PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF MICROSTRIP PATCH

ANTENNA

ABSTRACT
In this paper a microstrip patch
antenna of resonant frequency 5.3GHz,
has been designed. Then switches are
incorporated in the patch to analyze its
performance by varying switch
dimensions.

INTRODUCTION
Microstrip patch antenna has narrow
bandwidth. Reconfigurability feature
overcome this drawback.
Reconfigurable antennas are a new
generation of antennas that will not be
limited to a certain function or
resonance but will change their
functionality depending on the
implementation requirements.
Compared to broadband antennas,
reconfigurable antennas offer many
advantages, such as compact size,
similar radiation patterns for all
designed frequency bands, and
frequency selectivity which helps in
reducing adverse effects like co-site
interference and jamming. A frequency
reconfigurable antenna has the
capability to change its resonant
frequency adaptively.
Reconfigurability can be achieved
either by mechanical tuning or
electronic tuning. Pins, posts, stubs,
give rise to mechanical tuning whereas
the varactor and switching diode
embedded in the patch and optical
control of PIN diode impedance can be
use for electronic tuning. In this paper
the diodes are modeled as the
transmission line. First an antenna is
designed and then the effect of
switches on the return loss, BW,
VSWR and radiation pattern has been
analysed. The objective of this work is
achieved as:
1. Design of patch antenna at
5.3GHz.
2. Effect of variation of length of
switches.
3. Effect of variation of width of
switches.
4. Effect of variation of thickness
of switches.

1. DESIGN OF MICROSTRIP
PATCH ANTENNA
A microstrip patch antenna is
designed at frequency 5.3GHz.
The substrate material is
FR4_epoxy of

and
substrate thickness of .5mm.
The design of antenna is shown
in Fig 1. The return losses,
VSWR, radiation pattern are
shown in Fig 2-5. As observed
from the figure the return loss
achieved is -25dB and the
BW=168.3MHz.

(a): Front view

(b): Side view
Fig1: Patch Design


Fig 2: Return Loss

Fig 3: Radiation Pattern ( = 0)


Fig 4: Radiation Pattern ( = 90)


Fig 5: VSWR



2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-30.00
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 3
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
90
60
30
0
-30
-60
-90
-120
-150
-180
150
120
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
Radiation Pattern 1
Curve Info
max(dB(rETheta))
Setup1 : LastAdaptive
1.90
2.30
2.70
3.10
90
60
30
0
-30
-60
-90
-120
-150
-180
150
120
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
Radiation Pattern 2
Curve Info
max(rETotal)
Setup1 : LastAdaptive
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
0.00
5.00
10.00
15.00
20.00
25.00
30.00
35.00
40.00
45.00
d
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R
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 3
Curve Info
dB(VSWR(LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2. EFFECT OF VARIATION
OF LENGTH OF
SWITCHES AND THEIR
NUMBER
To obtain electronic
reconfigurability a switch is
introduced in the patch as
shown in Fig 6. The size of the
switch is varied in terms of
length, l width, w and
thickness, t. First the effect of
length of the switch is taken
into account and it is varied for
minimum return loss and then
increasing the number of
switches for optimizing return
loss. The width of 1m,
thickness of 70m for switch is
kept constant.

Fig 6: Patch with Switch

The length of switch is varied from 2
mm to .01 mm. The return loss for one
switch for length 2mm, 1.5mm, 1mm,
.5mm, .1mm, .05mm, .02mm, .01mm
is shown in Fig 7-14. Then the number
of switch is increased to two and return
loss is measured for same dimensions
of length of switch i.e. 2mm, 1.5mm,
1mm, .5mm, .1mm, .05mm, .02mm,
.01mm. The procedure is repeated for
3 to 20 switches. The Table-1 shows
the return loss for various switch
length and their number.


Fig 7: Return Loss for 1 switch of l = 2mm


Fig 8: Return Loss for 1 switch of l = 1.5mm
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-35.00
-30.00
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 4
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-30.00
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 3
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1


Fig 9: Return Loss for 1 switch of l = 1mm
Fig 10: Return Loss for 1 switch of l = .5mm


Fig 11: Return Loss for 1 switch of l = .1mm


Fig 12: Return Loss for 1 switch of l =
.05mm


Fig 13: Return Loss for 1 switch of l =
.02mm

2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 3
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 1
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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(
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)
)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 1
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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S
(
L
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 1
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1

Fig 14: Return Loss for 1 switch of l =
.01mm
The minimum return loss obtained by
variation of the length and the number
of switches is -48.1 dB as shown in Fig
15 for 3 switches and switch length l =
1.5mm.

Fig 15: Return Loss for l=1.5mm for
3 switches

3. EFFECT OF VARIATION
OF WIDTH OF SWITCHES
AND THEIR NUMBER.
The width of the switch is now
varied. The length and
thickness are kept constant at
1mm and .07mm respectively.
The variation in width is for
dimensions- 1m, 2m, 5m,
10m, 20m, 50m. the
number of switches are varied
in each case up to 4. The return
loss for 1 switch with various
width values are shown in Fig
16-21. Then 2 switches are
incorporated for all the
dimensions and so on for 3 and
4 switches the width of the
switches is varied.

Fig 16: Return Loss for 1 switch of
w=1m
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 1
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-50.00
-40.00
-30.00
-20.00
-10.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 1
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-35.00
-30.00
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1

Fig 17: Return Loss for 1 switch of
w=2m


Fig 18: Return Loss for 1 switch of
w=5m


Fig 19: Return Loss for 1 switch of
w=10m


Fig 20: Return Loss for 1 switch of
w=20m

2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-16.00
-14.00
-12.00
-10.00
-8.00
-6.00
-4.00
-2.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-35.00
-30.00
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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L
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L
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)
)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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L
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1

Fig 21: Return Loss for 1 switch of
w=50m

4. EFFECT OF VARIATION
OF THICKNESS OF
SWITCHES AND THEIR
NUMBER.
After the variation in the
length, l and width, w of the
switches, the thickness, t, is
varied next.

Fig 22: Return Loss for t =70m
The various values of thickness
taken are - 70m, 50m, 25m,
10m, 5m. The return loss for
these values is shown in Fig
22-26.


Fig 23: Return Loss for t =50m


Fig 24: Return Loss for t =25m

2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-12.00
-10.00
-8.00
-6.00
-4.00
-2.00
0.00
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-35.00
-30.00
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XY Plot 2
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-25.00
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 6
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-20.00
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 4
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1

Fig 25: Return Loss for t =10m


Fig 26: Return Loss for t =5m

CONCLUSION
The effect of the switch dimensions
and their number on return loss has
been analyzed. Switching induces
reconfigurability.

REFERENCES
[1] Ghanshyam Singh et al
Design of Frequency
Reconfigurable Microstrip
Patch Antenna, IEEE, 2011,
pp.18-22.
[2] M.T.Ali et al A Design of
Reconfigurable Rectangular
Microstrip Slot Patch
Antenna, IEEE- ICSET-2011,
pp.111-115
[3] Hetal Pathak et al UWB
Reconfigurable Microstrip
Antenna for Wireless Sensor
Networks Applications,
ICCSNT, 2011, pp.246-249.
[4] Nishamol M.S. et al Dual
Frequency Reconfigurable
Microstrip Antenna using
Varactor Diodes, IEEE-2011.
[5] Wang Xinjin, et al MEMS
Dual Band Frequency and
Polarization Reconfigurable
Microstrip Antenna, IITA-
ICGRS-2010, pp.51-53.
[6] Manoj Singh et al Switchable
Frequency Bands Microstrip
Antennas, IEEE- 2009.
[7] Pramendra Tilanthe, A New
Dual Band Frequency
Reconfigurable Antenna,
ELECTRO-2009, pp.310-312.
[8] Y.Tawk et al A Cellular
Automata Reconfigurable
Microstrip Antenna Design,
IEEE-2009.
[9] Tomaz Korosec et al
Varactor-Loaded Microstrip
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-15.00
-10.00
-5.00
0.00
d
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(
L
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t
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1
)
)
Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 4
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 7.00 8.00
Freq [GHz]
-0.000000020
-0.000000015
-0.000000010
-0.000000005
0.000000000
d
B
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Ansoft Corporation HFSSDesign1
XYPlot 1
Curve Info
dB(S(LumpPort1,LumpPort1))
Setup1 : Sweep1
Patch Antenna with Frequency-
Tuning Capability and
Complete Polarization
Diversity, IEEE-2009, pp.80-
85.
[10] Sriram Kumar et al Novel
Reconfigurable Microstrip
Antenna, ICIIS-2008, pp.1-4.
[11] Shing-Lung Steven Yang et al
Frequency Reconfigurable U-
Slot Microstrip Patch
Antenna, IEEE Antennas and
Wireless Propagation Letters-
2008, pp.127-129
[12] T.Wu et al A
Multiband/Scalable
Reconfigurable Antenna for
Cognitive Radio Base
Stations, IEEE-2008.

















































TABLE 1: VARIATION OF LENGTH vs RETURN LOSS
NO. OF
SWITCHES
L=2mm L=1.5mm L=1mm L=.5mm L=.1mm

L=.05mm

L=.02mm L=.01mm
1 -35 -26 -23 -21.5 -23.5 -22 -20.5 -20.3
2 -32 -33 -35.5 -31.9 -39 -32.2 -32.1 -36
3 -38 -48 -42.1 -43.1 -37 -36 -33.9 -35
4 -46 -40 -44 -46 -38 -40 -42.5 -45.5
5 -42.5 -38 -45.5 -40 -38 -34 -47 -40
7 - -46 -35.5 -38 -41 -38 -36.5 -47
10 - - -36 -35.5 -33.5 -39.5 -45.8 -36
12 - - -41 -36.5 -33.5 -46 -34 -38
15 - - - -40.5 -36.5 -35 -34.9 -38
20 - - - -34 -36 -46 -47 -39


TABLE 2: VARIATION OF WIDTH OF SWITCH vs RETURN LOSS
NO. OF
SWITCHES
W=1m L=1.5m L=1m L=.5m L=.1m L=.05m

1 -34.9 -22 -18 -14.9 -11 -9
2 -33 -41 -37 -28.5 -23.9 -18
3 -34 -36 -33.9 -33.2 -38 -30.5
4 -43.5 -36 -38 -54 -33 -37