Design Of Frequency Reconfigurable Micro-strip Antenna

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirement for the award of the

Degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

in

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

By

NISHEETH BHAKUNI (15BEC1214)

SAURAV CHANDAK(15BEC1088)

A. SUBRAMANIAN(15BEC1209)

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Chandrasekaran N.

SCHOOL OF ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

VELLORE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CHENNAI (TN) – 600127

(APRIL 2019)

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project work titled “Design Of Frequency

Reconfigurable Micro- strip Antenna” that is being submitted by “Nisheeth

Bhakuni, Saurav Chandak. A.Subramanian” is in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology, is a record of bona-fide

work done under my guidance. The contents of this Project work, in full or in

parts, have neither been taken from any other source nor have been submitted to

any other Institute or University for award of any degree or diploma and the same

is certified.

Dr.Chandrasekaran N.
(Guide)

The thesis is satisfactory / unsatisfactory

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Program Chair Dean (SENSE)

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This project is dedicated to all the young innovators in the field of
electronics and antenna design making the world a better place.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We take this opportunity to express my thanks and gratitude to all those who have accompanied and
helped us during this project work.

First of all, we would like to profess our sincerest gratitude to our Honorable Chancellor, Dr. G.
Viswanathan, for providing us with this opportunity to complete this course in this prestigious
Institution.

Additionally, we would like to thank Dr. Kanchana Bhaskaran V.S - Dean Academics; Dr. A.
Sivasubramanian - Dean, School of Electronics Engineering; Dr. Vetrivelan, Program Chair and
Prof. Reena Monica – Co-Chair for their support and Dr. Usha Kiran K. for providing us with the
required facilities of anechoic chamber for testing to complete this project.

We would also like to express my special gratitude and thanks to Mrs. Priyanka Usha (Research
Associate) and Mr. Anand S. (Lab assistants) for helping us at the fabrication and testing of the
project. We also thank all the teaching and non-teaching staff for their invaluable co-operation and
support during the course of our project.

Last but not the least we would like to place a deep sense of gratitude to our parents and friends who
have been constant source of inspiration and motivation.

NISHEETH BHAKUNI SAURAV CHANDAK A. SUBRAMANIAN

15BEC1214 15BEC1088 15BEC1209

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES (if any) 6

LIST OF FIGURES 7
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 8
LIST OF SYMBOLS 9
ABSTRACT 10

1 INTRODUCTION 11
1.1 OBJECTIVE 12
1.2 BACKGROUND 12
12
1.2.1 TYPES OF RECONFIGURABLE ANTENNA
1.2.2 MICRO-STRIP PATCH ANTENNA 12
1.2.3 FEED MATCHING TECHNIQUE
14
1.2.4 ANTENNA USING SWITCHES 15
16
1.2.5 SPLIT RING RESONATOR
2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 18
2.1 STANDARDS 18
2.2 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 21
2.3 FLOWCHART 23
2.4 DESIGN APPROACH 24
2.5 CONSTRAINTS, ALTERNATIVES & TRADEOFFS 27
3 PROJECT DEMONSTRATION 28
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 36
5 COST ANALYSIS 39
6 CONCLUSION 40
7 REFERENCES 41

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 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

Table 2.1 The Antenna Parameter’s standard 18

Table 2.2 Summary of IEEE802.11a 19
Table 2.3 Summary of IEEE802.11b 19
Table 2.4 Summary of IEEE802.15.3 20
Table 2.5 Details of Characteristics of Substrate – FR4-epoxy 21
Table 2.6 Characteristics of VNA 22

Table 3.1 Antenna Parameters 30

Table 3.2 Feed Parameters 31

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 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE NO.

Figure 1.1: Microstrip Patch Antenna 13

Figure 1.2: Common feeding Methods in Antenna 14
Figure 1.3: Using a transmission line as an impedance transformer. 15
Figure 1.4: A diagram of FET 16
Figure 1.5: A diagram of PIN diode 16
Figure 3.1: Prototype of first design 28
Figure 3.2: Prototype of second design 29
Figure 3.3: Prototype of third design 29
Figure 3.4: Fabricated antenna of designed antenna-I 32
Figure 3.5: Fabricated antenna of designed antenna-II 32
Figure 3.6: Fabricated antenna of designed antenna-III 33
Figure 3.7: VNA 33
Figure 3.8: VNA analysis of antenna-III 34
Figure 3.9: VNA analysis of antenna-II 34
Figure 3.10: VNA analysis of antenna-I 35
Figure 4.1: S – parameter Vs Frequency (Comparison Analysis) 36
Figure 4.2: VSWR Vs Frequency (Comparison Analysis) 37
Figure 4.3: Return Loss for prototype antenn-I 37

Figure 4.4: Return Loss for prototype antenna-II 38

Figure 4.5: Return Loss for prototype antenna-III 38

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BW : Bandwidth
VNA : Vector Network Analyzer
ISM : Industrial, Scientific, Medical
IEC : International Electro-technical Commission
EMC : Electro-Magnetic Compatibility
UNII : Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure
CP : Circular Polarization
LP : Linear Polarization
AR : Axial Ratio
NRW : Nicolson Ross Weir
HFSS : High-Frequency Structure Simulator
IEEE : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

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 LIST OF SYMBOLS

c : Light Velocity in Free Space; constant

f : Frequency
fr : Resonant Frequency
h : Height or Thickness of Substrate
Ls : Antenna’s Substrate Length
Ws : Antenna’s Substrate Width
∆L : Length Extension
lp : Antenna’s Patch Length
wp : Antenna’s Patch Width
lg : Ground length
cl : Length of Slot in Ground
cw : Width of Slot in Ground
SRR : Split Ring Resonator
l1 : Parameter of SRR
l2 : Parameter of SRR
s : Parameter of SRR
w : Parameter of SRR
S11 : Reflection Coefficient
ε0 : Permittivity of free space
εr : Relative Permittivity
εreff : Effective Permittivity
λ : Wavelength
λg : Guide Wavelength
µ0 : Permeability of free space
µreff : Effective Permeability
µr : Relative Permeability
ω : Angular Frequency

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 ABSTRACT

With the advancement in communication technology and ever increasing customer needs,
wireless communication systems demand devices, which would have multiple characteristic like
frequency, pattern or polarization reconfiguration. So in order to fulfill the demands, the concept
of reconfiguration was introduced. The antenna which has the capability of reconfiguring
its important characteristic like frequency, polarization, bandwidth and pattern to fulfill the need
of environment is called as reconfigurable antenna. Reconfigurable antennas have the capability
to add ample degrees of freedom and functionality to mobile communication applications
and phased array systems.
Reconfigurable antennas are multi-functionality antennas which has the potential to
change the operating frequency, radiation pattern or polarization without changing the
whole antenna structure. To achieve reconfigurability properties of operating frequency, the
effective length of the antenna has to be changed dynamically using different kind of RF
switches, such as PIN diodes, FETs, varactor diodes, and RF-MEMS switches.

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 OBJECTIVE
With the colossal growth and advancement in the wireless communication
technology
increases the demand of highly dynamic and efficient compact devices. It is a challenge to be
compatible with a wide range of small-scale applications while giving good results and
maintaining good performance. In the RF and microwave research arena, micro-strip patch
antennas are a smart solution for compact and cost effective wireless communication systems as
it employs light weight, low volume, low profile, low fabrication cost, robustness, ease of
mounting on the host surface and integration with printed circuits led their use in a wide range of
applications. wireless communication systems demand devices, which would have multiple
characteristic like frequency, pattern or polarization reconfiguration. So in order to fulfill
the demands, the concept of reconfiguration was introduced. The antenna which has the
capability of reconfiguring its important characteristic like frequency, polarization, bandwidth
and pattern to fulfill the need of environment is called as reconfigurable antenna. Reconfigurable
antennas have the capability to add ample degrees of freedom and functionality to mobile
communication applications and phased array systems.

Reconfigurable antennas are multi-functionality antennas which has the ability to change
the operating frequency, radiation pattern or polarization without changing the shape and size of
the whole antenna structure. To achieve reconfigurability properties of operating frequency,
the effective length of the antenna has to be changed dynamically using different kind of
RF switches, such as PIN diodes, FETs, varactor diodes, and RF-MEMS switches.

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1.2 BACKGROUND

1.2.1 Types of Reconfigurable antenna

1.2.1.1 Radiation Pattern Reconfigurable antenna

Radiation Pattern Reconfigurablity can be achieved by little modification of spherical
distribution of radiation pattern. Reconfigurable antennas are mostly based on the movable or
rotatable structures like SRR, CSRR or including switches like PIN diodes, or RF MEMs etc.
Radiation Pattern reconfigurblity is used mostly in apllications like Beam Steering.

1.2.1.2 Frequency Reconfiguable Antenna

These type of antennas adjust their frequency depending upon the length of the patch size. The
reconfigurability is achieved similarly as the pattern reconfigurability by including switches lie
PIN diodes or RF MEMs. They are mostly used in areas where many communication systems
convene as multiple number of antennas are required which can be replaced by a single antenna.

1.2.1.3 Polarization Reconfigurable Antenna

These types of antennas have the capability to switch to different polarization modes. The
capability to switch from vertical to horizontal and circular polarizations can be used to reduce
polarization mismatch losses in portable devices.

1.2.2Micro-strip Patch Antenna

These are elegant kind of patch antennas which are widely used because of they are
very inexpensive to build and because of their very less weight. They are used mostly for UHF.
They provide very high directive gain around 6-9 dBi. Since they produce such high gain at low
cost, they are preferred to single patch antenna.
In its basic form, a micro-strip antenna is consisted of a radiating patch on one side of a dielectric
substrate while it has a ground plane on the other side of the antenna as shown in Figure 1.1.
Generally, the patch is made of copper and the shape and size of the antenna varies as per the
requirements. The antenna consists of two important things i.e radiating patch and the dielectric

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substrate. The height of the substrate should be (0.003 λ0 ≤ h ≥ 0.05 λ0), whereas, the dielectric
constant (generally, 2.2 ≤ εr ≥ 12).

Figure 1.1: Micro-strip Patch Antenna

Besides being mechanically strong because of the thicker substrate, it will also increase the
radiating power, reduce loss in the conductor and improve impedance bandwidth.
The task of the feed is to couple the electromagnetic wave propagating on a transmission line
to the radiating element as efficiently as possible. The input impedance of the
antenna is greatly affected and controlled by the location of the feed point. Varying
the feed point location may result in a small shift in resonant frequency, but radiation
pattern remains unchanged. Micro-strip patch antennas can be fed by a variety of methods.
These methods can be classified into two categories i.e- contacting and non-contacting.

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 Figure 1.2: Common feeding Methods in Antenna

In the contacting method, the RF power is directly fed to the radiating patch using a
connecting element such as micro-strip line, whereas in the non-contacting method,
the power transfer is done by electromagnetic field coupling between the micro-strip
line and radiating patch. The four most popular feed techniques are line feed, coaxial
probe feed, Aperture coupling, Proximity coupling.

1.2.3 Feed Matching Technique

1.2.3.1Quarter-wave impedance transformer:

A quarter-wave impedance transformer, often written as a λ/4 impedance transformer, is a
component used in electrical engineering consisting of a length of transmission line or
waveguide exactly one-quarter of a wavelength (λ) long and terminated in some known
impedance. The device presents at its input the dual of the impedance with which it is
terminated.
It is a similar concept to a stub; but whereas a stub is terminated in a short (or
open)
circuit and the length is chosen so as to produce the required impedance, the λ/4

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 transformer is the other way around; it is a pre-determined length and the termination is
designed to produce the required impedance.
The relationship between the characteristic impedance, Z0, input impedance, Zin and load
impedance, ZL is

Figure 1.3: Using a transmission line as an impedance transformer.

1.2.4 Antenna Using Switches

The RF switch is used to either open or close the path for current on reconfigurable antenna. By
changing the switch configuration i.e. opening and closing, leads the current flow in a required
path that modifies radiation pattern of the antenna, in addition to its impedance. RF switches
can be of different types- semiconductor (like PIN, Varactor switches) or mechanical
(like MEMS switches). A switch is an open circuit when there is no applied voltage and
a low impedance line for the RF signal when there is an applied voltage.
1.2.4.1 Semiconductor switches
In the semiconductor switches, amplifying the voltage at the gate expands the size of
the conducting channel under the gate, and makes the available current to flow between the
source and drain. Figure 3 is a simple diagram for a field-effect transistor (FET) switch.

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 Figure 1.4: A diagram of
FET

PIN diode is another commonly used microwave switch. It has strongly doped p-type and n-
type areas, which are disconnected by a wide, weakly-doped intrinsic area. Forward
biasing a PIN diode generates a very low resistance on high frequencies, but reverse biasing
of the diode causes an open circuit. The PIN diode is current managed.

Figure 1.5: A diagram of PIN

diode

1.2.4 Split Ring Resonator

(SRR)

Frequency reconfigurability can also be achieved through SRR by changing the

orientation of the splits. These are common type of meta-materials which are artificially
produced. They produce desired magnetic responses in various kinds of meta-materials
upto 200 terahertz.

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 A single cell SRR consists of a pair of enclosed loops with splits in them at opposite
ends. The loops of the SRR are made of non-magnetic metal like copper and
have a small gap between them. The loops of SRR can either be concentric, or square,
and gapped as required.The magnetic flux that penetrates the metal rings will induce
rotating currents in the rings, which produce self-induced flux to enhance or oppose the
incident field (depending on the SRRs resonant properties). The pattern of this field is
bipolar.

There are many SRR and periodic structures like rod-split rings, nested split rings,
single- split rings, deformed split rings, spiral split rings and extended S-structures.

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 CHAPTER – 2
PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 STANDARDS:

A. IEEE 149- 1977

This standard is used throughout government, industry, and academia in the area of antenna
testing. It provides many of the procedures currently used by antenna test organization. It is
assumed that the antenna to be measured is a passive, linear, and reciprocal device.
The measurement of radiation patterns on an antenna range, the design of antenna
ranges or antenna test facilities, the instrumentation required for the antenna range,
directions for the evaluation of an (existing) range, and the operation of ranges are
discussed. A variety of special measurement techniques are also included in this standard.
The basic standards for all antennas are stated in Table 2.1.

PARAMETER STANDARD VALUE

S Parameter < -10
dB VSWR <2
Axial Ratio (Circular Polarization) < 3 dB
Axial Ratio (Linear Polarization) 0 or infinity (Ideal)

Table 2.1: The Antenna Parameter’s

standard

B. IEEE 802.11a

The IEEE 802.11a standard is capable of giving a high level of performance. Offering a
high data rate, it operates at a 5 GHz ISM band. Some standard values of parameters under
this section are stated in Table 2.2.

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 PARAMETER VALUE
Date of standard approval July 1999
Maximum data rate (Mbps) 54
Typical data rate (Mbps) 25
Typical Range(indoors) ~30 m
Modulation OFDM
Number of spatial streams 1
Channel Width(MHz) 20

Table 2.2: Summary of IEEE802.11a

C. IEEE 802.11b
The IEEE 802.11b boasts an impressive performance. It is able to transfer data with raw data
rates up to 11 Mbps, and has a good range, although not when operating at its full data rate.
Some standard values of parameters under this section are stated in Table 2.3.

Table 2.3: Summary of IEEE802.11

PARAMETER VALUE
Date of standard approval July 1999
Maximum data rate (Mbps) 11
Typical data rate (Mbps) 5
Typical range indoors (Meters) ~30
Modulation CCK(DSSS)
RF Band(Ghz) 2.4
Channel width(Mhz) 20

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 and educational use including equipment and computing devices for – measurement and test;

– control; – laboratory use; – accessories intended for use with the above (such as sample
handling equipment), intended to be used in industrial and non-industrial locations. This
second edition cancels and replaces the first edition, published in 2005and it also constitutes a
technical revision.

2.2 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

A. SUBSTRATE: FR4 – Epoxy

Table 2.5: Details of Charactertics of Substrate – FR4-epoxy

B. CONNECTORS: SMA(Sub Miniature version A)

 Standard used : MIL STD 348A
Geometry : Straight Body
Maximum operating Frequency : 12.4 GHz
VSWR : 1.23:1
Impedance : 50 Ohms
Operating RMS Voltage : 500
Temperature Operating Range : -65 to 165 deg C
Construct : Beryllium copper contact
with 50 µin gold plating
with PTFE insulation

C. TESTING DEVICE: VNA(Vector Network Analyzer)

 The value of Lp is calculated as 37.2 mm.

Feed Calculation
Formulas for microstrip line feed are:

…. (vi)

…. (vii)
 …. (viii)

…. (ix)

For 50Ω feed line, the value of Width of feed (wf) is calculated to be 3.05 mm
D.CONSTRAINTS, ALTERNATIVES AND TRADEOFFS
 CHAPTER – 3
PROJECT DEMONSTRATION

1. PROPOSED DESIGN
Proposed antenna with detailed design
I. Prototype Antenna design
The below figure shown is the first prototype which resonates at frequency 5Ghz
which is the frequency application of W-Max.

Figure 3.1:Prototype of first design

The three proposed antenna resonates at frequencies 5Ghz, 7.6Ghz and 8.4Ghz
which are application frequency of Radar communication, Satellite television
broadcasting and wireless lan .
 Parameter
Line No. Length Width
(mm) (mm)
1 25.46 3.06
2 17.12 0.71
3 6.0 0.71
4 12.03 1.62
5 8.5 3.06

Table 3.2: Feed Parameters

A. FABRICATED ANTENNA

Figure 3.2: Fabricated antenna of designed antenna

Figure 3.3: Fabricated antenna of designed antenna-I
B. VNA SETUP

Figure 3.4: VNA



CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

A. S – PARAMETER
The S – parameter represents the Scattering Matrix which describes the
input- output relationship between the ports in an electrical system. The simulated
and measured S11 of the antenna is shown in figure 4.1.

Figure 4.1: S – parameter Vs Frequency (Comparison Analysis)

B. VSWR
The VSWR represents the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio, which gives the
measure which numerically states the matching of antenna’s impedance to the
radio or transmission line to which it is connected to. The simulated and measured
S11 of the antenna is shown in figure 4.2.
Figure 4.2: VSWR Vs Frequency (Comparison Analysis)

C. RETURN LOSS

The power loss in the reflected signal when there is a discontinuity in a transmission line or
optical fiber. This discontinuity can be due to a mismatch with the terminating load or device
inserted in the line.
The return loss for the above stated prototypes is shown in the figures below respectively.

Figure 4.3: Return Loss Vs Frequency (Comparison Analysis)

The above figure shows that the resonant frequency of each of the prototype is different which
resonates at frequency 5Ghz, 5.1Ghz and 2.4Ghz resp
 CHAPTER – 5
COST ANALYSIS

Initial Proposed investment for the project: 2000 INR.

Substrate Cost: Substrate chosen here is FR-4 which is a cheaper alternative to materials like
Teflon, RT- Duroid. Having an acceptable dielectric permittivity εr of 4.4 (test condition εr>1)
and desirable heat tolerance due to soldering of SMA connectors, this serves the purpose in a
very economic manner.

Testing Cost: Testing cost of the circuits on mutual coupling ground normally goes upto 2-3k
(INR) depending on the number of calibrations and outputs observed. Fortunately, since we have
Vector Network Analyzer in our Microwave facility, hence with the help of lab professionals, the
testing is carried without costing anything in the process.

Connectors Cost: T- type straight solder PCB mount connectors are being used here, although
they are available online at sites like Amazon at a price of 70 INR per pc. But fortunately they
can be bought at electronics shop at a lesser price of around 50 INR per piece.

Overall Costs are as follows:

Items Quantity Cost (Rs)

1.6 mm Board 1 750

Fabrication Cost(incl. GST) - 1000
SMA Connectors Cost 1 250
Testing Cost - 0
Total –2000INR