Application of the Left-Handed Half-Loop Antenna with Wideband Tuning to a Cognitive Radio Terminal

Francisco Javier Herraiz-Martnez*, Peter S. Hall+, Daniel Segovia-Vargas*

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Radiofrequency Group, Department of Signal Theory and Communications, Carlos III University in Madrid Avenida de la Universidad 30, 28911, Legans, Madrid, Spain {fjherraiz, dani}@.tsc.uc3m.es + Department of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK P.S.Hall@.bham.ac.uk technologies. Finally, it is important to note that the dimensions of the CR terminal must be small to make it attractive to market. Some proposals for CR antennas have been presented recently [3-4]. These are based on two-port systems. One of the ports provides connectivity to the sensing front-end while the other one is designed to be connected to the communications front-end. Ideally, a high isolation between the two ports should be achieved in these systems. In this paper, a novel compact fully reconfigurable two-port system for a CR terminal with high isolation between the ports is presented. The sensing functionality is achieved with a planar monopole antenna whilst the communications function is implemented with a novel Left-Handed (LH) half-loop antenna with wideband tuning. The whole system is fully printed on a dielectric substrate board with 60 mm x 60 mm dimensions. Initially, the system is proposed for operation over the bandwidth from 1.5 GHz to 3 GHz (2:1 bandwidth) because the band below 3 GHz seems a good candidate for CR systems [2]. The outline of this paper is as follows: the LH half-loop antenna over ground plane with wideband tuning is reviewed in Section II. After that, the complete CR system which integrates a printed monopole antenna and a tunable LH halfloop antenna is presented in Section III. Finally, the paper is concluded in Section IV. II. LEFT-HANDED HALF-LOOP ANTENNA OVER GROUND PLANE WITH WIDEBAND TUNING A. Left-Handed Wire Antennas During the last years, metatamerials are one of the hot topics of engineering. Metamaterials can be broadly defined as electromagnetic structures engineered to achieve unusual or exotic properties [5]. One interesting application of metamaterials in microwave engineering is the development of artificial LH transmission lines. These transmission lines allow the propagation of backward-waves in which the phase and group velocities are antiparallel (vp vg < 0). The equivalent circuit model of a LH transmission line is the dual

Abstract A compact system for future communication terminals (Cognitive Radio) is presented in this paper. This system is based on two antennas printed on the same substrate board. The total dimensions of the board are 60 mm x 60 mm, which means that it can be integrated into a handheld terminal. The first antenna is a printed monopole with an omnidirectional radiation pattern which senses the spectrum. The other antenna is a narrowband half-loop antenna based on metamaterial LeftHanded transmission lines which is used for the communication function. This antenna can be tuned within the operation bandwidth of the complete system by using variable capacitances (varactor diodes). The complete system is designed to operate from 1.5 GHz to 3 GHz (2:1 Bandwidth). The isolation between the antenna ports is always higher than 20 dB.

I. INTRODUCTION During the last years, wireless communication systems have grown dramatically. Due to this fact, the electromagnetic spectrum is used inefficiently: some of the spectrum bands are saturated while others are idle most of the time. For this reason, novel concepts as deregulated spectrum and dynamic allocation of bands are being proposed for future communication systems. One of these proposals is Cognitive Radio (CR) [1] in which a wide bandwidth is deregulated and the elements of the communication system are reconfigurable to operate in a narrowband within the entire free spectrum. In order to implement CR systems, the terminals must provide a double functionality [2]. The first one is spectrum sensing to determine the best narrowband channel (for example, the one without interferences with other users). The other terminal function consists of providing full-duplex communication at the frequency of the most convenient narrowband channel. The double functionality of the terminal for CR implies important challenges from antenna engineering point of view [2]. First the optimal solution to sense the spectrum is a wideband and omnidirectional antenna; however, these antennas are larger than the compact antennas used in handheld terminals. Moreover, a narrowband directive antenna is needed for the communications function. This antenna must be reconfigurable within the entire free spectrum (at least one octave) which is very difficult with conventional

of the conventional or Rigth-Handed (RH) one. Thus, as the equivalent circuit model of an infinitesimal section of a RH transmission line is composed of two series inductances and a shunt capacitance, the equivalent circuit model of a LH unit cell is composed of two series capacitances and a shunt inductance. Hence, LH transmission lines are implemented by periodically loading a host line with series capacitances and shunt inductances [5]. Wire antennas with LH loading have been proposed in [68]. These antennas are based on a ladder network whose periodic element is the typical LH unit cell. LHloaded antennas have the unique feature that that the relationship between the wavelength and the frequency is the opposite to that of conventional antennas, resulting in a reduced wavelength with decreasing frequency. Moreover, the resonance frequencies and input impedance of the LH antennas depends on the elements of the unit cells. Hence, small antennas with internal matching can be developed by choosing the proper unit cell components. Moreover, the use of LH loading also provides new capabilities in the design of wire antennas. For example, a LH dipole with orthogonal polarization compared to the conventional one is presented in [7]. Furthermore, a LH loop antenna with omnidirectional radiation pattern in the plane of the loop is presented in [8]. This capability is achieved by exciting a mode with uniform uniform current distribution on the loop both in phase and amplitude. This mode has n = 0 index, according to the conventional numbering. Recently, the authors have developed LH wire antennas over ground plane with wideband tuning [9]. In that work, two type of antennas are proposed: the LH monopole antenna and the LH half-loop antenna over ground plane. The use of a ground plane provides two improvements over previous LH wire antennas. The first one is that a further size reduction can be achieved thanks to image theory. The other one is that these antennas can be directly fed through a SMA connector in contrast to previous designs which were fed through a balun. The use of a balun increased the size, complexity and losses of the antenna. In [9] it is also shown that variable capacitors can be used instead of fixed series capacitances to achieve small internally-matched wire antennas with wideband tuning. The implementation and performance of the tunable LH half-loop antenna over ground plane are reviewed in the next Subsection. B. LH Half-Loop Antenna with Wideband Tuning Implementation and Performance The LH half-loop antenna is a ladder network over a finite ground plane whose unit element is a typical LH cell formed by two series capacitors (CL) and a shunt inductor (LL). The antenna is implemented by printing two wires on a dielectric substrate. One end of the outer wire is connected to the feed and the other one is connected to the ground plane. Both ends of the inner wire are connected to the ground plane. An interconnection between the inner and outer strips is also printed for each unit cell. The capacitors CL are put on the outer wire and the inductors LL are put on the interconnection

between the wires. The dielectric board is orthogonally mounted over the ground plane. The antenna is fed through a SMA connector. The outer conductor of the SMA connector is soldered to the ground plane while the inner conductor is soldered to the feeding strip.

Fig. 1 Sketch of a tunable LH half-loop antenna with three unit cells.

One interesting characteristic of this antenna is that the n = 0 mode with uniform current distribution both in amplitude and phase can be excited. This mode has a radiation pattern with maximum radiation orthogonal to the ground plane and high radiation efficiency. In [9] it is demonstrated that the resonant frequency and input impedance of the half-loop antenna working at the n = 0 mode depend on the elements of the LH unit cells. This property is used to develop tunable LH antennas with wideband tuning and internal matching by implementing the LH capacitances with variable capacitors. A prototype of the tunable LH half-loop antenna with three cells is shown in Fig. 1. The LH variable capacitances (CL) are implemented with varactor diodes. The capacitance of the varactor diodes is controlled with the voltage VR which is supplied through two high impedance lines printed at both sides of the half-loop. RF-choke inductors (Lb) and DCisolation capacitors (Cb) are attached to the design.

Fig. 2 Measured reflection coefficient of the tunable LH half-loop antenna for different values of the control voltage VR [9].

Fig. 2 shows the measured tuning bandwidth of the manufactured prototype for different values of the control voltage. The mode n = 0 is matched, considering |s11|<10 dB, between 840 MHz and 1376 MHz (1.64:1 bandwidth). The measured radiation efficiency is always above 54% within the working bandwidth. The maximum dimension of the antenna varies between 0.140 at 840 MHz and 0.230 at 1376 MHz. III. TWO-PORT RADIATING SYSTEM FOR A COGNITIVE RADIO TERMINAL The main objective of the present work is the development of a fully printed radiating system for a CR terminal. Moreover, the following characteristics would be desirable: the whole system must be printed on a unique substrate board with small dimensions (60 mm x 60 mm) to integrate it into a handheld device. The interface of the system should be two SMA ports with high isolation between them (> 20 dB). Hence, the ports could be directly connected to the sensing and communications front-ends. Finally, the whole system should work over a wide bandwidth (2:1 bandwidth) below 3 GHz because it seems a good candidate for CR systems [2]. The proposed radiating system for a CR terminal is based on the integration in the same board of a printed monopole antenna and a printed LH half-loop antenna with wideband tuning. The first antenna is used for the spectrum sensing functionality whilst the second one is applied for the fullduplex communications function. The working band has been set from 1.5 GHz to 3 GHz because the physical dimensions of the monopole antenna would be larger than the board dimensions at lower frequencies. The printed monopole antenna has a U geometry. Thus, the half-loop can be printed in the inner part of the monopole. The monopole antenna is fed through a microstrip line with a SMA connector at the end of the line. The ground plane of this antenna and its feeding line is printed on the opposite side of the substrate. The LH half-loop antenna is based on the previous results, but some considerations have been taken into account to integrate this antenna into the CR system. First of all, the number of cells has been reduced to two in order to minimize the number of lumped elements. The dimensions of the previous antenna have been recomputed to operate over the desired band. Furthermore, the optimal values of the LH inductances to match the antenna are very small (LL < 1 nH). For this reason, additional inductors are not used in this case and the LH inductances are provided by the interconnections to the ground plane. Moreover, the orthogonal ground plane of the LH half-loop antenna has been replaced by a printed ground plane on the opposite side of the printed LH half-loop. The connections of the LH wires to the ground plane have been implemented with shorting vias. The printed LH halfloop antenna is fed through a SMA connector.

(a)

(b) Fig. 3 Sketch of the proposed system for a CR terminal. (a) Top view. (b) Zoom on the tunable LH half-loop antenna.

Fig. 3 shows the sketch of the system. The substrate is Duroid 5880 (r = 2.2 and h = 0.787 mm) and the board dimensions are 60 mm x 60 mm. The dimensions of the monopole antenna are: L1 = 3.00 mm, L2 = 3.00 mm, L3 = 22.00 mm, L4 = 37.00 mm, Lf = 20.00 mm, Wf = 3.60 mm, W1 = 27.20 mm, W2 = 23.50 mm, W3 = 5.50 mm. The dimensions of the tunable LH half-loop antenna are the following: L = 14.00 mm, W = 8.00 mm, d = 2.00 mm, r = 0.50 mm, Li = 6.00 mm, L2 = 10.00 mm, dCv = 2.75 mm, dCb = 0.96 mm, Lf = 13.31mm, Wf = 5.00 mm, rf = 0.20 mm, dLb = 2.50 mm, Lgnd = 45.00 mm and Wgnd = 6.00 mm. The diameter of the vias is 0.70 mm. The proposed system has been simulated with CST Microwave Studio for different values of the LH capacitances (CL). The reflection coefficient of the monopole antenna (|s11|) is almost independent of the value of the LH capacitances (Fig. 4), as desired. The bandwidth of the monopole, considering |s11|<10 dB, is 1.71:1 (1.75 GHz 3 GHz). Considering a more relaxed condition (e. g. |s11|<6 dB, as in cellular systems) the bandwidth is 1.94:1 (1.6 GHz 3.1 GHz). The LH half-lop antenna can be tuned within the target

2:1 bandwidth (1.5 GHz 3 GHz) by changing the value of the LH capacitances (Fig. 5). The isolation between both ports is higher than 20 dB for all the CL values, as shown in Fig. 6.

radiation pattern (Fig. 7.b), as desired for the communications front-end. The main beam radiates in the y direction. Hence, it can be said that both radiation patterns are orthogonal. The radiation pattern of the LH half-loop is almost independent of the value of the CL variable capacitances. The simulated radiation efficiency of the LH half-loop antenna at 3 GHz is over 80 %. However, it is important to note that the efficiency of this small antenna is decreased at lower frequencies because the electrical size of the antenna is considerably smaller.

Fig. 4 Reflection coefficient at the monopole port (|s11|) for different values of the LH capacitances (CL).

Fig. 7 Simulated radiation patterns. (a) Port 1 (monopole antenna) at 2.06 GHz. (b) Port 2 (LH half-loop antenna) at 2.59 GHz.

Fig. 5 Reflection coefficient at the half-loop port (|s22|) for different values of the LH capacitances (CL).

IV. CONCLUSIONS It has been demonstrated that tunable LH antennas are a good candidate for future communication terminals due to their small electrical size and wideband tuning with internal matching. In particular, a LH half-loop antenna with wideband tuning has been integrated with a printed monopole antenna to develop a complete radiating system for a Cognitive Radio terminal. A design example operating over a 2:1 bandwidth has been shown, achieving high isolation between the ports (> 20 dB) and orthogonal radiation patterns. REFERENCES
[1] [2] J. Mitola III and G. Q. Maguire, Cognitive radio: Making software radios more personal, IEEE Personal Communications, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 1318, August 1999. P. S. Hall, P. Gardner, J. Kelly, E. Ebrahimi, M. R. Hamid, F. Ghanem, F. J. Herraiz-Martnez and D. Segovia-Vargas, Reconfigurable Antenna Challenges for Future Radio Systems, EuCAP 2009, Berlin, Germany, March 2009. E. Ebrahimi and P. S. Hall, A Dual Port Wide-Narrowband Antenna for Cognitive Radio, EuCAP 2009, Berlin, Germany, March 2009. F. Ghanem, P. S. Hall and J. R. Kelly, Two Port Frequency Reconfigurable Antenna for Cognitive Radios, Electronics Letters, Vol. 45, No. 11, May 2009. C. Caloz and T. Itoh, Electromagnetic Metamaterials: Transmission Line Theory and Microwave Applications, New York, Wiley, 2004. H. Iizuka, P. S. Hall and A. Lucas Borja, Dipole antenna with LeftHanded loading, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 5, pp. 483-485, 2006. H. Iizuka and P. S. Hall, Left-Handed dipole antennas and their implementations, IEEE Trans. on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 1246-1253, May 2007. A. Lucas Borja, P. S. Hall, Q. Liu and H. Iizuka, Omnidirectional Loop Antenna with Left-Handed loading, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 556, pp. 495-498, 2007. F. J. Herraiz-Martnez, P. S. Hall, Q. Liu and D. Segovia-Vargas, Left-Handed Wire Antennas over Ground Plane with Wideband Tuning, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, submitted.

[3] [4] [5] Fig. 6 Isolation between the ports (|s12|) for different values of the LH capacitances (CL). [6] [7] [8] [9]

The radiation performance of the system has also been simulated with the same software. The radiation pattern of the monopole antenna is the typical one of a printed monopole antenna, which has a null in the y direction and is almost omnidirectional in the orthogonal plane (xz), as it is shown in Fig. 7.a. It is important to note that the radiation pattern is independent of the value of the variable capacitances (CL). On the other hand, the LH half-loop antenna has a directional