ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

MISSING INFORMATION ON THIS REFERENCE GUIDE

Pre lab has been well documented with plots, Matlab® code and step by
step answers.

LAB 3 has no documentation to help TA answer questions, except

calibration manuals.

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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

Monopole Antenna and Single Stub Matching Network

Overview: This is the procedure to follow before and during lab 3.

Equipment: See “Parts Needed” WORD or PDF document for the TA.

For help: Contact Bryan Stenquist (560 8761, bstenqui@ece.utah.edu, MEB1222) or

class instructor. See website: http://www.ece.utah.edu/~ece3300

Objectives:
 Learn about Monopole antennas
 Design and implement a matching network
 Become familiar with S11 parameter

Background (THE TA IS REQUIRE TO KNOW THIS MATERIAL):

Students should understand before lab:
 Using a Smith chart be able to make a single stub matching network
Reference material:
Textbook Chapter on Antennas

Students should understand by the end of lab

 How to fabricate a matching network
 How to measure S-parameters on a NA
 How to design and build a monopole antenna

Prelab Material
1. Read lab 3
2. Design a quarter wave monopole in air (h= λ/4) at 440 MHz. Length = 17.05 cm
c 3 10 8 m s
   0.6818 m
f 440 10 8 Hz

 0.6818 m 102 cm
h   17.0455 cm
4 4 1 m

3. Design a single stub matching circuit for a quarter wave monopole antenna. The imaginary part of
the antenna has been adjusted to “zero” by tuning the antenna, so the input impedance is
 approximately Zant=36.5 ohms. This is ZL of the transmission line. The matching circuit should use a
parallel open circuit stub. The characteristic impedance of both the transmission line and the stub is
50Ω.

Z L  36.5 
Z 01  50 
Z 02  50 

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
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
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 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

Figure 1 – Open circuit (parallel) single stub network

I. Normalize Z L  znL (plot point on “Smith chart”).

Z L RL  jX L 
znL  
Z0 Z0
 
36.5  j0 
z nL   0.73  j0
50 

II. Convert to normalized admittance because evaluating parallel stub matching.
(draw line from center past intersecting point until the line intersects with the border of the Smith
 chart).
1 1 
y nL  Other equivalences for y nL are as follows : , Z 0 G  jB,
znL 1 
(R  jX)
R 2  X 2 
   
1
y nL 
0.73  j0
 1.37  j0 note also its extension to WTG point of a  0.25

III. This step requires the use of the Smith Chart involves using the Smith Chart (I don’t know another
way)
 For matching, move WTG a distance “d” such y nd has a real part equal to 1 corresponding to 2
solutions.

3
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT
 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

Find the point where the magnitude of y nL intersects the “matching circle” at 1.0. This is y nd
which is of the form y nd  1 j (some number) .

y nd  1 j0.316
 
 to WTG we obtain the wavelength
Translating
b  0.363
 d  b  a  0.363  .25   0.113 m
c c
air  (m) wire  (m)
f eff f

 (multiply by Smith Chart WTG wavelength fractions.)

d  air d  0.6818 m0.113  7.70 cm (air)

 
d  wire d  0.4054  m0.113  5.27 cm (wire)

IV. We want to obtain y nin  y ns  y nd  1 j0 which we can obtain by taking y ns of opposite sign…

y ns  mj (some number)

y ns   j0.316

find the difference in wavelengths from “open circuit”

V. Then we for admittance to y ns   j0.316
 which is…
 l  b  a  0.487  0.0   0.487
l  air l  0.6818 m0.0487 = 3.32 cm
l  wire l  0.4054 m0.0487  1.974 cm 
VI.

 4. Determine the width of a 50 ohm microstripline. Use Txline to compute the dimensions of the
microstrip using Radio Shack Laminate. The electrical length is not important, since the length of the
 stub has already been calculated using the Smith Chart.

Radio Shack Laminate Properties

Dielectric constant: 3.6 Thickness of the substrate: 1.6 mm
Loss tangent: 0.005 Thickness of the metal layer 0.7 mils

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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

Figure 2 - Screen Capture of TXline values

5. Plot the radiation pattern of a quarter wave dipole antenna. Radiation pattern is a map of the
NORMALIZED POWER as a function of angle around the antenna. Use the equation for the E field:
cos(p / 2 �
� cos q ) ��e  jkR �
E%
q  j 60 I o � �� �
.
� sin(q ) ��R �
Square it (to get power) Assume any value for R (since we will be normalizing the power). Divide by the
maximum value (this leaves only the sine and cosine terms). Plot this as a function of angle from 0 to 180
degrees. You should get a figure eight. θ = 0 is directly ABOVE the dipole, θ = 90 degrees is directly to
the side, and θ = 180 degrees is directly below the dipole. Sketch your dipole on this plot. (A note, you
probably won’t be able to calculate 0 or 180 degrees, calculate another small value instead). Explain in
WORDS what the radiation pattern of a dipole antenna is shaped like in three dimensions and where the
power is the strongest and the weakest.

Matlab Code
% Name : Spencer Streeter
% Course : ECE 3300 Lab

% Date : September 29, 2006

% Lab : Prelab 3
% File(s) : prelab3.m

% Description
% Creates a polar plot of the radiation pattern for a monopole antenna

% Begin - ---------- - ---------- - ---------- -

clear all;
clc;
% Variable Glossary - ---------- - ---------- - ---------- -
% pwr = power(theta)
clear all;
clc;
theta=0:.1:2*pi;
pwr=[cos((pi/2).*cos(theta))./sin(theta)].^2;
polar(theta,pwr);
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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

title_top=('Polar plot of the "radiation pattern" for a monopole antenna');

title(title_top);
filename='figure1';
print( '-dpng', filename);
end;

% End - ---------- - ---------- - ---------- -

Figure 3 – Polar Plot of Monopole Antenna Pattern

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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

Figure 4 – Electric Field lines and the Effective dielectric

5. Download and read the instructions on calibrating the network analyzer for SINGLE PORT
measurements.
6. Bring a floppy disk or jump drive for saving Network Analyzer data. Also bring TLINE
software (from the LECTURE website) or extra Smith Charts in case you need to quickly
recalculate your stub.

Lab Material
**The Network Analyzer is VERY expensive. Always wear a grounding strap to prevent ESD’s into the
ports, since they could do significant damage. **

1. Calibrate the network analyzer for 1-port measurement (See LAB website).

[1] Why is it important to calibrate the network analyzer. What does the calibration do?

2. Measure and verify the dimensions of a 50 ohm transmission line.

[2] Note the effective dielectric constant displayed by Txline. The effective dielectric constant is lower
than the dielectric constant of the substrate. Why do you think it is lower?

3. Build a quarter wave monopole antenna at 440 MHz by inserting a thin wire into an SMA
connector. Build it slightly long so that you can later trim it.

4. With ‘Port Extensions” on, measure the impedance of the antenna using the network analyzer.
Push “Format” and then the soft key “Smith Chart”. Then put a marker at 440 MHz by pushing
“Marker” and then typing the frequency. The complex impedance will appear above the smith
chart with the real and imaginary components displayed separately. Make sure that the ground
plane has good contact with the PCB.

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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu
 ECE 3300 Lab 3 – Pre-lab

5. Tune the antenna so it is resonant at 440 MHz. Trim the length of the antenna until the
impedance on the Smith Chart is approximately (36.5 + j0) Ohms at 440 MHz. This corresponds
to slightly less than a quarter wave monopole. If you cannot get it to be exactly 36.5+j0, then trim
it to a length that can be reasonably matched on the board. You may need to redesign your stub
matching network for the measured impedance.

6. Turn “Port Extensions” off.

[3] What is the significance of “Port Extensions”?

7. Add your stub matching network using copper conductive tape that is cut to the correct
specifications. At first, leave the backing on and put the copper-side down so that you can move
the stub around easily with the eraser on a pencil. Push “Format” and then the soft key “Log
Mag”. The S11 magnitude plot (|Γ|) shows how much voltage is being reflected back from the
antenna system at various frequencies. You have a good match when the value is –20dB or lower.
When you have a good match, then turn the stub over and tape it to the board.

[4] How close were your measured values for d and L of the stub to the experimental values (give % error)?

[5] Did you get a perfect match? What did you have to do to get it?

8. Record the S11 (|Γ|) magnitude at 420, 440, and 460 MHz in your lab book.

[6] What is S11? Do you want a high value, or a low value?

[7] At 440 MHz, what is the percentage of power that is being reflected back to the generator? [ Value
reflected = 10S11_log_mag)/ 10 ]

9. Check you Match. Switch back to the Smith Chart display ,and you should see that the 440 MHz
marker is very close to the center of the Smith Chart.

10. Record your S11 plot using Agilent’s Advanced Design Software (see LAB website, Data Capture).
DO NOT OPEN 85070 (It has an icon that looks like a scope) because it will freeze your Network
Analyzer!!! Print a copy of your S11 Log Magnitude and Smith Chart plots for your report. Save a
screen capture to include them electronically.

Discussion questions (from above):

TA should answer any questions about the Discussion
[1] Why is it important to calibrate the network analyzer. What does the calibration do?
[2] Note the effective dielectric constant displayed by Txline. The effective dielectric constant is lower
than the dielectric constant of the substrate. Why do you think it is lower?
[3] What is the significance of “Port Extensions”?
[4] How close were your measured values for d and l of the stub to the experimental values (give % error)?
[5] Did you get a perfect match? What did you have to do to get it?
[6] What is S11? Do you want a high value, or a low value?
[7] At 440 MHz, what is the percentage of power that is being reflected back to the generator? [ Value
reflected = 10S11_log_mag)/ 10 ]

Turn in a copy of your lab notebook (including the discussion items above) to your TAs homework
locker. Bring your formal written lab report (See Lab 0 – Writing Lab) to LAB with you next week.
We will be doing a peer review of this lab report. Your written material should be 1-2 pages plus
associated figures. Both are due by the time you go to lab again.

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UNIVERSITY OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
50 S. Central Campus Dr | Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206 | Phone: (801) 581-6941 | Fax: (801) 581-5281 | www.ece.utah.edu