DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSTRIP PATCH ARRAY

ANTENNA FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK

(WLAN)

AZIZAN BIN MAT HASHIM

SCHOOL OF COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA PERLIS
MALAYSIA
2007
DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSTRIP PATCH ARRAY
ANTENNA FOR WIRELESS LOCAL AREA
NETWORK (WLAN)

by

AZIZAN BIN MAT HASHIM

Report submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree
of Bachelor of Communication Engineering

MAY 2007
 To my beloved mother:
Thank you for your understanding and giving me the chance to be what I can be.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my thankfulness and my sincere appreciation to my supervisor Mr.

Amir Razif Arief Jamil Abdullah for his invaluable guidance, patience and support through
the completion of this final year project.

My deeply gratitude to Mr. Azremi Abdullah Al- Hadi and Mr. Soh Ping Jack for
their help and guidance during accomplish this project until successful. Not to forget to all
my friends those also help me in order to accomplish my project.

Thank you so much to my beloved family especially my mother, Habsah Saad for
your kind of understanding and moral support that never ending to me during carry out this
final year project.

Finally, I would like to thank again to everyone that has been involved in this
project directly or indirectly for their help and contribution.

ii
 APPROVAL AND DECLARATION SHEET

This project report titled Developments of Microstrip Patch Array Antenna for
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) was prepared and submitted by Azizan Mat
Hashim (Matrix Number: 031080626) and has been found satisfactory in terms of
scope, quality and presentation as partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
Bachelor of Engineering (Communication Engineering) in Universiti Malaysia Perlis
(UniMAP).

Checked and Approved by

_______________________

(AMIR RAZIF ARIEF JAMIL ABDULLAH)

Project Supervisor

School of Computer and Communication Engineering

Universiti Malaysia Perlis

May 2007

iii
DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSTRIP PATCH ARRAY ANTENNA FOR WIRELESS
LOCAL AREA NETWORK (WLAN)

ABSTRACT

In this project, a 4x1 Rectangular Microstrip Patch Array Antenna at frequency 2.45 GHz
for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) will be designed, fabricated and tested. The
antenna will be design base on optimization and characteristics analysis. Some methods for
optimize the Microstrip Patch Antenna are studied and implemented to produce the desired
antenna. The objective of this project is to develop the antenna that has higher gain, higher
directivity, wide bandwidth and higher efficiency. Theoretically, the objective of this
project can be achieve through the use of high quality substrate such as RT Duroid 5870
which is have low relative permittivity or dielectric constant and higher substrate that will
improve the bandwidth. This is due to the Rectangular Microstrip Patch Array Antenna
which the bandwidth is determined by the dielectric constant and the height of substrate.
Low loss-tangent will increase the efficiency of the antenna. The patch array also has a
better directivity than the single patch. Microwave Office (MWO) will be introduce as an
effective tool for modeling electromagnetic structure. The antenna was fabricated based on
simulation and measured using Wave and Antenna Training System (WATS2002). The
expected result from this project is the antenna will has a high gain, better directivity, larger
bandwidth and high efficiency.

iv
 PEMBANGUNAN ANTENNA SUSUNAN TAMPAL MIKROJALUR UNTUK
RANGKAIAN TEMPATAN TANPA WAYAR (WLAN)

ABSTRAK

Di dalam projek ini, 4x1 Antena Susunan Tampal Mikrojalur Segiempat Tepat yang
beroperasi pada frekuensi kendalian 2.45 GHz yang digunakan untuk rangkaian tempatan
tanpa wayar akan direkabentuk, difabrikasi dan diuji. Antenna ini akan direkabentuk untuk
mengoptimakan prestasi dan ciri-cirinya akan dianalisis. Beberapa kaedah untuk
meengoptimumkan prestasi antena dikaji dan dipraktikkan. Objektif projek ini adalah
untuk menghasilkan antenna yang mempunyai gandaan, kearahan, lebarjalur dan
kecekapan yang tinggi. Secara teori, objektif projek ini dapat dicapai melalui penggunaan
substrat berkualiti tinggi seperti RT Duroid 5870 yang mempunyai pemalar dielektrik dan
ketinggian subtrat yang tinggi untuk menhasilkan lebarjalur yang lebih luas. Ini adalah
kerana bagi Antena Tampal Mikrojalur Segiempat Tepat, lebarjalur adalah bergantung
kepada pemalar dielektrik dan ketinggian substrat. Kehilangan tangen yang rendah dapat
meningkatkan kecekapan antenna. Perisian Microwave Office (MWO) diperkenalkan dan
digunakan untuk tujuan simulasi yang mana ianya merupakan perisian yang efektif untuk
permodelan struktur elektromagnet khususnya mikrojalur. Antena ini telah difabrikasi
berdasarkan kepada simulasi dan diuji menggunakan peralatan Sistem Latihan Antenna
dan Gelombang (WATS 2002). Daripada projek ini, hasil yang dharapkan adalah
membangunkan antenna yang mempunyai gandaan yang tinggi, kearahan yang lebih baik,
lebarjalur yang lebih luas dan kecekapan yang tinggi.

v
 TABLES OF CONTENTS

Page
DEDICATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
APPROVAL AND DECLARATION SHEET iii
ABSTRACT iv
ABSTRAK v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xii
LIST OF SYMBOLS xvii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Objectives and Scope 1
1.3 Project Introduction 2
1.4 Array Elements 2
1.5 Project Implementation Strategy 3
1.6 Dissertation Overview 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Introduction 5

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 Page
2.2 Research Paper Literature Review 5
2.2.1 Design of a Multi-layer Transmit / Receive Dual-Frequency 6
Microstrip Patch Antenna Array
2.2.2 New Considerations in the Design of Microstrip Antennas 7
2.2.3 Microstrip Patch Antenna Receiving Array Operating in the Ku 7
Band
2.2.4 Microstrip Antenna with Parasitic Elements 8
2.2.5 Guidelines for Design of Electromagnetically Coupled 8
Microstrip Patch Antennas on Two-Layer Substrates
2.2.6 High-Gain Microstrip Patch Array Antenna Using a 9
Superstrate Layer
2.2.7 Planar Square and Diamond Microstrip Patch Array 9
Antennas for Dual-Polarization Operation
2.3 Basic Antenna Theory 10
2.4 Antenna Properties 11
2.4.1 Impedance 11
2.4.2 VSWR 11
2.4.3 Bandwidth 12
2.4.4 Radiation Pattern 13
2.4.5 Gain 14
2.4.6 Polarization 15
2.5 Microstrip Patch Antenna 15
2.5.1 Introduction to Microstrip Patch Antenna 16
2.5.2 Operation of Microstrip Antenna 16
2.5.3 Shape of Microstrip Antenna 17
2.6 Factors Affecting Microstrip Design 19
2.6.1 Microstrip Discontinuity 19
2.6.1.1 Open End 19
2.6.1.2 Microstrip Line Step Discontinuity 20
2.6.1.3 Right Angle Bends 20

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 Page
2.6.2 Fringing Field 21
2.6.3 Feeding Techniques 22
2.6.3.1 Coaxial Probe Feed 22
2.6.3.2 Aperture Coupling 23
2.6.3.3 Proximity Coupling 23
2.6.3.4 Microstrip Line Feed 24
2.6.4 Substrate Selection 24
2.6.5 Patch Dimensions 25

CHAPTER 3 DESIGN OF MICROSTRIP PATCH ARRAY ANTENNA 27

3.1 Introduction 27
3.2 Design Specifications 27
3.3 Single Microstrip Patch Antenna Design 29
3.3.1 Patch Calculations 30
3.3.1.1 Calculation of Patch Dimension 30
3.3.1.2 Calculation Of The Impedance For Quarter-Wave 32
Transformer
3.3.2 Quarter-Wave Transformer and 50 Ω Feedline Calculations 33
3.3.3 Radiation Pattern Calculation 35
3.4 Microstrip Patch Array Antenna Design 35
3.4.1 Array Calculation 38
3.4.1.1 Patch Calculation 38
3.4.1.2 Calculation Of The Impedance For Quarter-Wave 39
Transformer
3.4.2 50 Ω, 70 Ω and 100 Ω Transmission Line Calculation 39
3.4.3 Radiation Pattern Calculation 41
3.5 Introduction to Microwave Office 41
3.5.1 Layout Based Simulation 43
3.5.2 Radiation Pattern Generation 50

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 Page
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 56
4.1 Introduction 56
4.1 Characteristics of Designed Antennas 56
4.3 Single Patch Microstrip Antenna 57
4.3.1 Microwave Office Simulation 57
4.3.1.1 Optimization of Patch Antenna 58
4.3.1.2 Radiation Pattern Simulation Result 60
4.3.2 Measurement Results 62
4.3.2.1 S 11 Measurement 62
4.3.2.2 Radiation Pattern Measurement 64
4.3.2.3 NetStumbler Test 66
4.4 Microstrip Patch Array Antenna 68
4.4.1 Microwave Office Simulation 68
4.4.1.1 Optimization of Array Antenna 69
4.4.1.2 Radiation Pattern Simulation Result 70
4.4.2 Measurement Result 71

4.4.2.1 S 11 Measurement 71
72
4.4.2.2 Radiation Pattern Measurement
74
4.4.2.3 NetStumbler Test
76
4.5 Discussion
76
4.5.1 S 11 Response
79
4.5.2 Radiation Pattern.
81
4.5.3 NetStumbler Result

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 82
5.1 Introduction 82
5.2 Conclusion 82
5.3 Recommendation of Future Work 83

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 Page

REFERENCES 84

APPENDICES 86
Appendix A 86
Appendix A(i) 87
Appendix B 88
Appendix C 90
Appendix D 91
Appendix E 95

x
 LIST OF TABLES

Tables No. Page

2.0 Common Substrate Materials for Microstrip Antenna 25

3.0 Single Patch Antenna Design Specifications 28

3.1 Dimension of Rectangular Patch Antenna 34

3.2 Dimension of Rectangular Patch Array Antenna 40

4.0 Various Dimension Effect on S 11 Response 59

4.1 Optimise Dimension Versus Original Dimension (Single Patch) 59

4.2 Optimise Dimension Versus Original Dimension (Array Patch) 69

4.3 Summarization of the Single Patch Antenna 77

4.4 Summarization of the Array Patch Antenna 77

4.5 Summarization of the Radiation Pattern 80

xi
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figures No. Page

1.0 Flow Chart of the Project 3

2.0 2 X 2 Dual-Polarized Sub-arrays 6

2.1 Frequency Response for the Antenna 12

2.2 Radiation Pattern and 3dB Beamwidth 13

2.3 Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna 16

2.4 Circular Patch Antenna 17

2.5 Open End Equivalent Circuit 19

2.6 Open End Equivalent Circuit 20

2.7 Equivalent Circuit for Bend 20

2.8 Top View of Patch and a Demonstration of the Electric 21

Fringing Fields that is Responsible for Radiation

2.9 A Side View Of Microstrip Patch Antenna and the 21

Demonstrating the Electric Fringing Fields

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 Page
3.0 Patch Antenna with Quarter-Wave Transformer 29

3.1 Screenshot of the Txline Calculator 33

3.2 Single Patch Antenna Design Layout 34

3.3 Example of Series Feed 36

3.4 One Dimension Parallel Feed Network 37

3.5 Four Elements Array Line Impedance Design Layout 38

3.6 Design Layout of Array Antenna 40

3.7 The Microwave Office Welcome Page 41

3.8 The Circuit Schematic Based Environment 42

3.9 The Layout Schematic Based Environment 43

3.10 The Substrate Information Option Window (Enclosure Tab) 44

3.11 The Substrate Information Option Window (Dielectric Tab) 45

3.12 The Substrate Information Option Window (Boundaries Tab) 46

3.13 The Rectangular Conductor Button Located At the Top 47

Toolbar Used For Initial Drawing and Sizing

3.14 The Create Graph Pop-Up Window Option Indicating Types 48

of Graphs

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 Page
3.15 The Add Measurement Option Window 49

3.16 The Project Options Option Window 50

3.17 Add Measurement Option Windows When Adding PPC_Ephi 51

and PPC_Etheta

3.18 Exporting the Existing EM Structure 52

3.19 Re-Importing the Existing EM Structure 52

3.20 The Options Window (Frequencies Tab) 53

3.21 Selecting the E-Field Settings Option 54

3.22 Checking the Layer 1 Check Box So That E-Field Is 54

Computed For That Layer

3.23 The Analyze Button and Simulation Process Window 55

4.0 S 11 Simulation Response for Original Single Patch Dimension 58

4.1 Optimize S 11 Simulated Response 60

4.2 Single Patch Optimized Radiation Pattern 61

4.3 S 11 Measurement Process Using Agilent E5062A Network 63

Analyzer

4.4 Measured S 11 Result 64

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 Page
4.5 Single Patch Antenna Measurement Setup 65

4.6 Measured Single Patch Radiation Pattern 65

4.7 Wireless Router Setup for NetStumbler Test 66

4.8 Single Patch Antenna NetStumbler Test Configuration 67

4.9 Single Patch Antenna NetStumbler Test Result 67

4.10 Simulated S 11 Response for Original Array Antenna 68

Dimensions

4.11 Optimize S 11 Array Antenna Response 69

4.12 Optimized Simulated Radiation Pattern 70

4.13 Measured S 11 Response for Array Antenna 71

4.14 S 11 Measurement Process for Array Antenna Using Agilent 72

E5062A Network Analyzer

4.15 Radiation Pattern Measurement Setup for Array Antenna 73

4.16 Measured Radiation Pattern for Array Antenna 73

4.17 Wireless Router Setup for Array Antenna 74

4.18 Microstrip Patch Array Antenna NetStumbler Testing 75

Configuration

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4.19 SNR versus Time for Patch Array Antenna 75

4.20 Single Patch Antenna S 11 Response Simulation versus 76

Measurement

4.21 Array Antenna S 11 Response Simulation versus Measurement 77

4.22 Comparison of Cell Size Effect for Simulation 79

4.23 Comparison of SNR between Single Patch and Array Antenna 81

xvi
 LIST OF SYMBOLS, ABBREVIATIONS OR NOMENCLATURE

c Velocity of electromagnetic waves in free space

BW Bandwidth
HPBW Half Power Bandwidth
f Frequency
L Length of the Microstrip Patch Antenna
w Width of the Microstrip Patch Antenna
h Substrate thickness
Q Quality factor
t Thickness of conductor
tan δ Loss tangent of dielectric material
V voltage
G Gain
E Electric field
ρ Charge Density
Z in Input impedance

Z out Output Impedance

Z1 Quarterwave (λ/4) Transformer Impedance

Z0 Characteristic Impedance (Real) of the Input Transmission Line

εr Relative Permittivity
εeff Effective Relative Permittivity
f0 Resonant Frequency, Operating Frequency
ΔL Fringe factor
Rin Resistance at the edge of the patch

xvii
π A constant (=3.1416)
Ω Ohms
VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
f/b Front to back ratio
σ Conductivity
θ Angle
S 11 S-Parameter that represented an input reflection
° Degree
SNR Signal to Noise Power Ratio

xviii