ABSTRACT

Microstrip patch antennas play a vital role in todays wireless and satellite communications.
The performance of microstrip patch antenna operating at 3-30GHz has been designed for
various applications such as satellite communications, radar applications etc. According to
IEEE standard the microwave frequency range has been divided into various segments. As
the frequency operated is in the order of GHz the size of the antenna is in the order of
microns because size is inversely proportional to the operating frequencies. So, with this
compact size more amount of data signal can be transmitted to larger distances. This is the
main advantage of microstrip patch antennas. The operating frequency choosen is of 25GHz.
The radiating patch used is of hexagonal shaped. A single hexagonal patch can be used to
produce dual frequency that is a single antenna can work at two different frequencies. The
feeding technique used is microstip line feed. This feeding technique can easily be fabricated
and the impedance of feed and patch cane be made equal. For the designed microstrip
antenna we are going to observe the radiation pattern, gain, input impedance, VSWR and
return loss.

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Antenna
Antenna is a device which converts the electrical signal into electromagnetic waves. The
input signal given to the antenna is AC signal and the output is an electromagnetic wave in
case if the device is transmitting one where as if it is a receiving antenna then the input is an
electromagnetic wave and the output is electric signal. Antennas play a very important role in
todays wireless communications. They are the basic components of any electric system and
are connecting links between the transmitter and free space or the free space and receiver.
They are mainly used to radiate electromagnetic energy in an omnidirectional pattern or for
point-to-point communication purpose. Antenna is a device that convert electronic signals
into electromagnetic waves with minimum loss of signals. It is basically a transforming
device that will convert the impedance of transmitter output into free space impedance.
Input Impedance
In terms of productivity, the impedance of the reception or transmission antenna and the
impedance of the transmission link or line must be comparable. Generally most of the
transmission lines offer an impedance of 50ohms.If suppose the receiving wire does not has
an impedance of 50 ohms the there is an impedance mismatch. In order to overcome this any
circuit should be externally placed to match the impedance or else there is loss of signal
which is inefficient. Antenna must be terminated with 50ohm impedance to transmit
maximum power into free space.
Zin = Rin + jXin
Where

Zin = impedance of the antenna

Rin = resistance of the antenna
Xin = reactance of the antenna

Return loss
Practically any signal cannot be transmitted completely. There may be dielectric or
conduction or radiation losses. Generally at higher frequency range voltage and current does
not come into the picture. For any system we measure the requirements in terms of power.
The loss of signal power due to the discontinuity appeared in transmission line is termed as
return loss. It is usually expressed in decibels(dB).The formula for return loss is
RL(dB)=10log10(pi/pr).
Where pi=incident power and pr=reflected power.
Bandwidth
The bandwidth of an antenna is termed as the range of frequencies over which an antenna can
function efficiently.
Directivity
Directivity of an antenna defined as the measure of the radiation concentrated in the direction
of maximum.
Directivity=

maximum radiation intensity

averageradiation intensity

Gain
Gain of an antenna is defined as the ability to radiate the input power into free space in a
particular direction so that maximium amount of data is to be transferred from source to
destination.
Radiation Pattern
Generally the radiation pattern of any antenna is observed at far field region. The radiation
pattern of an antenna is defined as the plot of the electric field intensity at far field in terms of
(r, ,).But at high frequency power come into the picture. So, it can also be defined as plot
of the radiated power of the antenna to unit solid angle.

Types of antennas
Antennas are broadly classified on the basis of
1. Frequency
(i)
Very low frequency antenna
(ii)
Low frequency antenna
(iii)
High frequency antenna
(iv)
Very high Frequency antenna
(v)
Ultra High Frequency antenna
(vi)
Microwave antennas
(vii) Millimeter wave antennas
2. Aperture
(i)
Wire antennas
(ii)
Parabolic dish antennas
(iii)
Microstrip Patch antennas
3. Polarization
(i)
Vertically polarized antenna
(ii)
Horizontally polarized antenna
(iii)
Circularly polarized antenna
4. Radiation
(i)
Isotropic antenna
(ii)
Omnidirectional antenna
(iii)
Hemispherical antenna
(iv)
Directional antenna
The range of frequencies which come under very low frequency(VLF) are 3 30KHz.
This frequency band is mainly used for navigation purpose and SONAR (Sound
Navigation And Ranging). The range of frequencies allotted to low frequency (LF) are 30
300KHz. The typical service offered by this frequency band is radio beacons and
navigational aids. The antennas which come under this category are vertical radiators, top
loaded monopoles, T and Inverted L antennas, Triatic antenna, Trideco antenna, Valley span antenna. Medium Frequency(MF) antennas are radiators(monopoles and dipoles),
directional antennas.
The frequency band allotted to High Frequency(HF) is 300 3000KHz. The typical services
offered by high frequency band are telephone, telegraph and facsimile, amateur radio, shipto-coast and ship-to-aircraft communication. High frequency antennas are log periodic
antenna, conical monopole, inverted cone antennas, vertical whip antenna, rhombic antenna
and fan dipole antenna.
Very High Frequency(VHF) range is 30 300MHz. The typical services offered by this range
of antennas are television, FM broadcast, air traffic control, police etc. Range of Ultra High

Frequency(UHF) is 300 3000MHz. The typical services offered by these antennas are
television, satellite communication, surveillance RADAR and navigational aids. VHF and
UHF antennas are Yagi Uda antenna, helical antennas, panel antennas, corner reflector
antennas, parabolic antennas, disc cone antennas.
The range of Super High Frequency(SHF) is 3 30 GHz. The typical service offered by SHF
are airborne RADAR, microwave links, satellite communications. The frequency range of
Extremely High Frequency(EHF) is 30 300GHz.The typical service offered by this range is
RADAR and experimental. The antennas which come under SHF and EHF are parabolic
antenna, pyramidal horn antenna, Microstrip patch antennas.
Aperture antennas are the antennas which transmit and receive energy through the aperture.
The antennas which come under this category are wire antennas, horn antennas, cassegrain
antennas and parabolic reflector antennas. Generally all the vertical radiators are wire
antennas. The wire antenna can also be a loop antenna of rectangular or circular in shape.
A horn antenna is defined as opened out waveguide. If the opening is done at one particular
direction then sectorial horn is produced. If the opening is done in the direction of E-plane
then it is called as sectorial E-plane horn antenna. If the flaring is done in the direction of Hplane then it is called as sectorial H-plane antenna. If opening is done on the walls of circular
waveguide the conical horn antenna is produced.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
Microstrip patch antennas
Generally the microstrip patch antenna consists of a dielectric layer which is sandwiched
betweem the upper most patch layer and the bottom layer ground plane. The patches may be

of any shape depending on the requirement. There are many different patches such as
rectangular, circular, triangular, hexagonal, pentagonal and so on. The radiating patch and the
feed lines are united on the dielectric substrate. There should be contact to one another so that
the signal transmits without losses.

The ease of manufacturing and productivity of microstrip patch antennas are very much
comfortable such that they are easily integrated. Todays wireless communication has very
much improved n such a way that a single antenna can be used both as transmitter as well as
receiver. And in some practical applications a single can be made to work at different
frequencies.

The different radiating patches are shown below:

The microstrip patch antenna mainly consists of

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)

Substrate
Ground plane
Patch
Feed line

The distance between the patch and the ground plane or the dielectric layer thickness will
determine the bandwidth usage of the antenna. If the substrate thickness increase then the
gain of the antenna also increase but this may lead to some losses known as surface wave
excitation.
The microstrip patch antennas operate at a mode called quasi TEM mode. It is not purelu
transverse electro magnetic field because some part of the waves will reside in air and some
part of the waves pass through dielectric medium. These diffferect dielectric medium cause
the fringing fields. So, the mode of operation in microtrip antennas is quasi TEM mode.

The dimensions of the dielectric layer and the ground plane are same. Because the wave
travels from the ground plane and travels through the port and then enters the feed line which
is on the dielectric layer. The ground plane is exactly inverse to the radiating patch.
The dimensions of the microstrip feed must be small when compared to the width of the
radiating patch. The microstrip line feeding technique is very much beneficial in terms og
manufacturing, productivity and integretity. The advantages of these antennas are increasing
day by day in wireless, satellite communications and RADAR. Based on the operating
frequency the antenna can be used for a particular application.

reff =

reff + 1 reff 1
12 h
+
1+
1/2
2
2
w

where reff = effective dielectric constant

r = dielectric constant of the substrate
h = height of the substrate
w = width of the substrate

L = 0.412h(reff+0.3)(W/h+0.264)/((reff-0.258)(W/h)+0.8)
The effective length of the patch Leff = L+2L
For a given resonant frequency fo,
Leff=c/(2fo(reff)
For a rectangular Microstrip patch antenna, the resonance frequency for any TM mode is
given as: fo= c/(2(reff)[(m/L)2+(n/W)2]1/2
Where m and n are modes along L and W respectively. For efficient radiation, the width W is
given as:
W= c/(2fo((r+1)/2))

Feeding techniques
The feeding techniques are mainly classified into two types
(i)
(ii)

Contacting feed
Non contacting feed

Contacting feed
The feeding techniques which come under contacting feed techniques are
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Microstrip feed
Coaxial feed
Inset feed

Microstrip line feed

The edge of the microstrip patch is directly given to the stip line feed so that the signal will
be transmitted from the conducting strip to the patch so that the waves will be radiated into
free space.
Coaxial feed
Generally we prefer coaxial feeding technique because of its occurrence in the real world.
The coaxial cables can be manufactured easily. So, the ease of usage has been increased. In
this technique the inner conductor must be given to the radiating patch and the outer
conductor is to be given to the ground plane

Inset feed

The main advantage of this inset feeding technique is there is no need of extra element to
match the impedance. The characteristic impedance and the source impedance are same in
this feeding technique. The strip of the conducting material is very small when compared to
width of the patch.

Non Contacting feed

The feeding techniques which come under this non contacting feed are
(i)
(ii)

Aperture coupled feed

Proximity copled feed

Aperture coupled feed

In this type of feeding technique the radiating patch and the feed line will be separated by
ground plane. The aperture or the hole act as the coupling point between the patch and the
feed line.

Proximity coupled feed

This proximity coupled feed can also be termed as electro magnetic coupling. In case of
aperture coupled feeding technique two dielctric mediums are separated by a ground plane
containing aperture. The signal is transmitted from the transmission line to the dielectric layer
and then it enters the aperture or hole. Based on the aperture the signal content to be
transferred depends.

CHAPTER 3
HFSS SOFTWARE

The antenna can be designed using many softwares such as HFSS,IE3D

etc. HFSS is abbreviated as High Frequency Structural Simulator. HFSS
software uses mainly finite element method that is the structure will be
sub divided into smaller elements. The fields assigned to the structures
must satisfy the maxwells equations across the inter element junctions
which are defined in the electromagnetic theory.

The main steps involved in HFSS simulation are

(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)

Design the geometry

Assignment of boundaries to patches,feeds etc.
Assignment of excitations to ports
Setting up the solution
Solving
Post processing the results

The initial step is to design the HFSS model in driven terminal which consists of the physical
dimensions based on the user constraints. After the designing part the boundaries has to be
assigned to the united structures that is the patch and the feed will be united by using the
command unite in HFSS software. The excitation to the ports has to be assigned which is
used to improve the results. After assigning boundaries and excitations solution steup,mesh
operations has to be created. Once if all the assignment has been done perfectly then we need
to validate check. If there are any errors we need to rectify those errors or else the required
results are to be observed for the designed patch antenna.
There are mainly three solution types available in HFSS. They are
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Driven modal
Driven terminal
Eigenmode

In the driven terminal solution type the scattering matrix is expressed in terms of terminal
voltages and currents. If we assign radiation then it creates an open model. By default the
perfect electric conductor creates a closed model. The absorption of wave is done at radiation
boundary.

CHAPTER 4
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
Design Procedure

First we need to create a box of 3 dimensions x, y, z of values (12.42,12.42,0.48) at

position (-6.21,-6.21,0.24). The material to be filled inside the substrate is
FR4_epoxy.

A hexagonal patch is to be created with vertex position at (1,-1,0). A small rectangular

portion is to be cut in the shape of the diagonal to provide dual frequency.

A microstrip is created which is 2- dimensional rectangle at position(-0.2,1.23,0). The

length and breadth of the rectangle are 0.5 and 5. The hexagonal patch and microstrip
feed are to be united.

On the bottom of the dielectric layer or substrate there should be a ground plane. A
rectangle of dimensions (12.42,12.42) should be created at position(6.21,-6.21,0.72).

A radiation box is to be created of dimensions (12.42,12.42,-6.48) at position(-6.21,6.21,3.24) and we need to assign radiation as infinite sphere to this radiation box.

The dielectric material to be choosen for radiation box is air.

The port should be designed in YZ or ZX plane so that the electric field lines in XY
plane are perpendicular to the axis of the port then only the wave signal travels
through the medium. The dimensions of the port are (0.5,0,0.72) to be place at
position (-0.2,6.21,0). This is to be given excitation of lumped port.

Radiation box of the designed antenna

Front view of the designed antenna

Side view of the patch antenna

The radiation box is to be assigned to the antenna. Then excitation and boundary is to be
given to the port and patch. We need to assign perfect E field to the ground plane and the
hexagonal patch.
To assign Boundary to patch
HFSS boundaries assign perfect E
To assign Excitation to port
HFSS Excitation assign Lumped port
To assign Radiation to air box
HFSS Radiation Insert far field setup Infinite sphere

CHAPTER 5
RESULTS
RETURN LOSS

The above figure represents the Return Loss plot. The designed works at a frequency
27.33GHz. The return loss of the designed antenna is -9.89.

INPUT IMPEDANCE

VSWR

RADIATION PATTERN

3D POLAR PLOT

AXIAL RATIO

CHAPTER 6
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Advantages
The advantages of microstrip patch antennas are
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(x)
(xi)

Easy to handle because of less weight and volume

Easy to fabricate and can be produced in large quantity
It can support both linear as well as circular polarization
These antennas can be operated at dual and triple frequencies
Ease of manufacturing

Disadvantages
The disadvantages of microstrip patch antennas are
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)

There is no chance of broad bandwidth

These antennas does not have high efficiency
More amount of surface waves are excited
It does not have high power handling capacity
There is a chance of radiation loss from feeds and junctions
Low gain
Low impedance bandwidth

CONCLUSION

The design of hexagonal microstrip patch has been done using HFSS software which is used
for RADAR applications. The resonant frequency obtained for the hexagonal patch antenna is
27GHz. From this microstrip patch antennas we have observed that the size of the antenna is
in the order of mm if the frequency is in the order of GHz. This microstrip patch antenna is
very much useful at higher range of frequencies. The antenna parameters such as return loss,
VSWR, input impedance, radiation pattern and gain are calculated.

REFERENCES

[1] International Journal of Innovative Research in Electrical, Electronics Instrumentation

and control engineering Vol.3,Issue 4.
[2] International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research volume 1,Issue 5
[3] International Journal of Computer Technology and Electronics Engineering volume 3,
special Issue.
[4] International Jouranal of Computer Applications volume 118 No.21.
[5] Dual polarized Microstrip Patch antenna, reduced in size by use of peripheral slits IEEE
[6] Patch antenna with reduced size for 400MHZ transmission in confined surroundingsIEEE