MICROSTRIP ANTENNA

DEFINITION:
 An antenna that is shaped by simply etching out a piece of conductive material above
a dielectric surface is called a microstrip antenna or a patch antenna.
 On the ground plane of this microstrip antenna, the dielectric material is mounted,
where this plane supports the entire structure.
 In addition, the excitation to this antenna can be provided with feed lines that are
connected to the patch.
 Generally, these antennas are considered low-profile antennas that are used in
microwave frequency applications that have above 100 MHz frequency.
 An antenna or aerial in radio engineering is a specialized transducer, designed by an array of
conductors which are connected electrically to the transmitter or receiver.
 The main function of an antenna is to transmit & receive radio waves equally within all
horizontal directions Antennas are available in different types and shapes.
 The small antennas can be found on the roof of homes to watch TV and big antennas capture
signals from different satellites which are away millions of miles. Antennas move vertically &
horizontally to capture & transmit the signal.
 There are different types of antennas available like aperture, wire, lens, reflector, microstrip,
log periodic, array, and many more. This article discusses an overview of microstrip antenna.
 Antenna’s micro-strip/patch can be selected to be rectangular, square, elliptical & circular for
ease of analysis and fabrication.
 Some microstrip antennas do not utilize a dielectric substrate but they are made with a metal
patch that is mounted on a ground plane with dielectric spacers; thus the resulting formation is
less strong but its bandwidth is wider.

OPERATION:
 It consists of a rectangular metal patch on a dielectric substrate and is excited by a voltage
source across the metal patch and the bottom ground plane of the substrate.
 The microstrip antenna produces maximum radiation in the broadside direction (θ =
0), with ideally no radiation along the substrate edges (θ = 90°).
 BASIC OPERATION

THERE ARE TWO MODELS TO EXPLAIN BASIC OPERATION OF MICROSTRIP

ANTENNA.

1. TRANSMISSION LINE MODEL

2. CAVITY MODEL

TYPES OF MICROSTRIP ANTENNA :

Microstrip Patch Antenna
  These types of antennas are low-profile antennas where a metal patch is arranged at
ground level through a dielectric material in-between comprising a strip (or) Patch
Antenna. These antennas are extremely low size antennas with low radiation. This
antenna includes a radiating patch on one face of a dielectric substrate and on the
other side, it has a ground plane.
 Generally, the patch is made with conducting material like gold or copper. These
types of antennas can be formed with a microstrip method by simply fabricating on a
PCB. These antennas are used in microwave frequency applications which have
greater frequency than 100 MHz.

Microstrip Dipole Antenna

 The microstrip dipole antenna is a thin microstrip conductor and is placed on the
actual part of the substrate & it is covered totally with metal on one face known as the
ground plane.
 These antennas are used in digital communication devices like computers & the
nodes for WLAN. The width of this type of antenna is small so it can be utilized at the
entrée point of the WLAN system.

Feeding Methods of Microstrip Antenna

The microstrip antenna has two feeding methods; contacting feed and noncontacting feed
which are discussed below.

1.Contacting Feed

 The power in contacting feed is provided directly to the radiating element. So this can
be done with a coaxial line/microstrip.
 This type of feeding method is again classified into two types; Microstrip feed and
coaxial feed which are discussed below.

2.Microstrip Feed

 Microstrip feed is a conducting strip with a very small width than the radiating
element’s width. The feed line provides simple etching above the substrate because
of the strip has thinner dimensions.
 The benefit of this type of feed arrangement is; that the feed can be etched on top of
a similar substrate to offer a planar structure. The feed line toward the structure is
provided either at the middle, offset, or inset.
 The main purpose of the inset cut within the patch is to match the impedance of the
feed line’ to the patch without requiring any extra matching element.

3.Coaxial Feed

 This feeding method is the most frequently used type and is a non-planar feeding
method where z co-axial cable is used for feeding the patch.
 This feeding method is given to the microstrip antenna in such a way that the inside
conductor is directly connected to the patch whereas the external conductor is
connected to the ground plane.
  The impedance will change with the difference in the arrangement of the coaxial
feed. Once the feed line is connected anyplace in the patch thus helps impedance
matching.
 However, the feed line connecting throughout the ground plane is a bit hard because
this will need drilling a hole within the substrate. This feeding method is very simple
to fabricate & has less spurious radiation. But, its main drawback is that it is
connected to a ground plane connector.

4.Non-contacting Feed

 The power is given to the radiating element from the feed line with electromagnetic
coupling. These feed methods are available in three types; aperture coupled,
proximity coupled, and branch line feed.

5.Aperture Coupled Feed

 The aperture feed technique includes two dielectric substrates like antenna dielectric
substrate, & a feed dielectric substrate which are divided simply through a ground
plane and have a gap in the middle.
 The metal patch is located above the substrate of the antenna whereas the ground
plane is located on another face of the antenna dielectric. To provide isolation, the
feed line and feed dielectric are located on another side of the ground plane.
 This feeding technique provides an outstanding polarization purity which is
unachievable by other feed techniques.
 Aperture couple feed provides high bandwidth and is extremely helpful in applications
where we don’t want to utilize wires from single layer to another. The main drawback
of this feeding technique is, it needs multilayer fabrication.

6.Proximity Coupled Feed

 Proximity-coupled feed is also called indirect feed where the ground plane is not
present. As compared to an aperture-coupled feed antenna, it is very simple to
manufacture. On the conductive face of the antenna, a slot is there & coupling is
given with a microstrip line.
 This feeding method provides low spurious radiation & a huge bandwidth. The feed
line in this method is located between two dielectric substrates. The feed line edge is
arranged at some point wherever the input impedance of the microstrip antenna is 50
ohms.
 This feeding technique has enhanced bandwidth efficiency as compared to the other
types of methods. The main drawback of this technique is; that multilayer fabrication
is possible & it provides poor polarization purity.

7.Branch Line Feed

 In the branch line feed technique, a conducting strip is directly connected to the patch
edge of the microstrip. As compared to the patch, the width of the conducting strip is
smaller. The main benefit of this feeding technique is; that the feed is etched on a
similar substrate to give a planar structure.
 An inset cut can be integrated into the patch to get excellent impedance matching
without the requirement of any extra matching element.
  This can be attained by controlling the inset position properly, otherwise, we can
slice the slot & etch it from the patch with a suitable size. Furthermore, this feeding
technique is utilized & called as branch line feed technique.

8.Microstrip Antenna Radiation Pattern

 The graphical representation of the antenna’s radiation properties is known as

radiation pattern which explains how the antenna emits energy into space. The
variation in the power as an arrival angle’s function is monitored in the far field of the
antenna.
 The microstrip antenna radiation pattern is broad and it has less radiation power &
narrow frequency BW. The microstrip antenna’s radiation pattern is shown below
which lesser directivity has. By using these antennas, an array can be formed to
have a superior directivity.

ADVANTAGES :
 Low profile (can even be "conformal").
 Easy to fabricate (use etching and photolithography).
 Easy to feed (coaxial cable, microstrip line, etc.).
 Easy to use in an array or incorporate with other microstrip circuit elements.
 Patterns are somewhat hemispherical, with a moderate directivity (about 6-8 dB is
typical). This antenna provides a high amount of robustness above strong surfaces.
 It is simple to fabricate, customize & modify..
 This antenna has simple and low-cost construction.
 In this antenna, linear & circular polarization is achievable.
 It is appropriate for array antennas.
 It is compatible with monolithic microwave ICs.
 Bandwidth can be expanded by simply improving the width of dielectric material.

DISADVANTAGES :
 Low bandwidth (but can be improved by a variety of techniques). Bandwidths of a
few percent are typical. Bandwidth is roughly proportional to the substrate thickness
and inversely proportional to the substrate permittivity.
 Efficiency may be lower than with other antennas. Efficiency is limited by conductor
and dielectric losses, and by surface-wave loss.
 Only used at microwave frequencies and above (the substrate becomes too large at
lower frequencies).
 This antenna provides less gain.
 The efficiency of this type of antenna is low due to conductor & dielectric losses.
 This antenna has a high range of cross-polarization radiation.
 The power handling capacity of this antenna is low.
 It has less impedance bandwidth.
 The structure of this antenna radiates from feeds & other junction points.
 This antenna shows extremely sensitive performance towards ecological factors.
 These antennas are more prone to forged feed radiation.
  This antenna has more conductor & dielectric losses.

APPLICATIONS :
 Satellite communications
 Microwave communications
 Cell phone antennas
 GPS antennas
 Microstrip antennas are applicable in different fields; in missiles, satellites, space
crafts, aircraft, wireless communication systems, mobile phones, remote sensing &
radars.
 These antennas are used in wireless communications. to show compatibility with
handheld devices such as mobile phones & pagers.
 These are used on missiles as communication antennas.
 These antennas have a small size, so used in microwave and satellite
communication applications.
 GPS is one of the main benefits of microstrip antennas because it provides ease
within vehicles & marines tracking.
 These are used in phased array radars to handle bandwidth tolerance equal to some
percentage.

REFERENCE :
https://www.slideshare.net/RomaRicoFlores/microstrip-antennas-75295092