Microstrip antennas have been one of the most innovative topics in antenna theory and design in recent years, and are increasingly finding application in a wide range of modern microwave systems. This paper begins with a brief overview of the basic characteristics of microstrip antennas, and then concentrates on the most significant developments in microstrip antenna technology that have been made in the last several years. Emphasis is on new antenna configurations for improved electrical performance and manufacturability and on advances in the analytical modeling of microstrip antennas and arrays. >

Microstrip antennas

Look to this new, cutting-edge microstrip antenna book for the first exhaustive coverage of broadband techniques, including the most up-to-date information to help you choose and design the optimum broadband microstrip antenna configurations for your applications, without sacrificing other antenna parameters. The book shows you how to take advantage of the lightweight, low volume benefits of these antennas, by providing clear explanations of the various configurations and simple design equations that help you analyze and design microstrip antennas with speed and confidence. This practical resource offers you a comprehensive understanding of the radiation mechanism and characteristic of microstrip antennas, and provides guidance in designing new types of planar monopole antennas with multi-octave bandwidth. You learn how to select and design proper broadband microstrip antenna configurations for compact, tunable, dual-band and circular polarization applications. Moreover, the book compares all the broadband techniques and suggests the most attractive configuration. Extensively referenced with over 300 illustrations and 140 equations.

Broadband Microstrip Antennas

Utilization of electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structures is becoming attractive in the electromagnetic and antenna community. In this paper, a mushroom-like EBG structure is analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Its band-gap feature of surface-wave suppression is demonstrated by exhibiting the near field distributions of the electromagnetic waves. The mutual coupling of microstrip antennas is parametrically investigated, including both the E and H coupling directions, different substrate thickness, and various dielectric constants. It is observed that the E-plane coupled microstrip antenna array on a thick and high permittivity substrate has a strong mutual coupling due to the pronounced surface waves. Therefore, an EBG structure is inserted between array elements to reduce the mutual coupling. This idea has been verified by both the FDTD simulations and experimental results. As a result, a significant 8 dB mutual coupling reduction is noticed from the measurements.

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Microstrip antennas integrated with electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) structures: a low mutual coupling design for array applications

This paper discusses the theoretical modeling and practical design of millimeter wave reflectarrays using microstrip patch elements of variable size. A full-wave treatment of plane wave reflection from a uniform infinite array of microstrip patches is described and used to generate the required patch-design data and to calculate the radiation patterns of the reflectarray. The critical parameters of millimeter wave reflectarray design, such as aperture efficiency, phase errors, losses, and bandwidth are also discussed. Several reflectarray feeding techniques are described, and measurements from four reflectarray design examples at 28 and 77 GHz are presented.

Design of millimeter wave microstrip reflectarrays

Far-field patterns and Gaussian-beam coupling efficiencies are investigated for a double-slot antenna placed on hemispherical lenses with varying extension lengths. The radiation patterns of a double-slot antenna on a silicon dielectric lens are computed using ray-tracing inside the dielectric lens and electric and magnetic field integration on the spherical dielectric surface. The measured radiation patterns at 246 GHz and Gaussian-beam coupling efficiencies show good agreement with theory. The theoretical results are presented in terms of extension-length/radius and radius/ lambda , and therefore result in universal design curves for silicon lenses of different diameters and at different frequencies. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that for single units, there exists a wide range of extension lengths which result in high Gaussian-coupling efficiencies (50-60%) to moderately high f 's. These Gaussian-coupling efficiencies can be increased to 80-90 degrees % with the use of a lambda /sub m//4 matching-cap layer. For imaging array applications with high packing densities, an extension-length/radius of 0.38 to 0.39 (depending on frequency) will result in peak directivity and a corresponding Gaussian-coupling efficiency 15-20% lower than for single units. >

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Double-slot antennas on extended hemispherical and elliptical silicon dielectric lenses

Microstrip antennas: the analysis and design of microstrip antennas and arrays , Microstrip antennas: the analysis and design of microstrip antennas and arrays , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی

Microstrip antennas : the analysis and design of microstrip antennas and arrays

Endfire tapered slot antennas are suitable for many integrated circuit applications, imaging and phased arrays. We report on an investigation of single elements of such antennas, including slots which are exponentially tapered (Vivaldi), linearly tapered (LTSA) and constant width (CWSA). For antennas of all types, a good general agreement is obtained for curves of beamwidth versus length, normalized to wavelength, when one compares the data with that for traveling-wave antennas published by Zucker. An important condition for this agreement is that the effective dielectric thickness, defined in the text, is in a certain optimum range. This condition is qualitatively explained in terms of the theory for traveling-wave antennas.

Endfire tapered slot antennas on dielectric substrates

A microstrip patch antenna that is coupled to a microstripline by an aperture in the intervening ground plane is analyzed. Coupled integral equations are formulated by using the Green's functions for grounded dielectric slabs so that the analysis includes all coupling effects and the radiation and surface wave effects of both substrates. A Galerkin moment method solution of the coupled integral equations agrees quite well with measured data. Design data are contained in parameter studies, many of which are verified by experimental results.

Analysis of an aperture coupled microstrip antenna

A parameter study of Vivaldi notch-antenna arrays demonstrates that the wide-band performance of these antennas can be improved systematically. Stripline-fed Vivaldi antennas are comprised of: (1) a stripline-to-slotline transition; (2) a stripline stub and a slotline cavity; and (3) a tapered slot. The impedances of the slotline cavity and the tapered slot radiator combine at the transition to yield an equivalent series impedance on the feedline. The stripline stub can be represented by a series reactance. The resistance and reactance of the antenna impedance yield insights into the effects of various design parameters. In particular, it is found that the minimum operating frequency can be lowered primarily by increasing the antenna resistance through a change of design parameters. However, beyond a limit for each design parameter, the in-band performance begins to deteriorate. Plots of antenna impedance versus frequency for several parameter variations have been obtained by using a full wave method of moments analysis of infinite arrays. These plots provide a means for designers to systematically improve array performance with bandwidths in excess of 6:1 having been achieved.

A parameter study of stripline-fed Vivaldi notch-antenna arrays

A method for calculating the radiation pattern of end-fire tapered slot antennas with or without dielectric substrate is presented. The method involves a two-step procedure: 1) determine the field distribution of a traveling wave along the tapered slot, and 2) compute the radiation from this slot field by using the half-plane Green's function to account for termination effects. Acceptable estimates of the slot field usually can be obtained from a stepped approximation to the tapered geometry. The method has been verified by comparisons to measured patterns for various dielectric substrates and antenna dimensions. However, the effect of lateral truncation has not yet been successfully modeled. Experimental patterns showing this effect are presented.

D.H. Schaubert

Papers

Microstrip antennas : the analysis and design of microstrip antennas and arrays

Endfire tapered slot antennas on dielectric substrates

Analysis of an aperture coupled microstrip antenna

A parameter study of stripline-fed Vivaldi notch-antenna arrays

Analysis of the tapered slot antenna