Lab # 5: Microstrip Antenna

ELEC 456/6341 Antennas, Fall 2009

Instructor: R. Paknys

1 Equipment
• HP 8410 network analyzer + 8743 test set + 8412 mag./phase display

• HP 8350B sweeper and X-band RF plug-in

• SMA cables 2x, waveguide transitions 2x

• SMA female-female adapter

• You bring: ruler, protractor, camera

2 Objectives
The objective in this lab is to design, fabricate, and test a microstrip, or
“patch” antenna. A computer model for the antenna will also be developed,
using the Advanced Design System ADS. A microstrip antenna is shown in
Fig. 1.
Microstrip antennas have several advantages: they are inexpensive, easy
to make, physically robust, and have a low profile. Some disadvantages
include reduced efficiency due to dielectric loss, and a limitation to low-power
applications.

3 Antenna Design
L is the patch length, measured from the feed point to the open circuit end,
and W is the width. The substrate has a permittivity ǫr and a thickness t.

1
At resonance the patch length should be slightly less than a half wavelength,
so that
λ0
L = 0.49 √ .
ǫr
√
Here, λ0 is the free-space wavelength and λ0 / ǫr is the wavelength inside
the dielectric.
The input impedance Zin can be controlled by choosing W . At resonance
Zin is real and is approximately given by
2
ǫ2 L

Zin = 90 r Ω.
ǫr − 1 W
The impedance bandwidth (in percent) is approximately
ǫr − 1 W t
B = 377 .
ǫ2r L λ0
The directivity is approximately
(
3.3 (5.2 dB); W << λ0
D=
4W/λ0 ; W >> λ0

The circuit board to be used in this lab is Rogers 5880 which has ǫr = 2.20
and tan δ = 0.0009 at 10 GHz. The thickness is 1/32 inch, or 31 mils. (1000
mils = 1 inch.)
Design a 50Ω patch antenna for operation at 10.0 GHz.

4 Construction
The patch should be near the middle of the circuit board, with a 50Ω trans-
mission line connecting it to an SMA connector at the edge of the board. Use
an X-acto knife, ruler, and glass plate to cut some conducting tape to make
a 50Ω line. The line should extend from the edge of the board to roughly
the center. Solder an SMA connector to the edge.
Microstrip design equations for the characteristic impedance Z0 and ef-
fective permittivity ǫe were computed and plotted in Figs. 2 and 3. From
these graphs it can be seen that a 50Ω line should be about 100 mils wide.
The effective permittivity ǫe is also shown. This is a corrected permittivity
that accounts for the fringing field effects of the microstrip line.

2
5 Impedance Testing
Set the sweeper for 8-12 GHz. Connect the open-circuit line to the network
analyzer. Adjust the gain and reference plane so that the instrument shows
a reflection coefficient of Γ = 16 0◦ . This way, the reference plane is at the
tip of the line.
Now make the patch antenna out of conducting tape and place it at the
very tip of the line. The patch should be just touching the tip of the feedline,
but not overlapping it. Then put another small piece of tape on top, to join
the feedline to the patch.
Take a picture of the antenna and the measured Γ. Identify the resonant
frequency.

6 Gain Testing
Use the Friis method to measure the gain of the patch antenna at 10.0 GHz.
Do this by measuring the Pr /Pt for a pair of waveguide transitions. Then
replace one of the waveguides with the patch. Since the waveguide gain is
known from Lab #4, you can find the patch gain.

7 Simulation
We will use the Agilent Advanced Design System (ADS) to model the patch
antenna. ADS has many functions, and we will focus on the “Momentum”
utility, which allows us to simulate planar structures such as microstrip and
stripline. It uses the method of moments to rigorously solve for the unknown
currents on the conducting surfaces of the circuit. From the currents, the
antenna impedance and radiation pattern can then be obtained.
To get started with running Momentum, first read the ADS documenta-
tion on the course website. Then do the λ/4 transformer example as described
in class.1
Having done the transformer it is then a small step to do the patch
antenna. You must create a P roject, a Schematic, and a Layout.
1
It is left as an exercise for the student to calculate the necessary L and W values so
that you have a 70Ω line that is λ/4 long at 4.0 GHz. This is easily done in the Schematic
Window, using Tools → Linecalc.

3
 In the schematic window, you use a P ort to define the antenna terminals.
In T Lines − Ideal you use M LIN and M LOC to define transmission lines
and conducting patches.
You should put a small piece of 50Ω line in between the port and the
patch. This improves the meshing at the feedpoint. Also, keep the line
short, just a few mils! At 10 GHz, just 100 mils of line will change the phase
of S11 by 2βℓ ≈ 90◦ .
In the Schematic window you use Layout → Generate/U pdate to convert
the schematic into a microstrip layout. This also opens the layout window.
In the Layout window, the M omentum menu contains the important
functions that we will need: Substrate → Create, Substrate → P recompute,
M esh → P recompute, and Simulation → S P arameters.
The ports are 50Ω. If needed, you can change this to another impedance
by going to: M omentum → P ort Editor.
Note that each time you modify the circuit and generate a layout, you
should also recompute the mesh. Otherwise the layout will not look right.
Note that the presence of red dots in a schematic, or cyan dots in a layout
indicates a problem with unconnected components.
The radiation patterns are described in spherical coordinates (r, θ, φ), and
the layout window is in the x-y plane. To obtain radiation patterns, we use
M omentum → P ost P rocessing → Radiation P attern. The patterns are
given in terms of co-polarized and cross-polarized components and defined
by
Eco = Eθ cos(α − φ) + Eφ sin(α − φ)
Ecross = −Eθ sin(α − φ) + Eφ cos(α − φ)
where α is defined as the “co-polarization angle.” By letting α = φ we obtain
Eθ = Eco . Further details about pattern calculations can be found in Chapter
11 of the Momentum manual.

4
8 Questions
Your group is required to collect the experimental data. Individually, you
write up and submit answers to these questions. It is not a lab report. It
will be marked like homework.
This is the last experiment. Hand in your work exactly two weeks after
the experiment. Submit it in my mailbox at the EV Building 5th floor, no
later than 17:00.

1. Describe the dimensions used for your antenna design and show a photo
of the antenna.

2. Use Momentum to model your patch antenna. Plot the input S11 for
8-12 GHz. Plot the gain pattern at the resonant frequency.

3. Show the photo of your measured impedance. Show a comparison of

measured vs. calculated results, on the same graph.

4. Compare the measured gain with the computed maximum gain.

5
 1111111111111111
0000000000000000
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
top view
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
11
00 0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
00
11 0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
W
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
0000000000000000
1111111111111111
L

side view
dielectric t

11
00 1111111111111111
0000000000000000
0000000000000000
1111111111111111

ground plane

Figure 1: Microstrip antenna.

6
Fri Nov 10 14:56:38 2000
eps=2.20, d=31.25 mils
1000

100
W (mils)

10

1
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
Zo (ohms)

Figure 2: Line width vs. impedance.

7
Fri Nov 10 15:00:18 2000
eps=2.20, d=31.25 mils
2

1.95

1.9
epsilon_e

1.85

1.8

1.75

1.7

1.65
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220
Zo (ohms)

Figure 3: ǫe vs. impedance.