1344 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 49, NO.

9, SEPTEMBER 2001

Letters__________________________________________________________________________________________
A Broad-Band Coupled-Strips Microstrip Antenna
Ramesh Garg and V. S. Reddy

Abstract—A coupled-strip microstrip antenna with increased bandwidth

and increased polarization purity is presented. We have demonstrated the
underlying principle of its operation using even/odd modes of the coupled
strips. An optimized parameter set for three coupled strips is obtained. The
VSWR = 2 impedance bandwidth of this antenna is 23% for antenna
thickness of 0 083 .
Index Terms—Broad-banding technique, coupled strips antenna,
microstrip antenna, polarization purity.

I. INTRODUCTION
Microstrip antennas are of increasing interest due to their planar con-
figuration. The most serious limitation of these antennas is the narrow
bandwidth, which can be increased by using various approaches in-
cluding an increase in substrate thickness and a decrease in dielec-
tric constant, electromagnetic coupling to the feeding structure, use of
impedance matching networks, excitation of coupled modes, etc. [1].
A multiresonator configuration has been used for multiple frequency Fig. 1. Phase of voltage distribution across the width of two- and three-coupled
operation [2] and for low cross-polarization levels [3]. In this letter, strip antennas at x= 25 mm plane.
we have studied the modes in coupled-strip resonators to determine
TABLE I
the reasons for increased bandwidth. Experimental results for input
1
VARIATION OF PHASE DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN VOLTAGES ON COUPLED
impedance for three coupled-strips antennas are compared with the STRIPS WITH STRIP WIDTH W (L = 60 0
: mm, S : mm, = 10
computed values obtained from the spectral domain analysis. " =22
: , AND h : mm) =16
II. MODES IN COUPLED-STRIPS GEOMETRY
Consider two-coupled-strip resonators geometry (inset of Fig. 1)
printed on a substrate of thickness h = 1 575
: mm with dielectric
constant "r = 22: . The strips are identical with length L = 60 0:
mm and width W = 25 0 : mm. The separation between the strips is
S = 40 : mm. The antenna is fed by a coaxial probe located at (0 : 70
14 5
mm, 0 : mm). From the input impedance results for this antenna, Ideally, the phase difference should be zero for this mode. The mode at
we found that two modes are excited and their resonant frequencies 1.699 GHz is identified as the odd mode because of nearly 180 phase
are fr1= 1 661 : GHz and fr2 = 1 699
: GHz. The VSWR = 2 difference between the strips. Heuristically, one can also identify the
bandwidth of this geometry is found to be nearly 12.0 MHz, which is even and odd modes from the input resistances at two frequencies. The
about 2 MHz higher compared with a rectangular patch antenna of the power radiated is expected to be more for the even mode because of the
same size. It is observed from the computed H-plane radiation pattern in-phase excitation of strips and, consequently, lower input resistance
at 1.661 GHz that the main beam of coupled strips antenna has a tilt 2
(R = V =2Pr ). Conversely, nonzero phase difference at 1.661 GHz
6
of about 0  from the broadside. The tilt is due to an asymmetrical is due to the power radiated by the strips. To support this argument, we
excitation of the structure resulting in different phases at the two strips. have tabulated the phase difference between voltages on strips for dif-
In order to find the reasons for the improvement in bandwidth of ferent widths in Table I. From this table, we infer that, as the strip width
the coupled-strip configuration, it is important to identify the modes. decreases, the phase difference for the even mode approaches zero, and
The mode identification is done through the distribution of voltages on it approaches 180 for the odd mode. One can conclude then that, as the
the interface w.r.t. the ground plane. The voltages are determined at the strip width increases, the radiated power increases and modes existing
cross section of the antenna at x = 25 0: mm. The phases of the voltages on the strips can no longer be classified strictly as even/odd modes, but
are plotted in Fig. 1 at the resonant frequencies. It can be seen that the can still be distinguished.
1
phase difference  between the voltages on the strips at 1.661 GHz A two-strips antenna produces a small tilt in the H-plane pattern
is nearly 24 and is nearly 0 178  at 1.699 GHz. From these plots, one
due to an asymmetrical excitation. In order to reintroduce symmetry,
identifies the mode at the first resonant frequency as the even mode. we consider three-coupled-strips geometry (inset of Fig. 1). The strips
are identical with equal separation between them, and L = 60:0 mm,
W = 16:0 mm, and S = 2:0 mm. The antenna is probe fed at (07
Manuscript received August 6, 1999; revised July 10, 2000.
The authors are with the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communi- mm, 0). The phase distributions for the voltages at the cross section at
cation Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721 302 India. x = 25 mm are presented in Fig. 1 at two frequencies 1.662 GHz and

Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-926X(01)01850-6. 1.744 GHz. The resonant mode at 1.662 GHz can be identified as the

0018–926X/01$10.00 © 2001 IEEE

Authorized licensed use limited to: DRDO- ADA. Downloaded on November 25,2021 at 09:04:58 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 49, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 2001 1345

as the predicted one using spectral domain analysis. It was found that
increasing the number of coupled strips did not give rise to a further
increase in the bandwidth of antenna. The polarization purity of the
coupled-strips antenna may be better as reported in [3], since the ex-
cited transverse current component is smaller on the narrow strips.

IV. CONCLUSION
In this letter, we have investigated the coupled-strips antenna. It is
found that the enhanced bandwidth of this antenna is due to the even-
and odd-mode resonances of the coupled-strips geometry. The even
mode is responsible for radiated power and the odd mode increases the
bandwidth by shaping the impedance curve. The frequency difference
between the two resonant modes will ultimately limit the bandwidth of
the antenna. The optimized design for three-coupled strips is presented.
More than three coupled strips may not improve the bandwidth but may
help in increased polarization purity. A stacked configuration can also
be analyzed in terms of even and odd modes.

REFERENCES
[1] D. M. Pozar, “A review of bandwidth enhancement techniques for
microstrip antennas,” in Microstrip Antennas: Analysis and Design
of Microstrip Antennas and Arrays, D. M. Pozar and D. H. Shaubert,
Fig. 2. Comparison of measured and computed input impedance of aperture-
coupled antenna of three-coupled strips (d= 12:56 mm, d = 1:575 mm, Eds. New York: IEEE Press, 1995, pp. 157–166.
[2] F. Croq and D. M. Pozar, “Multifrequency operation of microstrip an-
" = 2:2; d = 1:575 mm, " = 2:2; L = 70:0 mm, W = 18:0 mm,
W = 24:0 mm, S = 2:0 mm, L = 54:0 mm, W = 1:5 mm, W = tenna using aperture coupled parallel resonators,” IEEE Trans. Antennas
5:0 mm, L = 14:0 mm). Frequency range: f = 1:35 GHz, f = Propagat., vol. 40, pp. 1367–1374, Nov. 1992.
1:75 GHz, and f = 40 MHz. [3] S. S. Zhong and S. C. Gao, “Analysis of aperture coupled gridded patch
antenna,” in AP-S Int. Symp. Dig. 1998, pp. 1610–1613.
even mode with the voltages at the strips of the type (+V, +V, +V),
[4] P. L. Sullivan and D. H. Schaubert, “Analysis of an aperture coupled

and that at 1.744 GHz is the odd mode with (0V, +V, 0V) type of
microstrip patch,” IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-34, pp.
977–984, 1986.
voltage distribution. [5] X. H. Yang and L. Shafai, “Characteristics of microstrip antennas
The VSWR = 2 bandwidth for the two-strip and three-strip cases with various radiating patches and coupling apertures,” IEEE Trans.
Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-43, pp. 72–78, 1995.
is almost the same. However, it is easier to control the impedance be-
havior for the three-strips antenna. Because of symmetrical distribution
for the radiating even mode, there is no tilt in the H-plane radiation pat-
tern. Even though the improvement in bandwidth over the rectangular
patch is small (2 MHz), it is found to increase with the increase in
A Broad-Band Rectangular Patch Antenna With a Pair
substrate thickness. However, it is difficult to achieve purely real input
of Wide Slits
impedance at resonance if probe fed. This is because of increased probe
reactance with increased substrate thickness. Due to this constraint, we Kin-Lu Wong and Wen-Hsiu Hsu
decided to study aperture-coupled microstrip antenna, which has the
potential of achieving 50
match with increased bandwidth.
Abstract—A new broad-band design of a probe-fed rectangular patch
III. DESIGN OF APERTURE-COUPLED COUPLED-STRIPS ANTENNA antenna with a pair of wide slits is proposed and experimentally studied.
The proposed design is with an air substrate, and experimental results show
Using aperture coupling of the feed microstrip line to the antenna, that, simply by inserting a pair of wide slits at one of the radiating edges
wide ranges of resistance and reactance values can be achieved by ad- of the rectangular patch, good impedance matching over a wide bandwidth
justing coupling, i.e., slot size and stub length [3]–[5]. Coupling can can easily be achieved for the proposed antenna. With an air substrate of
thickness about 8% of the wavelength of the center operating frequency,
also be varied by adjusting the position of the strip resonators with re- the proposed antenna can have an impedance bandwidth of about 24%.
spect to the center of the slot. This is one of the important parameters For frequencies within the impedance bandwidth, good radiation charac-
for the design of coupled-strips geometry. Also, one has to adjust the teristics are also observed, with a peak antenna gain of about 7.2 dBi.
substrate parameters and the feed parameters, like aperture length and
Index Terms—Broad-band patch antenna, microstrip antennas.
width, stub length, and feed width. For three symmetric coupled-strips
geometry with composite dielectric of air and "r = 2:2, we optimized
the strip widths W and gap widths S , to get the maximum impedance I. INTRODUCTION
bandwidth. The optimized parameters are given in Fig. 2. It may be
noted that the centers of the outer strips (of width W2 ) are located It has been known that, when a thick air or foam substrate is
at y = 623 mm and the length of the coupling slot La = 54 mm. used, bandwidth enhancement for a microstrip patch antenna can be
Therefore, the outer strips are directly coupled to the slot in addition to
the parasitic coupling to the central strip. The measured and calculated
input impedance for this structure is shown in Fig. 2. The VSWR = 2
Manuscript received October 1, 1999; revised June 30, 2000.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National Sun
impedance bandwidth of this antenna is 23% while that of a patch of Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 804, Republic of China.
the same size is only 13%. The measured bandwidth is exactly the same Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-926X(01)01849-X.

0018–926X/01$10.00 © 2001 IEEE

Authorized licensed use limited to: DRDO- ADA. Downloaded on November 25,2021 at 09:04:58 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.