CHAPTER-4

BANDWIDTH ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES O F MICROSTRIP

ANTENNAS

4.1 INTRODUCTION
The areas of application open to microstrip antennas have been limited by
their low operating bandwidth. The resonant patch has its bandwidth liniited by its
input VSWR to only a few percent even though its radiation properties remain good
over a wide frequency range. For a single patch operating in 11s dominant modc.
typical fractional band width is from 1 to 4% for thin substrates satisfying the criteria
h<0.07h0 for ~ ~ ~ and
2 .hc0.023&,,
3 for &,=I0 based on the limitation due to surface
wave effects.
In this chapter, various options available for enhancement of impedance
bandwidth of microstrip antennas are briefly described indicating the niechanisms
involved. The use of electromagnetically coupled patch (EMCP), the most promising
way to achieve bandwidth in excess of 10% is discussed by describing a two-layer
stacked geometry based on electromagnetic coupling between a driven and a parasitic
path.

4.2 BANDWIDTH ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES

Various techniques have been proposed to increase the bandwidth of
microstrip patch antennas, which may be classified based on,
1 . Describing the Q-factor of the patch by increasing the substrate height or lowering
the dielectric constant,
2. Use of impedance matching networks,
3. Use of multiple resonators located in one plane, and
4. Use of multi-layer configurations with vertically stacked resonator geometries.

4.2.1 PARAMETERIC CHANGES FOR REDUCING Q-FACTOR

The expression for bandwidth (Ref eq: 2.8), gives the dependence of the Q-
factor of the microstrip antenna on its bandwidth. It may be observed that the Q-
factor, dependent mainly on the radiation losses, is inversely proportional to the
height of the substrate, h, and directly proportional to the permittivity of the substrate.
heref fore the bandwidth of a microstrip larger thickness substrates with lower
dielectric constants. Bandwidths up to 15% may be obtained at the expense of an
increase in the antenna height to about O.lh,, [103]. However. such thick substrates
are not desirable or practical because of the increase in the probe inductance lcading
to input matching problems increase in spurious feed rad~ation,excitation of surface
waves [37] and non-conformability to curved surfaces.
Methods have also been explored to increase the bandwidth by introducing
air-gap between the substrates and the ground plane in a m~crostrippatch antenna [I I ]
and thus, changing the effective permittivity. All these methods are hased on the
concept of decreasing the resonator Q-factor.

4.2.2 IMPEDANCE MATHCING NETWORKS

Although the microstrip antenna has inherent narrow band impedance
characteristics, its radiation pattern presents appreciable wide band characteristics.
So, an entirely different approach of broad banding is made use of by employing the
wide band impedance matching technique [38] to reduce the rcturn loss at the input of
the resonant patch antenna. The impedance matching may be achievcd with a rcactlvc
matching network designed by combining the transm~ssionlinc model for the antenna
with a suitable model of the microstrip-matching network.
All the above techniques based on parametric changes and impedance matching
networks have not yet succeeded in providing an optimum configuration for wide
bandwidth microstrip patches to be used as linal array element.

4.2.3 MULTIPLE RESONATOR CONFIGURATIONS

Use of multiple resonant patches located in the same plane has hecn explored
by several investigators [(24), ( 2 5 ) , (135), (136)l. The principle used in these
configurations is that the stagger tuned coupled resonators can yield wider frequency
response similar to the case of multistage stagger tuned amplifier circuits. A double
tuned resonance is created by adding parasitic patch resonators in the same substrate.
coupling the radiating as well as non-radiating edges of the primary microstrip
antenna. Although wide band designs extending to parasitically coupled arrays have
been reported [lo], the method suffers from two disadvantages viz. The increase of
the physical area of the element and the asymmetry observed in the radiation pattem
with frequency.

4.2.4 STACKED MULTIPLE RESONATOR CONFIGURATIONS

In this approach of broad banding two or more layers of dielectric substrates
are used [96].Resonant patch radiators are stacked one above the other wlth the
intervening dielectric layers, sharing a common aperture area. The patches may be fed
individually from microstrip lines and co-axial probes, or only one or two patches
may be fed directly while the others coupled paras~t~cally
with capacitive coupling.
Two-layer configurations are very common, the two patches being of identical or of
slightly different sizes offering dual resonant structures. Dual-band structures [I21
with dual resonant frequency characteristics have also been developed with stacked
structures with and without air-gap [ 6 2 ] .
Although till today, convenient practical desibm and analysis procedures are
not available, the vertically stacked multi-resonator configurations have become the
most widely used broadband microstrip antenna elements, thcir general advantages
being:
1. Sharing of a common aperture and thus compatib~litywith the array b ~ i dstructure,
2. Stagger tuning resulting in an increase in the bandw~dth.
3. One of multiple revenant frequencies and the polarization schemes,
4. Use of different substrates and Inter resonator spacings to meet with optimum
needs.
The disadvantages relate only to fabrication and mechanical concerns.

4.3 ELECTROMAGNITICALLY COUPLED PATH STRUCTURE

As mentioned earlier (Ref. Section 4.2. I), although it is possible to increase
the absolute bandwidth of microstrip patch antennas by s~mply using thicker
substrates, it leads to several problems like excitation of surface waves distorting the
radiation pattem, excitation of higher order modes with 2 dependence leading to
further distortion in the pattem and impedance characteristics and spurious feed
radiation including the feed lead inductance problem. In view of these difficulties,
:lectromagnetic coupling (instead of direct couphng) has been studied as a technique
for increasing the bandwidth of electrically thick microstrip patch antennas. The
electromagnetically coupled patch (EMCP) structure is a variant of the multilayer
stacked configuration (Ref. Section 4.2.4) element by capacitive gap or by close
proximity that elecko magnetically transfers the RF energy. This has been found to
~rovidepromising results as a broad band antenna, because of the following features:
1. Greater bandwidth due to the greater height of the radiating element from the feed.
using the stacked configuration,
2. High efficiency due to increased radiation conductance of the element with
increased height.
3. Greater flexibility in matching the feed line impedance to radiating clement over a
wide range.
4. Reduced surface wave effects with no deterioration in the normal radiation patterns.
by flexibility in the choice of a thin substrate for the bottom driven (feeding) patch.
5 . Isolation of spurious rad~ationfrom the feed circuitry.
6 . Avoids topological limitations of laying out the RF feed network in an array.
7, Increase in available space for integration of the feed network and the actlbe
circuitry of the array.

4.3.1 GEOMETRY AND CHARACTERISTICS

The basic structure of a two-layer electromagnetically couplcd (EMC')
microstrip antenna is illustrated in Figure 4.1. It consists of two microstrip antenna
elements stacked above a ground plane. Each conducting patch is fabricated on an
electrically thin substrate and separated by a region of air or foam with c, = I. The
thickness of the air region is several times the substrate thickness. The top element is
excited via capacitive coupling from the lower element, which is located closer to the
ground plane and connected directly to a coaxial feed line. The top and bottom
patches are referred to as the parasitic (radiating) and the driven (feeding) patch
respectively.
When the air region is small two fairly distinct resonances are expected in the
return loss of the EMC microstrip antenna [(91), (1 1 I)]. Experimental studies have
shown that as the air region exceeds a certain thickness the lower resonance
disappears and only one resonance remains. The single resonance condition can also
be obtained by designing the size of the radiating element to be larger then the driven
element. The general location of the two resonance is governed primarily by the size
of the patches and their height above the ground plane. The lower resonant frequency
is dominated by the resonant length of the lower patch and is close to that predicted
by the simple cavity model [661 for a single patch radiator.
The upper resonant frequency is difficult to predict by simple models due to
the stratified structure. It is dominated by the size of the upper patch but it 1s also
dependent on the separation of the two patches. As the separation increases. the upper
resonant frequency shifts upward. The objective is to choose the correct sire of thc
upper patch and the separation of the two patches. As the separation increases, the
upper resonant frequency shifts upwards. The objectbe is to choose the correct sirc of
the upper patch and the separation of the patches, given a lower patch size so that the
two renounces combine to achieve a low return loss over the dcsired freq~~ency
band.
This generally occurs when the size of the upper patch is close to or slightly smallcr
than the lower patch.
The optimum separation for a given lower patch size is found to occur when
the two resonances balance. Fairly large bandwidths have hecn achieved with the
stacked EMC microstrip antenna. Further morc, tlic bandwidth of the optiniised EMC
microstrip antenna is found to be twice as wide as the bandwidth of' thc single palch
with the same height.
The radiation patterns of the EMCP are also found to he bery good with lower
cross-polarization levels and an improvement in gain [46] as cornpared to that of a
single patch. This is one of the big advantages of the E.MC microstrip :uitcnn:~. I t
allows a patch radiator to be raised above the ground place, thereby increasing the
bandwidth. At the same time, the probe is kept close to the ground planc and thus
reducing the spurious radiation.

4.3.2 VARIANTS O F E M C MICROSTRIP ANTENNA

Coaxial Feed-Probe Structures
Electromagnetically coupled patches have been first discussed hy Sahhan[lI I].
Circular, annular-ring, rectangular and square patches ~n the S-band etched with
substrates about 0.011, thick is reported to yield bandwidths ranging from 9 to IS %.
A more detailed experimental study has been carried out by Bhatnagar et 31. r90] on
stacked triangular patches operating in S-band with foam material ( c , - I ) introduced
as an air gap between the dielectric layers. The bandwidth obta~nedis about 17% with
radiation patterns of cross-polarizat~onlevels better than -16 dB in the H-plane and -
 Patch (Parasitic
/
radiating patch)

Spacer(S

Coaxial feed
Fig.4.1: Electromagnetically Coupled Patch (EMCP) Antenna
(Two-Layer Configuration)

Radiating patch
/of any shape
ST*
Feed line -+ Er,

~roudplane

Fig.4.2: Microstrip Antenna Fed by Proximity Coupled

Microstrip line

Radiating patch
/of any shape

G r o u n d plane- Substrates
(with slot)

~icrorstri~
line (feed line)

Fig.4.3: Aperture Coupled Microstrip Antenna

20 dB in the E-plane. This EMCP configuration can be described as the normal t D e .
An inverted type wherein the upper patch fabricated on the undenide of the substrate
has been studied by the them et al. [91]. Further studies of the EMCP. curled out hy
Lee. et al. [lo21 using rectangular patches. recorded the variat~orl of the pattern
shape, 3 dB beamwidth and bandwidth, with separation A, for 0 s fi sO.37A,,. 11 is
found that depending on 6, the characteristics of the antenna can separated In to 3
regions. Region 1 (6<0.14h,) is associated with bandw~dthsexceeding 10'!6, region 2
(8=0.16h, to 0.29h0) has abnormal radiation characteristics in region 3 is associated
with a narrow bandwidth and high gain. The gain in region 3 IS 9 to 10 dB. The
region 3 begins at 6 = 0.13h, for air dielectric separation and at 6 = O.Zlh,, for
Teflon. Recently, Assailley et al. [88] have reported on the stacked microstrip
antennas using square patches excited at a position along the median producing a
linear polarization and offering a low cross-polarisation and a high gain in addition to
a large bandwidth.

ProximityIAperture-Coupling
Two more types of feeds other than the co-axial prohc feeding have bcen used
in EMC microstrip antennas ([92],[95]. [107]) lo obta~nbroadband operation. A
microstrip line printed on a high dielectric substrate [I081 niay he used as a proximity
feed for the top radiating element on a low diclcctric constant suhstratc (Fig. 4.2). The
spacing between the feed line and the radiating element, the feed overlap based on its
length underneath the antenna element may be the design parameters. The antenna
element may also consists of a two-layer structurc. In the other type of feed
mechanism, called aperture coupling (Fig. 4.3), the RF cneryy from the feed line is
coupled to the radiating element through a common aperture in the form of a small
circular hole or a thin rectangular non resonant slot between the feed and the element
([36],[42]). The element and the feed llne are in two different layers. Some
advantages sighted are availability of large space in the feed layer for mounting i
integration of active phased array circuitry and complete isolation of feed circuitry
from the radiating element layer. Similar to the microstrip proximity feed, the
radiating element can be chosen as a multiplayer one to achieve a broad bandwidth
performance.