Assignment 4

8 marks
1)Define microstrip patch antenna and explain fringing effect of radiation.
ANS-A)Microstrip patch antennas are low profile, conformable to planar and nonplanar surfaces,
simple and inexpensive to manufacture using modern printed-circuit technology, mechanically robust
when mounted on rigid surfaces, compatible with MMIC designs, and when the particular patch shape
and mode are selected, they are very versatile in terms of resonant frequency, polarization, pattern, and
impedance
The microstrip patch is designed so its pattern maximum is normal to the patch (broadside radiator). This
is accomplished by properly choosing the mode (field configuration) of excitation beneath the patch. End-
fire radiation can also be accomplished by judicious mode selection. For a rectangular patch, the length L
of the element is usually λ0/3 <L<λ0/2. The strip (patch) and the ground plane are separated by a dielectric
sheet (referred to as the substrate), as shown in Figure.

Often microstrip antennas are also referred to as patch antennas. The radiating elements and the feed
lines are usually photoetched on the dielectric substrate. The radiating patch may be square,
rectangular, thin strip (dipole), circular, elliptical, triangular, or any other configuration. These and
others are illustrated in Figure . Square, rectangular, dipole (strip), and circular are the most common
because of ease of analysis and fabrication ,and their attractive radition characteristics,especially low
cross-polorization radiation.

Fringing Effects

• Because the dimensions of the patch are finite along the length and width, the fields at the
edges of the patch undergo fringing. This is illustrated along the length in Figures 14.1(a,b)
for the two radiating slots of the microstrip antenna.

• The same applies along the width. The amount of fringing is a function of the dimensions of
the patch and the height of the substrate. For the principal E-plane (xy-plane) fringing is a
function of the ratio of the length of the patch L to the height h of the substrate (L/h) and the
dielectric constant εr of the substrate.

• Since for microstrip antennas L/ h >> 1, fringing is reduced; however, it must be taken into
account because it influences the resonant frequency of the antenna. The same applies for the
width.

• For a microstrip line shown , typical electric field lines are shown in Fig. This is a
nonhomogeneous line of two dielectrics; typically the substrate and air.

• As W/h >> 1 and εr >>1, the electric field lines concentrate mostly in the substrate. Fringing
in this case makes the microstrip line look wider electrically compared to its physical
dimension εreff.

• Since some of the waves travel in the substrate and some in air, an effective dielectric
constant eff is introduced to account for fringing and the wave propagation in the line.

• To introduce the effective dielectric constant, let us assume that the center conductor of the
microstrip line with its original dimensions and height above the ground plane is embedded
into one dielectric, as shown in Figure .
• For a line with air above the substrate, the effective dielectric constant has values in the range
of 1 < εr eff < Ir. For most applications where the dielectric constant of the substrate is much
greater than unity (Er > 1), the value of εr eff will be closer to the value of the actual
dielectric constant εr of the substrate.

• The effective dielectric constant is also a function of frequency. As the frequency of

operation increases, most of the electric field lines concentrate in the substrate. Therefore the
microstrip line behaves more like a homogeneous line of one dielectric (only the substrate),
and the effective dielectric constant approaches the value of the dielectric constant of the
substrate.

• Typical variations, as a function of frequency, of the effective dielectric constant for a

microstrip line with three different substrates are shown in Figure.

• For low frequencies the effective dielectric constant is essentially constant. At intermediate
frequencies its values begin to monotonically increase and eventually approach the values of
the dielectric constant of the substrate. The initial values (at low frequencies) of the effective
dielectric constant are referred to as the static values

• Due to the effect of fringing, a microstrip patch antenna would look electrically wider
compared to its physical dimensions. Waves travel both in substrate and in the air. Thus an
effective dielectric constant εreff is to be introduced. The effective dielectric constant εreff
 takes in account both the fringing and the wave propagation in the line. The expression for
the effective dielectric constant is introduced by A

W/h > 1

𝛆𝐫+𝟏 𝛆𝐫−𝟏
𝟏 𝜺𝒆𝒇𝒇

𝟐 𝟐 𝟏𝟐𝒉
√𝟏+(
𝑾

• The length of the patch is extended on each end by ΔL is a function of effective dielectric
constant ( ) and the width to height ratio (W/h). ΔL can be calculated according to a practical
approximate relation for the normalized extension of the length [8], as in Equ.(2).

ΔL ( 𝜺𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒇+𝟎.𝟑)(𝑾𝒉+𝟎.𝟐𝟔𝟒)

𝒉 = 𝟎. 𝟒𝟏𝟐
(𝜺𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒇−𝟎.𝟐𝟓𝟖)(𝑾+𝟎.𝟖)
𝒉

• The effective length of the patch is Leff and can be calculated as in Equ. 3. Leff = L+2ΔL (3)
By using the effective dielectric constant (Equ. 1) and effective length (Equ. 2), we can
calculate the resonance frequency of the antenna f and all the microstrip antenna parameters.

2. Draw and explain different types of transmission lines used at microwave frequencies?
A:
. At Microwave frequencies, the transmission lines employed can be broadly classified into three types.
They are
• Multi conductor lines
• Single conductor lines WaveguidesWaveguides
• Open boundary structures

Multi-conductor Lines:
• The transmission lines which has more than one conductor are called as Multi-conductor lines.
• Co-axial Lines
• This one is mostly used for high frequency applications.
 • A coaxial line consists of an inner conductor with inner diameter d, and then a concentric
cylindrical insulating material, around it. This is surrounded by an outer conductor, which is a
concentric cylinder with an inner diameter D.

• The fundamental and dominant mode in co-axial cables is TEM mode. • There is no cutoff
frequency in the co-axial cable. It passes all frequencies.

Strip Lines: • These are the planar transmission lines, used at frequencies from
100MHz to 100GHz.

• A Strip line consists of a central thin conducting strip of width ω which is greater than its
thickness t.
• It is placed inside the low loss dielectric (εr) substrate of thickness b/2 between two wide ground
plates.
• The width of the ground plates is five times greater than the spacing between the plates.
• The thickness of metallic central conductor and the thickness of metallic ground planes are the
same. The following figure shows the cross-sectional view of the strip line structure.

• The fundamental and dominant mode in Strip lines is TEM mode.

• For b<λ/2, there will be no propagation in the transverse direction.
• The impedance of a strip line is inversely proportional to the ratio of the width ω of the inner
conductor to the distance b between the ground planes.

Micro Strip Lines: • The strip line has a disadvantage that it is not
accessible for adjustment and tuning.
 • This is avoided in micro strip lines, which allows mounting of active or passive devices, and also
allows making minor adjustments after the circuit has been fabricated.
• A micro strip line is an unsymmetrical parallel plate transmission line, having di-electric substrate
which has a metallized ground on the bottom and a thin conducting strip on top with thickness 't'
and width 'ω'.
• This can be understood by taking a look at the following figure, which shows a micro strip line.

• The characteristic impedance of a micro strip is a function of the strip line width ωω, thickness tt
and the distance between the line and the ground plane hh.
• Micro strip lines are of many types such as embedded micro strip, inverted micro strip, suspended
micro
strip and slotted micro strip transmission lines.

In addition to these, some other TEM lines such as parallel strip lines and coplanar strip lines also have
been used for microwave integrated circuits. Other Lines

A Parallel Strip line is similar to a two conductor transmission line. It can support quasi TEM mode. The
following figure explains this.

A Coplanar strip line is formed by two conducting strips with one strip grounded, both being placed on
the same substrate surface, for convenient connections. The following figure explains this.
A Slot line transmission line, consists of a slot or gap in a conducting coating on a dielectric substrate and
this fabrication process is identical to the micro strip lines. Following is its diagrammatical representation.

A coplanar waveguide consists of a strip of thin metallic film which is deposited on the surface of a
dielectric

slab. This slab has two electrodes running adjacent and parallel to the strip on to the same surface. The
following figure explains this.

All of these micro strip lines are used in microwave applications where the use of bulky and expensive to
manufacture transmission lines will be a disadvantage.

Open Boundary Structures:

These can also be stated as Open Electromagnetic Waveguides. A waveguide that is not entirely
enclosed in a metal shielding, can be considered as an open waveguide. Free space is also considered as a
kind of open waveguide.
An open waveguide may be defined as any physical device with longitudinal axial symmetry and
unbounded cross-section, capable of guiding electromagnetic waves. They possess a spectrum which is no
longer discrete. Micro strip lines and optical fibers are also examples of open waveguides.

4 marks

1) Write the differences between Yagi antenna and Log periodic antenna.

ANS-

A Yagi antenna
 • The Yagi antenna, so named for one of the two people who initially invented it, is an antenna
design that focuses as much power as possible on either a single small element or a group of small
elements.

• It’s characterized by “directors” (the smaller pieces at the front) as well as “reflectors” which are
the angled pieces in the middle or back.

• All of these are referred to as “passive radiators.” They act like a lens in a way. By narrowing the
area that an antenna can “see,” more signal gets to the receiving element, which can be as small as
a foot or two wide.
• Yagi antennas come in many sizes and shapes but they all work the same. The advantage of a true
Yagi antenna is its ability to work very well in a small range of frequencies, making them useful
for UHF or ham radio.

Log Periodic antenna

• The Log Periodic antenna tends to look a lot like a Yagi antenna but electrically is quite different.
• In a true Yagi antenna, there is usually a small number of elements doing the work, while in a log
periodic antenna, every one of the horizontal elements you see is actually receiving elements.
• This creates a large array without any gaps in it, which can be most helpful in receiving a wide
range of frequencies.

• Here’s where it gets confusing. Log periodic antennas are usually arranged in such a way so that
some of the elements are also passive radiators, which means they help bounce signals to the other
elements. So in that sense the log periodic is acting like a Yagi.
2. Write the advantages and applications of Lens antenna?

A:

Advantages of Lens antenna:

1. Unlike the parabolic reflector, in lens antenna, the aperture of the antenna is not obstructed
by the feed point.
2. It offers more flexibility in design tolarance, this means twisting in a lens antenna is possible.
This is due to the reason that wave incident at one side and emerges from the other. 3. It is
used for very high-frequency applications.

Applications of Lens antenna:

1. These are wideband antennas that are referred as microwave antennas and are suitable for
frequency above 3 GHz.
2. The dielectric lens antennas are frequency sensitive thus this specific type is not used over the
wide
frequency range.
2 marks

1)Why lens antennas are widely used with horn antennas?

Ans) Lens antennas and horn antenna can offer a number of advantages in certain applications. For
example
i)Improved antenna gain : lens antenna can be used to focus the radiation pattern of a horn
antenna, increasing the antenna gain and improving its overall performance.

ii)Reduced sidelobes: sidelobes are unwanted radiation patterns that occur in the direction
perpendicular to the main radiation pattern. By using a lens antenna to focus the radiation pattern of a
horn antenna, the sidelobes can be reduced.
 iii)Increased bandwidth: Horn antennas typically have a wide bandwidth, but this bandwidth can be
increased by using lens antenna.

iv)Size reduction: lens antenna can be used to reduce the size of a horn antenna.

2)Why do we use microstrip patch antenna compared with conventional

antennas?
Ans) Microstrip antenna are preferred over conventional antennas because
• They are typically smaller than conventional antennas.
• Microstrip patch antennas are often less expensive to manufacture.
• Microstrip patch antennas are flat and have a low profile.
• Microstrip patch antennas can be designed to have high directional gain, which means they
can transmit and receive signals more effectively in a specific direction.
• Microstrip patch antennas can be designed to operate at a wide range of frequencies, from a
few hundred megahertz to several gigahertz.