of lens is
frequency sensitive. The dielectric type of lens, shown in figure 1-10,
view B, slows down the phase propagation as the wave passes
through it. This lens is convex and consists of dielectric
material. Focusing action results from the difference between the
velocity of propagation inside the dielectric and the velocity of
propagation in the air. The result is an apparent bending, or
refracting, of the waves. The amount of delay is determined by the
dielectric constant of the material. In most cases, artificial
dielectrics, consisting of conducting rods or spheres that are small
compared to the wavelength, are used. In this case, the inner
portions of the transmitted waves are decelerated for a longer
interval of time than the outer portions. In a lens antenna, the exit
side of the lens can be regarded as an aperture across which there
is a field distribution. This field acts as a source of radiation, just as
do fields across the mouth of a reflector or horn. For a returning
echo, the same process takes place in the lens.
 2 60 Ghz lens antenna

With a LENS ANTENNA we can convert spherically radiated

microwave energy into a plane wave (in a given direction) by using
a point source (open end of the waveguide) with a COLLIMATING
LENS. A collimating lens forces all radial segments of the spherical
wavefront into parallel paths. The point source can be regarded as a
gun which shoots the microwave energy toward the lens. The point
source is often a horn radiator or a simple dipole antenna.

REFLECTOR ANTENNAS:
An antenna reflector is a device that reflects electromagnetic
waves.

It is often a part of an antenna assembly.

The most common reflector types are

• corner reflector which reflects the incoming signal back to the

direction it came from
• parabolic reflector which focuses a beam signal into one point,
or directs a radiating signal into a beam
• flat reflector which just reflects the signal like a mirror and is
often used as a passive repeater

Design criteria

Parameters to be taken into account include the following that

directly influence efficiency:

• Spillover (part of the feed antenna radiation misses the

reflector)
 • Aperture blockage (also known as feed blockage: part of the
feed energy is reflected back into the feed antenna and does
not contribute to the main beam)
• Illumination taper
• Reflector surface deviation
• Defocusing

• Cross polarization
• Feed losses
• Antenna feed mismatch
• Non-uniform amplitude/phase distributions
• Big ugly dish

The antenna efficiency is measured in terms of its effectiveness

ratio.

Any gain degrading factors which raise side lobes have a two-fold
effect, in that they contribute to system noise temperature in
addition to reducing gain. Aperture blockage and deviation of
reflector surface (from the designed "ideal") are two important
cases. Aperture blockage is normally due to shadowing by feed,
subreflector and/or support members. Deviations in reflector
surfaces cause non-uniform aperture distributions, resulting in
reduced gains.

The standard symmetrical, parabolic, Cassegrain reflector system is

very popular in practice because it allows minimum feeder length to
the terminal equipment. The major disadvantage of this
configuration is blockage by the hyperbolic sub-reflector and its
supporting struts (usually 3 - 4 are used). The blockage becomes
very significant when the size of the parabolic reflector is small
compared to the diameter of the sub-reflector. To avoid blockage
from the sub-reflector asymmetric designs such as the open
Cassegrain can be employed. Note however that the asymmetry can
have deleterious effects on some aspects of the antenna's
performance - for example, inferior side-lobe levels, beam squint,
poor cross-polar response etc.
To avoid spillover from the effects of over-illumination of the main
reflector surface and diffraction, a microwave absorber is sometimes
employed. This lossy material helps prevent excessive side-lobe
levels radiating from edge effects and over-illumination. Note that in
the case of a front-fed Cassegrain the feed horn and feeder (usually
waveguide) need to be covered with an edge absorber in addition to
the circumference of the main paraboloid.

A spherical wavefront (one in which the energy spreads out in all

directions) spreads out as it travels away from the antenna and
produces a pattern that is not very directional. A wavefront that
exists in only one plane does not spread because all of the
wavefront moves forward in the same direction. For an antenna to
be highly directive, it must change the normally spherical wavefront
into a plane wavefront. Many highly directive microwave antennas
produce a plane wavefront by using a reflector to focus the radiated
energy. The PARABOLIC REFLECTOR is most often used for high
directivity.
Microwaves travel in straight lines as do light rays. They can also be
focused and reflected just as light rays can, as illustrated by the
antenna shown in figure 3. A microwave source is placed at focal
point F. The field leaves this antenna as a spherical wavefront. As
each part of the wavefront reaches the reflecting surface, it is
phase-shifted 180 degrees. Each part is then sent outward at an
angle that results in all parts of the field travelling in parallel paths.
Because of the special shape of a parabolic surface, all paths from F
to the reflector and back to line XY are the same length. Therefore,
when the parts of the field are reflected from the parabolic surface,
they travel to line XY in the same amount of time.

3 Parabolic reflector radiation

If a dipole is used as the source of transmission, energy will be

radiated from the antenna into space as well as toward the reflector.
Energy which is not directed toward the paraboloid has a wide-beam
characteristic which will destroy the narrow pattern of the parabolic
reflector. However, a HEMISPHERICAL SHIELD (not shown) may be
used to direct most of the radiation toward the parabolic surface and
thus prevent the destruction of the narrow pattern. Direct radiation
into space is eliminated, the beam is made sharper, and more power
is concentrated in the beam. Without the shield, some of the
radiated field would leave the radiator directly. Since this part of the
field that would leave the radiator would not be reflected, it would
not become a part of the main beam and could serve no useful
purpose.

PLANAR ANTENNA:
Parameters of analysis of planar antenna are:

1) Substrate:

Substrate materials play an essential role in micro strip antenna

design, production and finished-product performance. Several
aspects of materials must be considered in the design stage when
substrates are selected. What may seem ideal from a design
viewpoint must be balanced against production and final product
requirements. Ability to measure and control critical properties
especially relative permittivity and dissipation factor cannot be
ignored. The possible adverse effects of necessary processing step
must be taken into account. Successful antenna production will
depend upon on the use of appropriate processing techniques. New
substrate types and special substrate features are becoming
increasingly available and often can offer significant advantages for
designers and producers. The three important parameters that have
to be kept in mind are:

COMPLEX PEMITTIVITY: complex permittivity has two components

which we will call relative permittivity (dielectric constant) and loss
tangent. Both are critical for microstrip antenna performance.
Neither can be regarded as a fixed characteristic. Rather, they are
functions of several factors in substrate composition, processing and
application of an antenna. Dissipation factor is a measure of the
amount of electrical energy converted to heat in the dielectric and
partially accounts for the power losses in a passive device such as a
transmission line or a microstrip antenna

MOISTURE ABSORPTION: As indicated previously, absorbed moisture

is of concern because of the adverse effects it has on electrical
properties. Environmental conditions where cycling of humidity and
temperature is encountered can lead to degradation of resistance to
moisture absorption. Moisture penetration can also lead to corrosion
of conductor traces and degradation of the bond between conductor
and substrate.

FOIL ADHESION: Foil adhesion is usually tested by measuring the

force needed to peel an etched strip of clad foil perpendicularly from
the substrate .The amount of force required is related to the
thickness and stiffness of the foil and to the modulus of the under
lying material. For thicker or stiffer foil the radius at the region of
peeling will be larger, distributing the peeling force over a larger
area.

Planar antennas are fabricated on substrates. These substrates form

the base of the antenna. They are of 3 types:

• FR4.

• RT duroid (it is available in the following variants RT duroid

5880 and 5870 with the loss tangents of 0.0004 and 0.0009
respectively).

• Glass epoxy.

They are arranged in the order in the ascending order of cost and
performance.

Characteristics of substrate:

• Thickness(t)

• Dielectric constant (εr) or relative permittivity

• Loss tangent (tanδ)

2) Feeding mechanism

There are two types of feeding mechanisms

• Co-axial (for co-axial feed we fabricate a SMA connector)

• CPW
3) Geometry of the antenna

4) Result analysis

The result is analyzed on the basis of various performance

parameters which are measured with respect to frequencies.

1) GAIN: Antenna gain is a measure of directivity properties and the

efficiency of the antenna. It is defined as the ratio of the radiation
intensity in the peak intensity direction to the intensity that would
be obtained if the power accepted by the antenna were radiated
isotropically. The difference between the antenna gain and the
directivity is that the antenna efficiency is taken into account in the
former parameter. Antenna gain is measured in dBi, i.e. decibels
relative to isotropic. The unit of antenna gain is dbi which is decibels
relative to an isotropic antenna

3) VSWR: This stands for voltage wave standing wave ratio. In

telecommunications, standing wave ratio (SWR) is the ratio of the
amplitude of a partial standing wave at an antinode (maximum) to
the amplitude at an adjacent node (minimum), in an electrical
transmission line.

The SWR is usually defined as a voltage ratio called the VSWR, for
voltage standing wave ratio. For example, the VSWR value 1.2:1
denotes maximum standing wave amplitude that is 1.2 times
greater than the minimum standing wave value. It is also possible to
define the SWR in terms of current, resulting in the ISWR, which has
the same numerical value. The power standing wave ratio (PSWR) is
defined as the square of the VSWR.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF VSWR: The most common case for

measuring and examining SWR is when installing and tuning
transmitting antennas. When a transmitter is connected to an
antenna by a feed line, the impedance of the antenna and feed line
must match exactly for maximum energy transfer from the feed line
to the antenna to be possible. The impedance of the antenna varies
based on many factors including: the antenna's natural resonance at
the frequency being transmitted, the antenna's height above the
ground, and the size of the conductors used to construct the
antenna.
When an antenna and feed line do not have matching impedances,
some of the electrical energy cannot be transferred from the feed
line to the antenna Energy not transferred to the antenna is
reflected back towards the transmitter. It is the interaction of these
reflected waves with forward waves which causes standing wave
patterns Reflected power has three main implications in radio
transmitters: Radio Frequency (RF) energy losses increase,
distortion on transmitter due to reflected power from load and
damage to the transmitter can occur.

5) Radiation pattern

The radiation pattern of an antenna is the geometric pattern of the

relative field strengths of the field emitted by the antenna. For the
ideal isotropic antenna, this would be a sphere. For a typical dipole,
this would be a toroid. The radiation pattern of an antenna is
typically represented by a three dimensional graph, or polar plots of
the horizontal and vertical cross sections. The graph should show
side lobes and back lobes, where the antenna's gain is at a minima
or maxima.

6) Efficiency

It is a measure of how effectively power is radiated out. The formula

of antenna efficiency is POWER OUTPUT/INPUT POWER. Efficiency for
commercial purposes should be more than 50%.

MAXIMUM POWER TRANSFER THEOREM

The maximum power transfer theorem states that to obtain
maximum external power from a source with finite internal
resistance, the resistance of the load must be made same as that of
the source. The theorem results in maximum power transfer and not
in maximum efficiency. if the resistance of the load is made larger
than the source, then the efficiency is higher since a higher % of the
source power is transferred to the load, but the magnitude of the
load power is lower since the total circuit goes up. if the load
resistance is smaller than the source impedance, then most of the
power ends up being dissipated in the source, and although the total
power dissipated is higher, due to lower total resistance, it turns out
that the amount dissipated in the load is reduced.

In this case the source is the radiator or the antenna and the load is
the free space thus the impedances of the antenna and free space
have to be matched so as to result in maximum transfer of power.
The impedance of free space is 377ohms.And the impedance
matching is determined with the help of the smith chart

RESONANT FREQUENCY
The "resonant frequency" and "electrical resonance" is related to the
electrical length of an antenna. The electrical length is usually the
physical length of the wire divided by its velocity factor (the ratio of
the speed of wave propagation in the wire to c0, the speed of light
in a vacuum). Typically an antenna is tuned for a specific frequency,
and is effective for a range of frequencies that are usually cantered
on that resonant frequency. However, other properties of an
antenna change with frequency, in particular the radiation pattern
and impedance, so the antenna's resonant frequency may merely be
close to the centre frequency of these other more important
properties.

Antennas can be made resonant on harmonic frequencies with

lengths that are fractions of the target wavelength; this resonance
gives much better coupling to the electromagnetic wave, and makes
the aerial act as if it were physically larger.

Some antenna designs have multiple resonant frequencies, and

some are relatively effective over a very broad range of frequencies.
The most commonly known type of wide band aerial is the
logarithmic or log periodic, but its gain is usually much lower than
that of a specific or narrower band aerial.

BANDWIDTH
The bandwidth of an antenna is the range of frequencies over which
it is effective, usually centered on the resonant frequency. The
bandwidth of an antenna may be increased by several techniques,
including using thicker wires, replacing wires with cages to simulate
a thicker wire, tapering antenna components (like in a feed horn),
and combining multiple antennas into a single assembly and
allowing the natural impedance to select the correct antenna. Small
antennas are usually preferred for convenience, but there is a
fundamental limit relating bandwidth, size and efficiency.

RETURN LOSS
The amount of power which is reflected back to the source from an
incorrectly terminated line is an important property called "Return
Loss", and measurement of return loss can reveal line faults due to
mismatching. Definition - The Return Loss of a line is the ratio of the
power reflected back from the line to the power transmitted into the
line.

Power can be reflected from mismatching at either end, but for lines
of a reasonable length, the matching of the transmitter has more
effect on the return loss than the matching of the receiver. This is
because reflections from the far end are attenuated by the line
before they arrive back at the transmitter. Often, high return loss is
caused by changes in characteristic impedance at cable joints near
to the transmitter.

For maximum power transfer the return loss should be as small as

possible. This means that the ratio PR/PT should be as small as
possible, or expressed in dB, the return loss should be as large a
negative number as possible. For example a return loss of -40dB is
better than one of -20dB.In certain cases where the substrate is
getting excited the return loss is very high but the power is not
being transmitted and for complete validation we need to refer to
the gain graph. For commercial or industrial purposes -10 and lower
is sufficient but in case of military applications the minimum value
required is -15 and lower for performance and security reasons
(bandwidth, directivity)
SMITH CHART

An impedance Smith chart (with no data plotted)

The Smith chart, invented by Phillip H. Smith (1905-1987), is a

graphical aid or nomogram designed for electrical and electronics
engineers specializing in radio frequency (RF) engineering to assist
in solving problems with transmission lines and matching circuits.
Use of the Smith chart utility has grown steadily over the years and
it is still widely used today, not only as a problem solving aid, but as
a graphical demonstrator of how many RF parameters behave at
one or more frequencies, an alternative to using tabular information.
The Smith chart can be used to represent many parameters
including impedances, admittances, reflection coefficients,
scattering parameters, noise figure circles, constant gain contours
and regions for unconditional stability. The Smith chart is most
frequently used at or within the unity radius region. However, the
remainder is still mathematically relevant, being used, for example,
in oscillator design and stability analysis
A network analyzer (HP 8720A) showing a Smith chart.

The Smith chart is plotted on the complex reflection coefficient

plane in two dimensions and is scaled in normalized impedance (the
most common), normalized admittance or both, using different
colors to distinguish between them. These are often known as the Z,
Y and YZ Smith charts respectively. Normalized scaling allows the
Smith chart to be used for problems involving any characteristic or
system impedance which is represented by the center point of the
chart. The most commonly used normalization impedance is 50
ohms. Once an answer is obtained through the graphical
constructions described below, it is straightforward to convert
between normalized impedance (or normalized admittance) and the
corresponding unnormalized value by multiplying by the
characteristic impedance (admittance). Reflection coefficients can
be read directly from the chart as they are unitless parameters.

The Smith chart has circumferential scaling in wavelengths and

degrees. The wavelengths scale is used in distributed component
problems and represents the distance measured along the
transmission line connected between the generator or source and
the load to the point under consideration. The degrees scale
represents the angle of the voltage reflection coefficient at that
point. The Smith chart may also be used for lumped element
matching and analysis problems.

Use of the Smith chart and the interpretation of the results obtained
using it requires a good understanding of AC circuit theory and
transmission line theory, both of which are pre-requisites for RF
engineers.
As impedances and admittances change with frequency, problems
using the Smith chart can only be solved manually using one
frequency at a time, the result being represented by a point. This is
often adequate for narrow band applications (typically up to about
5% to 10% bandwidth) but for wider bandwidths it is usually
necessary to apply Smith chart techniques at more than one
frequency across the operating frequency band. Provided the
frequencies are sufficiently close, the resulting Smith chart points
may be joined by straight lines to create a locus.

A locus of points on a Smith chart covering a range of frequencies

can be used to visually represent:

• how capacitive or how inductive a load is across the frequency

range
• how difficult matching is likely to be at various frequencies
• how well matched a particular component is.

The accuracy of the Smith chart is reduced for problems involving a

large locus of impedances or admittances, although the scaling can
be magnified for individual areas to accommodate these.
Zeland Simulator
IE3D™ SSD High-capacity 3D Electromagnetic (EM)
Simulation
Fast, Accurate Electromagnetic Simulation for Large Structures

Process Engineering from Assembly Documentation.

High-frequency designs are using more — and larger — specialized
planar and full-3D electromagnetic (EM) structures than previous
generations. The need for fast, high-capacity, full- 3D EM simulation
solutions that render dependable results are now considered “must-
have” for every high-frequency designer’s toolbox.
IE3D SSD is regarded as the industry’s de facto standard EM
structure design tool built upon the only full-wave 3D method-of-
moments platform. IE3D SSD is ideally suited for the design of
monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), radio-frequency
integrated circuits (RFICs), low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC)
circuits, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) circuits, radio-
frequency identification (RFID) antennas, patch antennas, slot
antennas, wire antennas, and most other RF and wireless antennas.
Because of its proven accuracy, speed, capacity, and flexibility, IE3D
helps designers quickly turn ideas into designs, and designs into
products.
• High Accuracy — Based on production-proven IE3D EM
simulation technology; yields reliable, predictable results
• High Capacity —EM simulation and modelling limits have
been extended. Full package, PCB, and IC/MMIC circuits can be
solved within a compact memory footprint
• Fast Throughput — Leverage the 50X-100X run-time
advantage over other solutions on a single processor
computer, or use any combination of multi-core/multimode
 distributed processing to return results on challenging designs
in hours instead of days

FEATURES

IE3D SSD incorporates the industry’s only Full-Wave 3D Method-of-

Moments (MoM) EM simulation implementation. The MoM provides
full 3D capability in the frequency domain, treating both planar and
3D high frequency structures in a multilayer environment. The built-
in, powerful EM structure editor has a flexible input mode in both 2D
and 3D. The editor also provides full support for major CAD formats,
such as GDS, DXF, and ACIS.
Adding to efficiency, IE3D SSD also includes an automatic mixed
mesh (rectangular and triangular cells) to model structures of
arbitrary shapes with minimum computational effort. This is key to
IE3D SSD’s high performance.

Other important features include:

• Built-in optimization and parameterization/fastEM schemes
• Automatic magnetic current formulation enhances usability
• Unlimited number of layers and ports
• Finite dielectric or different dielectric portions within the same
layer
• EM and circuit co-simulation of structures with active devices
or lumped elements
• Lumped element equivalent (RLC) extraction
• Turn s-parameters into time-domain response using MD-Spice
VARIED APPLICATIONS

Many applications benefit from using IE3D SSD, including :

• Integrated circuit design—simulate signal integrity, power
integrity, and packaging
• RF/Microwave circuits — simulate passive components, active
components, LTCC circuits, and even high-temperature
superconducting circuits
• Antennas — simulate a number of antenna geometries
including patch, slot, wire, inverted-F, dielectric resonators,
and even RFID tags and optical frequency antennas
CIRCULAR PATCH ANTENNA
The geometry we opted for was circular. We used Zeland Simulator
to find the best possible feed point after repeated meshing and
simulations and comparing the outputs of various feed points we
found that the point (4, 3) gave us the best possible result.

Therefore our optimum feed point is (4, 3)

This diagram is of the meshing of a circular patch. Meshing shows of
the spatial division of the antenna. Meshing helps to find the feeding
point. Actually the zeland software finds the appropriate feeding
point in every mesh and gives the feeding point.

Various performance graphs are following:

Return loss:
This is the graph of frequency v/s return loss.The return loss for
commercial purposes should not be less than -10 dB and for military
purposes it should be -15dB.The resonant frequency in this graph is
5.8Ghz and the return loss is -34dB

VSWR:
This graph is a VSWR v/s frequency graph and the value at the
resonant frequency is 1.2 which is appropriate.

Gain Graph:
This is graph of gain v/s the space divisions of the antenna at the
resonant frequency which is 5.8 Ghz and the value of the gain is
5.6dB.
Elevation Pattern:

This is the elevation pattern gain and shows the directivity and gain
in the elevation plane from 0-180 degrees.
Efficiency Vs Frequency Graph:

This is the efficiency v/s frequncy graph and the effciency at the resonant
frequency is 54%.
Current Distribution:

This is the current distribution graph and shows the how the current is spread
across the surface of the antenna.

Azimuthal Pattern:
This is the azimuth graph and shows the directivity and the gain in
the azimuth this plane is horizontal and extends from 0-360.