Broadband Microstrip Antennas: Increasing The Bandwidth

BROADBAND
MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS
Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Informatica e Sistemistica Electromagnetic Technologies for Link Design M BMA-1
Increasing the bandwidth

● All the patch antennas previously reported have very narrow
operating bandwidth (relative bandwidth BWr= 1-4%)
● GSM 900:
Uplink (from mobile to base station): 890-915 MHz (BWr=2.77%)
Downlink (from base station to mobile): 935-960 MHz (BWr=2.64%)
Total band: 890-960 MHz (BWr = 7.57%)
● UMTS-FDD III (DCS or GSM 1800):
Uplink: 1710-1785 MHz (4.29%)
Downlink: 1805-1880 MHz (4.07%)
Total band: 1710-1880 MHz (9.47%)
● UMTS-FDD I (IMT):
Uplink: 1920-1980 MHz (3.08%)
Downlink: 2110-2170 MHz (2.80%)
Total band: 1920-2170 MHz (12.22%)
Increasing the bandwidth
● A typical design goal of ρ(dB)<-6dB in the operating band can
be fulfilled by ordinary patches in the uplink or in the
downlink bands
● In order to cover the uplink and downlink bands of a mobile
standard or (better) the bands of several standards,
different techniques must be adopted
● Two approaches can be followed:
Broadband antennas: show an acceptable performance in a
large frequency range
• UWB applications
Multiband antennas: show excellent behaviour (resonance)
only in correspondence of a limited number of frequencies
• Multi-standard mobile phone

Suspended patch antennas

● As previously said the operating bandwidth of an antenna is
directly related to the substrate thickness (h) and inversely
related to the dielectric relative permittivity (εr)
● An easy way to change h and εr values in order to increase the
bandwidth is the suspended patch antenna
● The equivalent permittivity
εr
of the structure
ε (h + d)
h ε eq ≈ r
d ground εrd + h
● If d >> h εeq≈1 (air)
● If d+h > 0.1λ0 surface wave propagation

● In absence of substrate (εr=1) the maximum BWr can be 10-11%

Parasitic coupling
● One of simplest way to increase the bandwidth is the use of
parasitic elements near the fed element (the operating
principle is very similar to Yagi-Uda dipole antennas used in
TV signal reception)
Planar parasitic coupling Stacked parasitic coupling
ε r1
ε r1
ground
● Operating principle: if f1 and f2 are the

resonant frequencies of the fed element
and the parasitic (sligthly different)
broader bandwidth can be obtained

f1 f2 f
Planar gap coupling

● Radiating-edge gap-coupled L1 L2
One parasitic w
d g
• Due to the presence of the parasitic element the

antenna impedance is different: the position d of the
coaxial feed must be re-optimized
• Design parameter: W, L1, L2, d, g
• BWr can be ~7% [εr=2.55, h=1.59mm, f0=3GHz] (almost 3
times the band of single patch with the same dimension
L, W)
• Asymmetric structure: no broadside radiation
BW can be increased by increasing h (g must be increased
accordingly), and/or decreasing εr.
Planar gap coupling
● Radiating-edge gap-coupled
Two parasitics
L3 L1 L2
g d g
• Symmetric structure (if L2=L3): broadside radiation

• BWr almost the same (~7%) [εr=2.55, h=1.59mm, f0=3GHz]
• Gain greater than the single patch case (~3dB more)
• If L2 ≠ L3 the bandwidth can be further increased
• If εr=1 and h : BWr can reach the limit of ~15%
Planar gap coupling

● Non-radiating-edge gap-coupled
W L3
Since the fringing effect is weaker
than in the previous case the coupling g
L1
gap must be smaller (BWr~5-6%) W
d
[εr=2.55, h=1.59mm, f0=3GHz] d
g
W L2
● 4-edge gap coupled
The coupling mechanism
is increased and BWr can
be ~8-9% [εr=2.55,
h=1.59mm, f0=3GHz]
If εr=1 and h : BWr
can reach the limit of
~18-20%
Planar gap coupling: examples
● εr=1, h=0.5cm
3cm
5cm
BW=112MHz
BWr=4.3%
2.565GHz 2.677GHz
3.9cm
4.2cm
BW=680MHz
BWr=23%
2.6GHz 3.28GHz
Direct coupling
● A stronger coupling is provided by a microstrip line connecting
the patches
L3 L1 L2
W w
g d g
The line width (w) become a new design parameter
The BW is a bit greater than in gap-coupled structures
• Example: εr=2.55, h=3.18mm, f0=3GHz, 4 parasitics
Gap coupling: BWr=18.2%
Direct coupling: BWr=24%
● A patch array can have patches with sligtly different
dimensions, in order to obtain a broader BW
Stacked parasitic coupling (multi-layer)
● In order not to increase the planar dimension of the
structure it is possible to stack the radiating elements
● The coupling mechanism can be
Pure EM with
ε r1 ε r1
microstrip
with ε r1 ε r1 line
coaxial ε r2
cable
ground substrate
Exploded
ground
With slot ε r1 views
ε r1
ε r2
ground
substrate
Stacked parasitic coupling

● Besides the reduced planar dimensions, another advantage of
this solution is the possibility to use the best substrate
according to the layer:
Microstrip layer: thin and denser to enhance guided
properties
Antenna layers: thick and less dense to enhance radiation
● The figure shows the design parameters in the case of two
EM-coupled parasitics with coaxial feed
L2 ● s1 and s2 can be zero
h 2 ● BW ~20% with
r
L1 s2 significant air gap
h1
s 1 ● BW and gain increase
at expense of the
ground
d
total height
Stacked parasitic coupling
● Similar results can be obtained in the configuration with slot
● Generally the slot is smaller than the patch (<λ/2), therefore
it is not a resonant structure
Most of the radiated power is due to the patches
No back-lobe radiation
● Typical slots (L≈λ/4)
rectangular
● In general, the shape of the
H shaped aperture must be chosen in
such a way that it gives
maximum coupling with
bow-tie smallest size
● The BW is controlled by the
hour-glass usual parameters
Combination of the previous techniques

● In order to increase BW and gain the planar and stacked
configurations can be combined
BW=950MHz
BWr=33%
2.4GHz 3.35GHz

Multi-resonant structures
● As an alternative approach, it is possible to create multi-
resonant structures
● Meandered monopoles, typically used in cell phones
More monopoles of different (meandered) lenght
Each monopole is resonant at a specific frequency
not-grounded substrate
branch 2 branch 1
1800 MHz 900MHz
grounded substrate
feed line

Wrapped-meandered monopoles
● A tri-band solution can be obtained with three different
meandered monopoles, wrapped on a vacuum box
● A typical solution for a multiband mobile phone
(GSM/DCS/PCS 900/1800/1900 MHz)
branch 1 branch 3
branch 2
not-grounded substrate
feed line
grounded substrate

Multi-resonant structures
● The introduction of cuts and/or slots can produce compact
multi-resonant structures
Different portions of the metalization resonate at
different frequencies
● A typical example is given by the multi-resonant PIFA
Dual-band “L-shaped” PIFA
Dual-band “U-shaped” PIFA
Tri-band PIFA


● Substrate: 0.8mm-thick FR4 layer (εr=4.4) on a 6mm-thick air layer
30 mm
feed
pin
40 mm
29 mm
● The two resonances correspond to the fundamental modes of the whole

shorted structure (L = 40mm) (@ 900 MHz) and of the internal shorted
portion (L = 29 mm) (@ 1800 MHz)

@ 900 MHz
@ 1800 MHz


● Substrate: 0.8mm-thick FR4 layer (εr=4.4) on a 6mm-thick air layer
45 mm shorting wall
feed
68 mm
46 mm
● The two resonances corresponds to the fundamental modes of the whole

shorted structure (L = 68 mm) (@ 900 MHz) and of the internal shorted
portion (L = 46 mm) (@ 1800 MHz)

@ 900 MHz
@ 1800 MHz

Triple-band PIFA
● By increasing the number of metalized portions the operating
bands can be increased
Three separate patches
shorting pins
feeds
Meandered patch

Reconfigurable antennas
● A particular class of multi-resonant structures is given by the
reconfigurable antennas
● In these radiating antennas different portions of
metalization are connected or disconnected by means of
micro-electromechanical (MEMS) switches
MEMS switch: is a polysilicon cantilever or membrane
driven by a DC voltage: if the voltage is greater than a
threshold the switch is closed and a short-circuit between
two parts of the subsystem is created
According to the position of the switches the antenna can
resonate at several frequencies
This principle is used in other applications, too. For
instance in reconfigurable matching sections or filters

Reconfigurable antenna @ 1900-2400 MHz
Vbias = 0 V f0 = 1900 MHz
MEMS
MEMS MEMS
Reconfigurable
antenna
RF IN
Vbias > 30 V f0 = 2400 MHz

Reconfigurable antenna @ 1900-2400 MHz
90 E-plane:
120 60 measured
calculated
150 30 H-plane:
measured
180 0
calculated
210 330
240 300
270 @ 2.4GHz
5 measured calculated
0
Return loss (dB)

-5
-10
-15
-20
Commercial MEMS switches -25
of the resistive type by Teravicta 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2.1 2.2

Frequency (GHz)
2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6

Printed UWB antennas

● Spiral antenna: almost omni-
directional (z>0 space),
operating bandwidth limited by
dimension
● Vivaldi antenna: directive
antenna, not very large
operating bandwidth
● Bow-tie antenna: very large

operating bandwidth, quite good
directive properties
Partial
● Modified printed monopole ground
antennas planes


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BROADBAND

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Increasing the bandwidth

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Suspended patch antennas

● If d >> h εeq≈1 (air)

● If d+h > 0.1λ0 surface wave propagation

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

● Operating principle: if f1 and f2 are the

broader bandwidth can be obtained

Planar gap coupling

• Due to the presence of the parasitic element the

• Symmetric structure (if L2=L3): broadside radiation

Planar gap coupling

Stacked parasitic coupling

Combination of the previous techniques

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dual-band “L-shaped” PIFA

Dual-band “U-shaped” PIFA

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dual-band “L-shaped” PIFA

● The two resonances correspond to the fundamental modes of the whole

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dual-band “U-shaped” PIFA

● The two resonances corresponds to the fundamental modes of the whole

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Three separate patches

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Reconfigurable antenna @ 1900-2400 MHz

Vbias = 0 V f0 = 1900 MHz

Vbias > 30 V f0 = 2400 MHz

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Return loss (dB)

of the resistive type by Teravicta 1.7 1.8 1.9 2 2.1 2.2

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

Printed UWB antennas

● Bow-tie antenna: very large

Dipartimento di Elettronica D. Masotti – Advance Electromagnetic Transmission Techniques and Devices

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