Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol.

133, 91115, 2013

QUAD-FREQUENCY LINEARLY-POLARIZED AND DUALFREQUENCY CIRCULARLY-POLARIZED MICROSTRIP

PATCH ANTENNAS WITH CRLH LOADING
D. Segovia-Vargas1, * , F. J. Herraiz-Martnez1 , E. UgarteMu
noz1 , L. E. Garca-Mu
noz1 , and V. Gonz
alez-Posadas2
1 Departamento

de Teora de la Se
nal y Comunicaciones, Universidad
Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, Madrid 28911,
Spain
2 Departamento

de Ingeniera Audiovisual y Comunicaciones, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Carretera de Valencia km. 7, Madrid 28031,
Spain
AbstractIn this paper, a novel technique to develop multifrequency
microstrip patch antennas with polarization diversity or circular
polarization is presented. The proposed approach consists of exciting
modes with orthogonal polarizations in microstrip patches partially
filled with Composite Right/Left-Handed (CRLH) cells. Two different
kinds of quad-frequency single-layer patch antennas are proposed. The
first one has two orthogonal ports with high isolation between them.
The second kind of quad-frequency patch antennas consists of exciting
the four modes with two orthogonal polarizations through only one
port. Finally, the proposed approach is used to develop dual-frequency
circularly-polarized (CP) patch antennas by exciting the modes with
orthogonal polarizations in quadrature phase. Prototypes of all the
designs are manufactured and measured, showing good performance.
1. INTRODUCTION
Microstrip patch antennas are very popular radiators due to their light
weight, low profile, low cost, easiness of manufacturing and integrating
with circuitry [1, 2]. Conventional microstrip patch antennas are
usually operated at their fundamental frequency. For this reason,
several approaches have been proposed to design multifrequency
microstrip patch antennas [311].
These techniques to design
Received 24 July 2012, Accepted 11 September 2012, Scheduled 18 October 2012
* Corresponding author: Daniel Segovia-Vargas ([email protected]).

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multifrequency microstrip patch antennas are based on using several

radiators [6, 7], fractal-based geometries [8], stubs [9, 10] and coupled
resonators [11]. Recently, the authors have proposed the use of
single-layer microstrip patch antennas partially filled with Composite
Rigth/Left-Handed (CRLH) structures to increase the capabilities
of these popular radiators.
In [12] it was demonstrated that
multifrequency performance could be achieved within a wide range
of ratios between the working frequencies. This ratio was mainly
controlled by the size of the patch and the filling CRLH structure.
Two different designs were proposed in [12]. The first one was a
dual-frequency patch antenna with patch-like radiation pattern at the
two working frequencies. The other was a triple-frequency antenna
by adding a monopolar mode between the two patch-like modes.
In the present paper, the previous study is extended to develop
quad-frequency patch antennas with polarization diversity and dualfrequency circularly polarized (CP) patch antennas.
The concept of polarization diversity has become popular during
the last years. For example, this has been proposed to mitigate
the effects of fading in communications [1]. Moreover, in many
communication systems the uplink and downlink have assigned not
only different frequencies, but also orthogonal polarizations to increase
the isolation between them. (e.g., [1320]). In these works, two-port
patch antennas were proposed to provide two orthogonal polarizations.
For this reason, great efforts have been made to achieve high isolation
between both ports [1316]. Furthermore, the works to obtain dualfrequency microstrip patch antennas with dual-polarization were based
either on rectangular patches [13] or two-patch antennas with one
small patch inside a slotted bigger one [16, 17]. The first approach
is only valid for small frequency ratios, while the second one can be
used only for large ratios (e.g., 2). As commented before, patch
antennas partially filled with CRLH structures provides multifrequency
performance within a wide range of frequency ratios (from small ratios
to large ratios). Moreover, they provide additional capabilities in the
design of patch antennas with dual-polarization. In Section 3 it is
demonstrated that four different patch-like modes can be excited in the
proposed antennas. These modes can be classified into two different
pairs, each of them with a linear polarization orthogonal to the other.
These capabilities are exploited in Section 4 to design two novel quadfrequency patch antennas with dual-polarization. Quad-frequency or
penta-frequency patch antennas with patch-like radiation pattern at
all the frequencies have been proposed in literature [7]. However, these
patch antennas are based on multi-layer structures. In this paper,
single-layer quad-frequency patch antennas are developed thanks to

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the CRLH loading inside the patch structure.

The use of Circular Polarization is required for some applications
such as satellite communications and radio-navigation systems, for
example the well-known Global Positioning System (GPS). Moreover,
a dual-frequency performance is also required for several of these
applications; see for instance [21]. Previous works to achieve dual
frequency CP [2128] have been based on adding different kinds of
parasitic elements (stacked patches, slots, etc). However, the stacked
approach is multi-layered [21, 22]. On the other hand, the single-layer
approaches are only valid for large (> 1.7) [2325] or small ratios
(< 1.3) [2628]. Thus, there is no simple approach to achieve dualfrequency CP microstrip patch antenna with arbitrary ratios. On
the other hand, in [12] it was demonstrated that the use of CRLH
fillings provides enough degrees of freedom to achieve a broad range
of frequency ratios. This technique is used in Section 5 to develop
dual-frequency CP microstrip patch antennas in which a broad range
of frequency ratios from small values (smaller than 1.2) to very large
ratios (over 2.2).
2. TL MODEL OF MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNAS
PARTIALLY FILLED WITH CLRH STRUCTURES
A conventional square microstrip patch antenna can be modeled as an
open-ended TL. This element is a resonant structure, in which all the
eigen-frequencies follow the resonant condition:
n L = n
(1)
where is the propagation constant along the TL, L is the equivalent
length of the TL and n is the resonant index.
In the case
of a conventional TL, the phase constant is always positive and
proportional to frequency ( RH = k1 f , where k1 is a constant). This
leads to positive resonant indices (n = +1, +2, . . .) and harmonic eigenfrequencies. It is well known that the fundamental mode (n = +1) of
a microstrip patch presents half-wavelength electric field distribution
(+1 L = +). For this reason the simplified model of the patch is
based on a two-slot array with opposite phase placed /2 away. Then,
the radiated field has a broadside radiation pattern
The simplified equivalent 1D-TL model of the proposed antenna
is a LH section between two RH sections, as shown in Figure 1. It is
important to note that in this simplified model the CRLH structure is
modeled as a LH section because that is the dominant behavior at the
working frequencies [12].
In this case, the resonant condition is given by
n L = nRH d + nLH ` = n
(2)

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Figure 1. Simplified TL model of a microstrip patch antenna partially

filled with a CRLH section.
where RH and LH are the phase constants along the RH and
LH sections; d and ` are the lengths of the RH and LH sections,
respectively. In the LH section, the phase constant is negative and
proportional to the inverse of the frequency ( LH = k2 /f , where k2
is a constant).
In this way, these resonant structures can be used to achieve
multifrequency antennas. This fact is used to obtain two radiating
modes with similar characteristics to the fundamental one in a
conventional microstrip patch. The first of these modes (n = 1)
is achieved when the resonant condition is :
k2
1 L = k1 f1 d
` =
(3)
f1
while the second is obtained when the whole structure fulfills the
conventional condition (n = +1):
+1 L = k1 f+1 d

k2
` = +
f+1

(4)

The CRLH filling structures can be easily implemented by using

distributed cells. An easy implementation in microstrip technology
is based on Sievenpipers mushroom structures [29]. The unit cell of
the mushroom structure is composed of a microstrip metallic patch
with a grounding via and there are gaps between adjacent cells. The
LH behavior of these cells is provided by the metallic via (shunt
inductor) and the gaps (series capacitors). The CRLH behavior of
these structures was studied in [30].
3. POLARIZATION DIVERSITY
In the previous Section only modes with propagation along one main
direction (TMn0 modes) were considered. Thus, all the patch-like
modes were working with the same linear polarization. In this Section
the possibility of exciting modes with orthogonal propagation with
respect to the previous ones (TM0m modes) is studied. This can be

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Figure 2. Sketch of the patch antenna partially filled with four CRLH
cells, two in the x direction and two in the y direction.
used to increase the multifunctionality of the patch antennas filled with
CRLH cells because antennas with simultaneous multifrequency and
polarization diversity can be obtained.
The conventional technique to excite orthogonal modes in
microstrip patch antennas consists of feeding the antenna through two
orthogonal ports. Moreover, the dimensions of the two propagation
directions in the patch antenna must be different when the objective
is to achieve different resonance frequencies. This is the case of
a rectangular patch fed through two orthogonal ports in which the
TM10 and TM01 are obtained at different frequencies. On the other
hand, when microstrip patch antennas partially filled with CRLH cells
(Figure 2) are considered, two different approaches can be proposed to
excite modes with orthogonal polarizations and different frequencies:
- Using square CRLH cells and a rectangular patch. In this way
the dimensions L and W are different while Lm and Wm are equal. This
is similar to the approach used for conventional patches, as commented
before.
- Keeping the patch square and the CRLH cells rectangular so the
dimensions of the CRLH cells (Lm and Wm ) are different. This idea
comes from the fact that rectangular mushroom CRLH cells have a
different propagation constant along the two main directions [30].
In order to study the suitability of both approaches to develop
multifrequency antennas with polarization diversity two studies have
been made. The first one is a modal analysis of the structure to
identify the modes which can be excited. The second analysis is a
parametric study to compute the frequency ratio between the working
modes which can be achieved by using each approach.
The result of the modal analysis is similar for both approaches.
For example, the results for the second approach are presented. In that

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

Figure 3. Ez field distributions for the different modes of the patch

filled with a 2 2 array of CRLH cells. (a) [1, 0] at 1.78 GHz. (b) [0,
1] at 1.89 GHz. (c) [1, 1] at 2.10 GHz. (d) [+1, 0] at 2.56 GHz.
(e) [0, +1] at 2.73 GHz. (f) [0, 0] at 2.97 GHz.
case the patch antenna of Figure 2 has been simulated with the modal
R The dimensions of the antenna are
solver of CST Microwave Studio .
the following: L = W = 40.00 mm, Lm = 7.00 mm, Wm = 12.00 mm,
the gaps have 0.20 mm width and the vias radius is 0.35 mm. The
substrate is Polypropylene (r = 2.20) with height h = 4.00 mm.
Figure 3 shows the electric field distributions (Ez component) of
the first six modes obtained in the modal analysis. The figure tries
to represent the amplitude and phase of the corresponding Ez field.
Figure 3(a) corresponds to a left-handed (LH) linearly polarized mode
in the horizontal direction. In this way, it can be seen that, for instance,

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paying attention to Figure 3(a), the field distribution in the left part
of the patch corresponds to a positive phase while the field in the
right part corresponds to the symmetric amplitude but with negative
phase. The same can be applied to the other figures. For simplicity,
the conventional notation TMnm is substituted by the pair [n, m]. It is
important to note that four of the modes have half-wavelength electric
field distribution ([1, 0], [0, 1], [+1, 0] and [0, +1]) and one pair has
propagation along the x direction ([1, 0] and [+1, 0] modes) while
the other pair has propagation along the orthogonal direction ([0, 1]
and [0, +1] modes). This can be used to develop novel patch antennas
with different polarizations:
- Quad-frequency linearly polarized antennas with polarization
diversity when the four patch-like modes are simultaneously excited
at different frequencies.
- Dual-frequency circularly polarized (CP) antennas when each
pair of modes with the same sign (the pair of LH modes: [1, 0], [0,
1] and the pair of RH modes: [+1, 0], [0, +1]) is excited 90 degrees
out-of-phase at the same frequency.
In order to make the parametric study, the previous antenna
structure has been used but in this case the antenna is fed through
two orthogonal coupled lines placed below the center of each patch
side to excite the modes with orthogonal polarizations (Figure 4). The
feeding lines are placed in the middle of the substrate height and they
are shifted 15.00 mm away from the center of the patch. The port
placed along the x direction is numbered as 1 while the orthogonal port

Figure 4. Quad-frequency patch antenna filled with CRLH cells and

fed through two microstrip coupled lines.

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Figure 5. Resonance frequencies of the patch-like modes excited in the

quad-frequency patch antenna when the CRLH cell dimensions (Lm ,
Wm ) and the length of the patch (L) are set fixed while the width of
the patch (W ) is varied.
is numbered as 2. Other feeding schemes are possible (microstrip line
or coaxial probes) but feeding through coupled lines has been chosen
since it provides the best isolation between the ports.
The frequency variation obtained with the two proposed
approaches has been studied. In the first approach the internal
CRLH cells are kept square (Lm = Wm = 7.00 mm) while one of
the patch dimension is varied. In this case, the vertical dimension of
the patch, W , is varied while the horizontal one is maintained fixed,
L = 40.00 mm, to obtain its parametric performance. Figure 5 shows
the antenna resonance frequencies for the proposed situation. As the
length of the patch is not varied, the resonant frequencies at port 1
are nearly constant. The frequency variation is only 1.78% for the LH
mode [1, 0] and 1.98% for the RH mode [+1, 0]. This is logical since
the only modification has been done along the orthogonal direction
to port 1. On the other hand, as the vertical dimension is reduced,
the resonant frequencies at port 2 are increased. It can also be seen
that the slope for the RH mode ([0, +1]) is smaller than the one of
the corresponding LH mode ([0, 1]) at this port. In particular, the
frequency variation of the RH mode is 9.26% while it is 25.87% for the
LH one. This makes that the resonant frequencies of the RH modes
with orthogonal propagation constants ([+1, 0] and ([0, +1])) are very
close independently of the patch dimensions (the maximum separation
is only 5.41%).

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Figure 6. Resonant frequencies of the patch-like modes excited in

the quad-frequency patch antenna when the dimensions of the patch
(L, W ) and the length of the CRLH cells (Lm ) are set fixed while the
width of the cells (Wm ) is varied.
The effect of the second design procedure (variation of the vertical
CRLH cell dimension Wm ) can be seen in Figure 6. In order to obtain
its parametric performance, only this cell dimension is varied while the
horizontal one is maintained, Lm = 7.00 mm. The patch dimensions
are kept fixed (L = W = 40.00 mm). As it can be seen, the frequencies
of the RH modes ([+1, 0] and [0, +1]) and the LH ones ([1, 0] and
([0, 1])) are almost the same for small CRLH cells (Wm < 8 mm)
although the frequencies of both pairs decreases with increasing Wm .
However, as the y dimension of the cell gets larger and larger, the
spacing between each pair of modes also increases. The maximum
separation is 10.74% between the RH modes and 18.30% between the
LH ones. It is important to note that the frequencies of the modes
with propagation along x direction strongly depend on the y dimension
of the cells Wm , which is not the case of the previous approach. In
summary, the frequency variation of the different modes is: 27.14% for
the [0, +1] mode, 48.12% for the [+1, 0] mode, 25.81% for the [0, 1]
mode and 45.17% for the [1, 0] mode.
In conclusion, with the second design procedure it is easier to
achieve four sufficiently spaced resonant frequencies. For that reason
this design strategy is more suitable for the design of quad-frequency
antennas. Moreover, as the patch is square instead of rectangular, the
total area of the antenna is smaller.
Finally, it is clear that when both the patch and the CRLH cells
are square (dashed lines in Figure 5 and Figure 6), the resonance
frequencies of each pair are the same. This situation can be used
to develop CP antennas when the ports are 90 out-of phase fed.

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4. QUAD-FREQUENCY MICROSTRIP PATCH

ANTENNAS WITH POLARIZATION DIVERSITY
As it was concluded in the previous Section the best approach to design
quad-frequency antennas with polarization diversity consists of using a
square microstrip patch partially filled with a 22 mushroom structure
composed of rectangular cells. Two different feeding techniques can be
used and each of them is suitable for a different application. The
first one consists of feeding the antenna with two orthogonal ports
centered at each side of the patch, as in the parametric study of
the previous Section (Figure 4). High isolation between both ports
can be achieved. This approach can be used to develop antennas
for transceivers working for two different wireless services. For most
wireless services, the frequency bands for the uplink and the downlink
are adjacent. Moreover, for some cases, the polarization of both links
is orthogonal in order to increase the isolation. Hence, each port of
the proposed antennas can be directly connected to a dual-service
transmitter and a dual-service receiver taking advantage of the high
isolation between them.
The second approach consists of feeding the patch with only one
port placed close to the edge of one patch side. Thus, a one-port
multifunction patch antenna with four different patch-like modes is
achieved. The antenna has both frequency and polarization diversity
which can be used for systems in which diversity is required (e.g.,
MIMO systems).
Prototypes of both approaches are designed, manufactured and
measured in the present Section.

Figure 7. Picture of the manufactured two-port quad-frequency

microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity.

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4.1. Two-port Quad-frequency Microstrip Patch Antenna

with Polarization Diversity
As explained before, the first approach to achieve a quad-frequency
microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity consists of feeding
a square microstrip patch filled with a 2 2 array of rectangular
mushroom structures through two ports placed at the centre of
each patch side, as shown in Figure 4. Proximity coupled lines
have been used because they provide higher isolation than coaxial
probes. A prototype of the two port quad-frequency patch antenna
has been manufactured (Figure 7). The dimensions of the antenna are
unchanged with respect to the example used for the modal analysis:
L = W = 40.00 mm, Lm = 7.00 mm, Wm = 12.00 mm, the gaps
have 0.20 mm width and the vias radius is 0.35 mm. The substrate
is Polypropylene (r = 2.20) with h = 4.00 mm (implemented with
two 2-mm-heigth boards). The coupled lines are printed on the lower
Polypropylene board and they are shifted 15.00 mm away from the
center of the patch in each direction.
Figure 8 shows the measured [S] parameters. The reflection
coefficient is 14 dB at f[1,0] = 1.76 GHz (port 1), 13 dB at
f[0,1] = 1.88 GHz (port 2), 16 dB at f[+1,0] = 2.49 GHz (port 1),
and 14 dB at f[1,0] = 2.64 GHz (port 2). The ratio between the
working frequencies of the LH ([1, 0] and [0, 1]) and RH ([+1,
0] and [0, +1]) modes is approximately 1.41. A little dip can also be
appreciated at 2.10 GHz (port 1). According to the modal analysis in
Figure 3, this corresponds to a diagonal mode [1, 1]. Finally, the
isolation between the antenna ports is larger than 30 dB for frequencies

Figure 8. Measured [S] parameters of the two-port quad-frequency

microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity.

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(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 9. Measured radiation patterns of the two-port quadfrequency microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity.
(a) f[1,0] = 1.76 GHz (port 1, COPOL = x). (b) f[+1,0] = 2.49 GHz
(port 1, COPOL = x). (c) f[0,1] = 1.88 GHz (port 2, COPOL = y).
(d) f[0,+1] = 2.64 GHz (port 2, COPOL = y).
up to 2.5 GHz. However, the isolation between port 2 and port 1 at
the last working frequency is decreased down to 18 dB. This is due
to the fact that a spurious resonance at port 1 appears at 2.63 GHz.
The patch length is 0 /4.26 and 0 /4.00 at the LH frequencies and
0 /3.01 and 0 /2.86 at the RH ones, achieving an important degree of
miniaturization at the LH modes with respect to conventional patch
antennas.
Figure 9 present the radiation patterns in the x-z and y-z planes
at the four working frequencies. The antenna has a patch-like radiation
pattern at the four working frequencies, as desired. For the first three
modes ([1, 0], [+1, 0] and [0, 1] modes) the cross-polar component
in both planes is lower than 20 dB (with respect to the normalized
0 dB co-polarization level) in most of the spatial directions. However
the radiation pattern for the [0, +1] mode at 2.64 GHz presents some
distortion and higher cross-polarization due to the presence of the
spurious mode seen at 2.63 GHz. It is important to note that the
co-polar component is oriented along the x axis for the modes excited
through the port 1 ([1, 0] and [+1, 0]), while it is oriented along
the y axis for the modes excited through the port 2 ([0, 1] and [0,
+1]). Hence, polarization diversity is achieved. Measured gains at
the broadside are 5.4 dB at f[1,0] and f[0,1] , 6.2 dB at f[+1,0] and

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Table 1.
Two-port quad-frequency microstrip patch antenna
measured characteristics.
Frequency

Gain
(dB)

Co-Polarization

Length in
terms of 0

BW10 dB

Isolation
(dB)

1.76 GHz

5.4

0.23 0

2.1%

32

1.88 GHz

5.4

0.25 0

1.9%

42

2.49 GHz

6.2

0.330

1.5%

37

2.64 GHz

6.3

0.350

2.5%

18

(a)

(b)

Figure 10. Single-port quad-frequency microstrip patch antenna with

polarization diversity. (a) Sketch of the antenna. (b) Picture of the
manufactured prototype.
6.3 dB at f[0,+1] . The characteristics of the prototype are summarized
in Table 1. The |s11 | < 10 dB criteria has been considered to measure
the bandwidth of each band.
4.2. Single-port Quad-frequency Microstrip Patch Antenna
with Polarization Diversity
Figure 10(a) shows the sketch of the single-port quad-frequency
microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity. The antenna
structure is similar to the dual-port quad-frequency patch antenna
but in this case only one coupled line is used to excite the four
patch-like modes. This feeding line must be displaced along the y
direction to excite the patch-like modes with y polarization ([0, 1]
and [0, +1] modes). Moreover, the feeding line must be placed close
to the vertical edge of the patch to achieve a proper matching at these

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modes. A prototype with the same dimensions as the ones presented

previously has been manufactured (Figure 10(b)). For this case, the
patch antenna is fed through a coupled line displaced 15.00 mm from
the centre of the patch in both directions.
The measured reflection coefficient of this antenna is shown in
Figure 11. The reflection coefficient is 10 dB at f[1,0] = 1.76 GHz,

Figure 11. Measured reflection coefficient of the single-port quadfrequency microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 12. Measured radiation patterns of the single-port quadfrequency microstrip patch antenna with polarization diversity.
(a) f[1,0] = 1.76 GHz (COPOL = x). (b) f[+1,0] = 2.49 GHz (COPOL
= x). (c) f[0,1] = 1.83 GHz (COPOL = y). (d) f[0,+1] = 2.62 GHz
(COPOL = y).

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Table 2.
Single-port quad-frequency microstrip patch antenna
measured characteristics.
Frequency
1.76 GHz
1.83 GHz
2.49 GHz
2.62 GHz

Gain
(dB)
5.2
5.2
5.8
5.9

Co-Polarization
x
y
x
y

Length in
terms of 0
0.230
0.240
0.330
0.350

BW6 dB
3.2%
2.6%
2.5%
7.2%

11 dB at f[0,1] = 1.88 GHz, 24 dB at f[+1,0] = 2.46 GHz and 17 dB

at f[0,+1] = 2.62 GHz. The little dip corresponding to the [1, 1]
mode at 2.10 GHz can also be seen. Hence, the resonance frequencies
are similar to the previous case and the reflection coefficient is very
close to the superposition of the reflection coefficients of both ports in
the dual feeding scheme. Thus, the degree of miniaturization achieved
and the ratio between the working frequencies is the same as in the
previous case.
Figure 12 shows the measured radiation patterns at the four
working frequencies. The results are quite similar to the ones obtained
with the two-port antenna, achieving four patch-like dipolar modes.
The main difference with the two-port prototype is that the crosspolar component has increased. However, this was expected since the
displacement of the feeding line makes this antenna asymmetric and
the modes with two orthogonal polarizations are excited by the same
port. It is important to note that four different patch-like modes and
polarization diversity has been achieved with a single port. As in the
previous prototype, the co-polarization at f[1,0] and f[+1,0] is oriented
along the x axis while it is oriented along the y axis at the other
two working frequencies (f[0,1] and f[0,+1] ). Measured gains at the
broadside are 5.2 dB at f[1,0] and f[0,1] , 5.8 dB at f[+1,0] and 5.9 dB
at f[0,+1] The measured results are summarized in Table 2. For this
case, as the matching levels are worse than in the previous case, the
criteria for the impedance bandwidth has been chosen as 6 dB.
5. DUAL-FREQUENCY CP MICROSTRIP PATCH
ANTENNAS
There are two main approaches to achieve CP microstrip patch
antennas. The first one consists of exciting two orthogonal halfwavelength modes ([+1, 0] and [0, +1]) with equal amplitude and

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quadrature phase. This can be achieved with two-port patches in which

each port is placed at the centre of one side of the patch and both ports
are connected to external circuitry to achieve the 90 out-of-phase. The
sign of the relative phase will determine the sense of the polarization
(RHCP or LHCP).
The other approach to achieve CP is based on two orthogonal
degenerated and quadrature phase modes. This can be developed with
patches with some kind of asymmetry or geometrical modification, such
as slots, slightly rectangular patches or elliptical geometries [1]. For
all the cases, the dimensions of the antenna are modified such that the
resonant frequencies of the two orthogonal modes ([+1, 0] and [0, +1])
are close to each other. The antenna is excited at a frequency between
both resonant frequencies, such that the amplitudes of the two excited
modes are equal. Also, the feeding is placed in a diagonal to excite the
two orthogonal quadrature-phase modes.
The main advantages of the first approach are the good axial ratio
(AR) and its bandwidth. On the other hand, the total size and the
complexity of the antenna are increased due to the use of external
circuitry (e.g., hybrids) to achieve the required phase shift between the
ports. This drawback is not present in the single-port CP antennas,
but they provide limited bandwidths.
5.1. Dual-frequency CP Microstrip Patch Antenna with
Two Ports and External Circutry
This prototype is based on the first approach to achieve a CP patch
antenna. Figure 13 shows the sketch of the proposed topology which is
based on the dual-frequency patch fed through two orthogonal coaxial

Figure 13. Sketch of the dual-frequency CP patch antenna with two

orthogonal coaxial probes.

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probes. If the phase difference between ports 1 and 2 is +90 then

LHCP is obtained, while RHCP is obtained for a 90 phase shift.
External circuitry is used to obtain the proper feeding at the two
ports. It must be taken into account that the feeding circuitry must
work correctly at both operating frequencies to achieve a good AR.
Dual-band hybrids [31] are proposed to be used as feeding circuitry for
large frequency ratios between the working frequencies and broad-band
three-arm hybrids [32] is the optimal solution for small ratios.
An interesting feature of the patch antennas filled with CRLH
cells is that the frequency ratio between the different modes can be set
within a wide range of values, as it was demonstrated in [12]. This
frequency ratio mainly depends on the patch and cells dimensions.
This property can be used to design dual band CP patch antennas
with very different frequency ratios, which cannot be achieved with
other approaches, as it was commented in the Introduction. For this
particular case, there is only one degree of freedom since the patch
and the CRLH cells are square (Figure 13). In order to investigate
the dependence of the frequency ratio with respect to the patch and
mushrooms dimensions, a parametric study based on CST Microwave
R simulations has been made. The dimensions of the patch are
Studio
fixed while the size of the cells is varied. The details of the simulations
are as follows: the patch dimensions are L = W = 46.00 mm with
h = 10.00 mm height, according to Figure 2. The substrate is
Polypropylene (r = 2.2), the vias diameter is d = 0.70 mm and the
gaps are g = 0.20 mm. Lastly, the side of the square cells changes

Figure 14.
Dependence of
the frequency ratio between the
working frequencies of the dualfrequency CP patch antenna on
the size of the patch and mushroom structures.

Figure 15. Measured [S] parameters of the dual-frequency CP

patch antenna with two orthogonal ports.

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from Lm = 5.00 mm to Lm = 17.00 mm. The results of the simulations

are shown in Figure 14. The range of values that can be obtained is
very broad and it goes from very small values (smaller than 1.2) to
large values such us 2.2. It is important to note that such small values
cannot be achieved with other approaches.
As an example, a dual-frequency CP antenna working at the
1800 MHz and 2.1 GHz bands is designed, manufactured and measured.
These two bands have been chosen due to the small frequency ratio
between both bands. The dimensions of the patch antenna are chosen
to achieve the working frequencies within the chosen bands. According
to Figure 2, the patch side is L = W = 46.00 mm and the dimensions
of the mushrooms are Lm = Wm = 6.50 mm. The other parameters
are unchanged with respect to the previous simulations. The coaxial
probes are placed at 16.50 mm from the centre.
A prototype of the proposed antenna has been manufactured and
measured (Figure 15). The measured reflection coefficient at both
ports is 20.5 dB at f1 = 1.80 GHz and 10.25 dB at f+1 = 2.11 GHz.
In both cases the reflection coefficient is below 10 dB. However, in the
first situation it is better matched than in the second one. This is due
to the fact that the only parameter to match both working bands is
the distance from the probes to the centre of the patch, which is the
same for both ports. Then, a trade-off in the matching between the
two frequencies in the dual-band circularly polarized patch has to be
made.
The isolation between both ports is higher than 12 dB at both

Figure 16. Measured radiation patterns of the dual-frequency CP

patch antenna with the hybrid coupler connected.

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109

Figure 17. Measured roll diagram of the dual-frequency CP patch

antenna fed by the hybrid coupler.
working frequencies. This isolation can be improved by using proximity
coupling feeds, as shown in the previous Section. The electrical length
of the patch is 0 /3.62 at the first working frequency and 0 /3.09 at
the second working frequency. The ratio between the frequencies is
only 1.17.
In this case, a broad-band hybrid coupler is chosen to feed the
antenna to cover both working bands [32]. Figure 16 shows the
measured radiation patterns at the two frequencies. The radiation
patterns have not been measured in the full angular range due to the
limitations of the measurement equipment. Both radiation patterns are
similar to the fundamental mode of a conventional patch, as expected.
Measured gains are 4.6 dB at f1 and 5.8 dB at f+1 . In addition, a
roll pattern measured with a linear polarization probe is presented in
Figure 17. The roll pattern for both frequencies is always above than
3 dB giving a reasonable circularly polarized wave. The 3 dB AR
beamwidth is 194 in the x-z plane and 167 in the y-z plane at the
first frequency and 93 in the x-z plane and 72 in the y-z plane at the
second one.
5.2. Single-port Dual-frequency CP Microstrip Patch
Antennas
Two designs based on modified square patch antennas filled with
CRLH structures are presented below (Figure 18). Hence, the second
approach explained before to achieve CP patch antennas is used in
both cases. The first design consists of a slightly rectangular microstrip
patch with dimensions L W , being W slightly larger than L. When
this patch is fed along one main diagonal, the two orthogonal modes
corresponding to the main directions x ([+1, 0] mode) and y ([0, +1]
mode) are excited at very close frequencies. The CP is obtained at
a frequency, which lies between the resonance frequencies of these
two modes, where the two orthogonal modes have equal magnitude

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Segovia-Vargas et al.

(a)

(b)

Figure 18.
Single-port dual-frequency CP patch antennas.
(a) Slightly rectangular patch antenna. (b) Square patch with stubs.

Figure 19. Measured radiation patterns of the single-port dualfrequency CP slightly rectangular patch antenna.
and are 90 out-of-phase. Additionally, dual-frequency performance is
obtained by filling the patch antenna with a 2 2 array of mushroom
structures. This CRLH filling allows exciting the LH modes [1, 0]
and [0, 1] in a similar way that is done for the RH ones ([+1, 0] and [0,
+1]) and thus, CP is also achieved at an additional frequency. In this
way, a single-port multifrequency antenna with circular polarization
is achieved. As commented before, other modifications can be made
in the square patch antenna to achieve CP. For example, the second
design consists of adding stubs in one main dimension of the patch
while maintaining the width of the patch equals to its length (W = L).
Prototypes of both designs have been manufactured and measured,
achieving good results. The dimensions of the prototype based on the
first design are L = 40.00 mm, W = 45.00 mm, Lm = 6.80 mm, the

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111

gaps are g = 0.20 mm, and the vias diameter is d = 0.70 mm. The
substrate is Polypropylene with r = 2.2 and h = 8.00 mm. The
feeding approach is a coaxial probe placed in one main diagonal at
a distance equals to 13.00 mm from the centre of the patch antenna.
For the second design, the same substrate and dimensions are used,

Figure 20. Measured radiation patterns of the single-port dualfrequency CP slightly rectangular patch antenna.

Figure 21. Measured roll diagram of the dual-frequency CP slightly

rectangular patch antenna.

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except the following ones: L = W = 40.00 mm, Lstub = 12.00 mm

and Wstub = 4.50 mm. In this second prototype the feeding probe is
placed in a main diagonal 14.00 mm away from the centre of the patch
antenna.
Similar performance has been measured for both prototypes. The
simulated and measured reflection coefficient is depicted in Figure 19.
A high agreement between both results can be observed. CP is
obtained at f1 = 1.75 GHz and f+1 = 2.23 GHz. The measured
radiation patterns in the x-z and y-z planes at the two working
frequencies are depicted in Figure 20. The expected patch-like
radiation pattern is obtained at both frequencies. Moreover, a roll
diagram measured with a linear probe is plotted in Figure 21, showing
a value below 3 dB at both working frequencies. In addition, the 3 dB
AR beamwidths have been measured, obtaining 185 in the x-z plane
and 220 in the y-z plane at f1 and 43 in the x-z plane and 165 in
the y-z plane at f+1 .
6. CONCLUSIONS
Multifrequency microstrip patch antennas can be developed by
partially filling the patch with CRLH cells. In this paper, this approach
has been considered along two dimensions in order to excite modes
with orthogonal polarizations. Initially, these orthogonal modes have
been used to develop quad-frequency single-layer patch antennas with
polarization diversity. Two different kinds of quad-frequency patch
antennas has been designed, manufactured and measured. The first
one has two orthogonal ports with high isolation between them. This
type of antenna is a good candidate as the radiating element of dualband transceivers in which the uplink and downlink frequencies for each
band are adjacent and the polarizations are orthogonal. Moreover,
the high isolation between the ports can avoid the interferences
between the transmitter and the receiver. The second kind of quadfrequency patch antennas consists of exciting the four modes with
two orthogonal polarizations through only one port. A prototype
has been manufactured, showing good performance. This approach
is interesting for applications in which frequency and polarization
diversity is required (e.g., MIMO systems).
Finally, dual-frequency CP patch antennas have been developed
by exciting the modes with orthogonal polarizations in quadrature
phase. Two different feeding approaches have been proposed. The
first one is based on a square patch filled with square CRLH cells
and two orthogonal ports connected to additional external circuitry
(e.g., a branch-line coupler). A prototype of this antenna has been

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113

manufactured and measured. The second feeding approach consists

of making some modifications on a single-port square patch filled
with CRLH cells. Two prototypes based on this approach have been
designed, manufactured and measured. Axial ratios better than 3 dB
have been measured at all the working bands for all the manufactured
prototypes.
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