In this section, we'll discuss the microstrip antenna, which is also commonly

referred to as the patch antenna. [Note: I'll use the terms microstrip antenna and
patch antenna interchangeably.] The rectangular patch antenna is analyzed, and
what is learned here will be applied to understanding PIFAs (Planar Inverted-F
Antennas).

Rectangular Microstrip Antenna

Introduction to Patch Antennas
Microstrip or patch antennas are becoming increasingly useful because they can be
printed directly onto a circuit board. Microstrip antennas are becoming very
widespread within the mobile phone market. Patch antennas are low cost, have a
low profile and are easily fabricated.
Consider the microstrip antenna shown in Figure 1, fed by a microstrip
transmission line. The patch antenna, microstrip transmission line and ground
plane are made of high conductivity metal (typically copper). The patch is of
length L, width W, and sitting on top of a substrate (some dielectric circuit board)
of thickness h withpermittivity
. The thickness of the ground plane or of the
microstrip is not critically important. Typically the height h is much smaller than
the wavelength of operation, but should not be much smaller than 0.025 of a
wavelength (1/40th of a wavelength) for an efficient antenna.

(a) Top View of Patch Antenna

(b) Side View of Microstrip Antenna

Figure 1. Geometry of Microstrip (Patch) Antenna.
The frequency of operation of the patch antenna of Figure 1 is determined by the
length L. The center frequency will be approximately given by:

The above equation says that the microstrip antenna should have a length equal to
one half of a wavelength within the dielectric (substrate) medium.
The width W of the microstrip antenna controls the input impedance. Larger widths
also can increase the bandwidth. For a square patch antenna fed in the manner
above, the input impedance will be on the order of 300 Ohms. By increasing the
width, the impedance can be reduced. However, to decrease the input impedance to
50 Ohms often requires a very wide patch antenna, which takes up a lot of valuable
space. The width further controls the radiation pattern. The normalized radiation
pattern is approximately given by:

In the above, k is the free-space wavenumber, given by

the fields, given by:

. The magnitude of

The fields of the microstrip antenna are plotted in Figure 2 for W=L=0.5

Figure 2. Normalized Radiation Pattern for Microstrip (Patch) Antenna.

The directivity of patch antennas is approximately 5-7 dB. The fields are linearly
polarized, and in the horizontal direction when viewing the microstrip antenna as
in Figure 1a (we'll see why in the next section). Next we'll consider more aspects
involved in Patch (Microstrip) antennas.
Fringing Fields for Microstrip Antennas
Consider a square patch antenna fed at the end as before in Figure 1a. Assume the
substrate is air (or styrofoam, with a permittivity equal to 1), and that L=W=1.5
meters, so that the patch is to resonate at 100 MHz. The height his taken to be 3
cm. Note that microstrips are usually made for higher frequencies, so that they are

much smaller in practice. When matched to a 200 Ohm load, the magnitude
of S11 is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Magnitude of S11 versus Frequency for Square Patch Antenna.

Some noteworthy observations are apparent from Figure 3. First, the bandwidth of
the patch antenna is very small. Rectangular patch antennas are notoriously
narrowband; the bandwidth of rectangular microstrip antennas are typically 3%.
Secondly, the microstrip antenna was designed to operate at 100 MHz, but it
is resonant at approximately 96 MHz. This shift is due to fringing fields around the
antenna, which makes the patch seem longer. Hence, when designing a patch
antenna it is typically trimmed by 2-4% to achieve resonance at the desired
frequency.
The fringing fields around the antenna can help explain why the microstrip antenna
radiates. Consider the side view of a patch antenna, shown in Figure 4. Note that
since the current at the end of the patch is zero (open circuit end), the current is
maximum at the center of the half-wave patch and (theoretically) zero at the
beginning of the patch. This low current value at the feed explains in part why the
impedance is high when fed at the end (we'll address this again later).

Since the patch antenna can be viewed as an open circuited transmission line, the
voltage reflection coefficient will be 1 (see the transmission line tutorial for more
information). When this occurs, the voltage and current are out of phase. Hence, at
the end of the patch the voltage is at a maximum (say +V volts). At the start of the
patch antenna (a half-wavelength away), the voltage must be at minimum (-V
Volts). Hence, the fields underneath the patch will resemble that of Figure 4, which
roughly displays the fringing of the fields around the edges.

Figure 4. Side view of patch antenna with E-fields shown underneath.

It is the fringing fields that are responsible for the radiation. Note that the fringing
fields near the surface of the patch antenna are both in the +y direction. Hence, the
fringing E-fields on the edge of the microstrip antenna add up in phase and
produce the radiation of the microstrip antenna. This paragraph is critical to
understanding the patch antenna. The current adds up in phase on the patch antenna
as well; however, an equal current but with opposite direction is on the ground
plane, which cancels the radiation. This also explains why the microstrip antenna
radiates but the microstrip transmission line does not. The microstrip antenna's
radiation arises from the fringing fields, which are due to the advantageous voltage
distribution; hence the radiation arises due to the voltage and not the current. The
patch antenna is therefore a "voltage radiator", as opposed to the wire antennas,
which radiate because the currents add up in phase and are therefore "current
radiators".
As a side note, the smaller
is, the more "bowed" the fringing fields become;
they extend farther away from the patch. Therefore, using a smaller permittivity for
the substrate yields better radiation. In contrast, when making a microstrip
transmission line (where no power is to be radiated), a high value of

is desired,

so that the fields are more tightly contained (less fringing), resulting in less
radiation. This is one of the trade-offs in patch antenna design. There have been
research papers written were distinct dielectrics (different permittivities) are used
under the patch antenna and transmission line sections, to circumvent this issue.
Next, we'll look at alternative methods of feeding the microstrip antenna
(connecting the antenna to the receiver or transmitter).

Inset Feed
Previously, the patch antenna was fed at the end as shown here. Since this typically
yields a high input impedance, we would like to modify the feed. Since the current
is low at the ends of a half-wave patch and increases in magnitude toward the
center, the input impedance (Z=V/I) could be reduced if the patch was fed closer to
the center. One method of doing this is by using an inset feed (a distance R from
the end) as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Patch Antenna with an Inset Feed.

Since the current has a sinusoidal distribution, moving in a distance R from the end
will increase the current by cos(pi*R/L) - this is just noting that the wavelength is
2*L, and so the phase difference is 2*pi*R/(2*L) = pi*R/L.
The voltage also decreases in magnitude by the same amount that the current
increases. Hence, using Z=V/I, the input impedance scales as:

In the above equation, Zin(0) is the input impedance if the patch was fed at the
end. Hence, by feeding the patch antenna as shown, the input impedance can be
decreased. As an example, if R=L/4, then cos(pi*R/L) = cos(pi/4), so that
[cos(pi/4)]^2 = 1/2. Hence, a (1/8)-wavelength inset would decrease the input
impedance by 50%. This method can be used to tune the input impedance to the
desired value.
Fed with a Quarter-Wavelength Transmission Line
The microstrip antenna can also be matched to a transmission line of characteristic
impedance Z0 by using a quarter-wavelength transmission line of characteristic
impedance Z1 as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Patch antenna with a quarter-wavelength matching section.

The goal is to match the input impedance (Zin) to the transmission line (Z0). If the
impedance of the antenna is ZA, then the input impedance viewed from the
beginning of the quarter-wavelength line becomes

This input impedance Zin can be altered by selection of the Z1, so that Zin=Z0 and
the antenna is impedance matched. The parameter Z1 can be altered by changing
the width of the quarter-wavelength strip. The wider the strip is, the lower the
characteristic impedance (Z0) is for that section of line.
Coaxial Cable or Probe Feed
Microstrip antennas can also be fed from underneath via a probe as shown in
Figure 3. The outer conductor of the coaxial cable is connected to the ground
plane, and the center conductor is extended up to the patch antenna.

Figure 3. Coaxial cable feed of patch antenna.

The position of the feed can be altered as before (in the same way as the inset feed,
above) to control the input impedance.
The coaxial feed introduces an inductance into the feed that may need to be taken
into account if the height h gets large (an appreciable fraction of a wavelength). In
addition, the probe will also radiate, which can lead to radiation in undesirable
directions.
Coupled (Indirect) Feeds
The feeds above can be altered such that they do not directly touch the antenna.
For instance, the probe feed in Figure 3 can be trimmed such that it does not extend
all the way up to the antenna. The inset feed can also be stopped just before the
patch antenna, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Coupled (indirect) inset feed.

The advantage of the coupled feed is that it adds an extra degree of freedom to the
design. The gap introduces a capacitance into the feed that can cancel out the
inductance added by the probe feed.
Aperture Feeds
Another method of feeding microstrip antennas is the aperture feed. In this
technique, the feed circuitry (transmission line) is shielded from the antenna by a
conducting plane with a hole (aperture) to transmit energy to the antenna, as shown
in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Aperture coupled feed.

The upper substrate can be made with a lower permittivity to produce loosely
bound fringing fields, yielding better radiation. The lower substrate can be
independently made with a high value of permittivity for tightly coupled fields that
don't produce spurious radiation. The disadvantage of this method is increased
difficulty in fabrication.
All of the parameters in a rectangular patch antenna design (L, W, h, permittivity)
control the properties of the antenna. As such, this page gives a general idea of how
the parameters affect performance, in order to understand the design process.
First, the length of the patch L controls the resonant frequency as seen here. This is
true in general, even for more complicated microstrip antennas that weave around the length of the longest path on the microstrip controls the lowest frequency of
operation. Equation (1) below gives the relationship between the resonant frequency
and the patch length:

(1)
Second, the width W controls the input impedance and the radiation pattern (see the
radiation equations here). The wider the patch becomes the lower the input impedance
is.
The permittivity
of the substrate controls the fringing fields - lower permittivities
have wider fringes and therefore better radiation. Decreasing the permittivity also

increases the antenna's bandwidth. The efficiency is also increased with a lower value
for the permittivity. The impedance of the antenna increases with higher permittivities.
Higher values of permittivity allow a "shrinking" of the patch antenna. Particularly in
cell phones, the designers are given very little space and want the antenna to be a halfwavelength long. One technique is to use a substrate with a very high permittivity.
Equation (1) above can be solved for L to illustrate this:

Hence, if the permittivity is increased by a factor of 4, the length required decreases

by a factor of 2. Using higher values for permittivity is frequently exploited in antenna
miniaturization.
The height of the substrate h also controls the bandwidth - increasing the height
increases the bandwidth. The fact that increasing the height of a patch antenna
increases its bandwidth can be understood by recalling the general rule that "an
antenna occupying more space in a spherical volume will have a wider bandwidth".
This is the same principle that applies when noting that increasing the thickness of a
dipole antenna increases its bandwidth. Increasing the height also increases the
efficiency of the antenna. Increasing the height does induce surface waves that travel
within the substrate (which is undesired radiation and may couple to other
components).
The following equation roughly describes how the bandwidth scales with these
parameters:

On this page, I will present a movie showing the fields under a

microstrip antenna. In this numerical experiment, a short pulse
will be launched from the end of a microstrip, which will travel
towards the patch antenna. Some of the pulse will radiate away,
and some of the power will be reflected back down the

microstrip line. This type of simulation gives a little bit better

idea of what is going on with a patch antenna, specifically when
short pulses (short waveforms, or brief applied voltages) are
incident upon a microstrip antenna.
Specifically, consider a patch antenna that is mounted on a
ground plane, with a dielectric with permittivity equal to 2.2.
The thickness of this dielectric is 0.795 mm (millimeters). The
patch antenna will be 1.25 centimeters wide and 1.56
centimeters long (you should be able to tell what frequency this
antenna will radiate well at - if not, see intro to patch
antennas page). The microstrip antenna will feed the patch offset
from the center, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Offset feed for Patch Antenna.

The transient pulse will be of the form given by exp(-(t-T0)/T )

^2, where T0 is the time delay and will be 45 pS (picoseconds,

10^-12), and T is a parameter that controls the rate of rise and

fall, which is 15 pS. This function is plotted in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Incident (transient) pulse fed to a Patch Antenna.

In the following video, we will view the z-directed electric field,

immediately below the patch antenna. Note that the surface of
the patch is normal to the z-axis. We can clearly see the incident
pulse propagate down the microstrip line, be disturbed by the
microstrip antenna, then some of the fields are reflected, some
radiate away, and some stay resonant below the patch and
eventually radiate away or reflect back down the microstrip line.
This video shows a Gaussian pulse travel down the microstrip.
Some energy is reflected back. Incidentally, taking the Fourier
transform of the incident pulse and the returned signal and

taking the ratio would give S11 (return loss) as a function of

frequency for this antenna.
If you would like to see how this numerical electromagnetics
simulation was developed, see the patch antenna numerical
example page.