Chapter Two

Literature Review

2.1 Overview:

This chapter gives an introduction to multiband antenna and Broadband wireless

networks, and the terminology used in relation to multiband antenna and
heterogeneous technology. And introduce the analysis and design of microstrip patch
antenna. Finally shown more studies talk about rectangular microstrip patch antenna
design and reconfigurable multiband using microstrip patch antenna.

2.2 Broadband Wireless Network:

Broadband wireless sits at the confluence of two of the most remarkable growth
stories of the telecommunications industry in recent years. Both wireless and
broadband have on their own enjoyed rapid mass-market adoption. Wireless mobile
services and Internet grew from being a curious academic tool to having about a
billion users. This staggering growth of the Internet is driving demand for higher-
speed Internet-access services, leading to a parallel growth in broadband adoption.
Broadband users worldwide are finding that it dramatically changes how we share in-
formation, conduct business, and seek entertainment. Broadband access not only pro-
vides faster Web surfing and quicker file downloads but also enables several multi-
media applications, such as real-time audio and video streaming, multimedia confe-
rencing, and interactive gaming. Broadband connections are also being used for voice
telephony using voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. Moreadvanced
broadband access systems, such as fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and very high data rate
digital subscriber loop (VDSL), enable such applications as entertainment-quality
video, including high-definition TV (HDTV) and video on demand (VoD). As the
broadband market continues to grow, several new applications are likely to emerge,
and it is difficult to predict which ones will succeed in the future [5].

Broadband wireless is about bringing the broadband experience to a wireless context,

which offers users certain unique benefits and convenience. There are two fundamen-

4
tally different types of broadband wireless services. The first type attempts to provide
a set of services similar to that of the traditional fixed-line broadband but using wire-
less as the medium of transmission. This type, called fixed wireless broadband, can be
thought of as a competitive alternative to DSL or cable modem. The second type of
broadband wireless, called mobile broadband, offers the additional functionality of
portability and mobility. Mobile broadband attempts to bring broadband applications
to new user experience scenarios and hence can offer the end user a very different
value proposition [5].

2.3 Heterogeneous Network:

A heterogeneous network (HetNet) is a network connecting computers and other de-

vices with different operating systems and/or protocols. The word heterogeneous net-
work is also used in wireless networks using different access technologies. And also
the reference to a HetNet often indicates the use of multiple types of access nodes in a
wireless network.Heterogeneity has been introduced to be one of the most impor-
tant features in the next generation wireless network (e.g., the fourth generation or
4G). In heterogeneous wireless networks, different wireless access technologies are
integrated to complement each other in terms of coverage area, mobility support,
bandwidth, and price [6].

2.4 Fixed Mobile Convergence:

Fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) is the trend towards seamless connectivity between

fixed and wireless telecommunications networks. The term also describes any physi-
cal network that allows cellular telephone sets to function smoothly with the fixed
network infrastructure. The goal of FMC is to optimize transmission of all data, voice
and video communications to and among end users, no matter what their locations or
devices. In the more immediate future, FMC means that a single device can connect
through and be switched between wired and wireless networks [7].

Mainly the differences between WiFi and WiMax are at medium access control
(MAC) and physical layer (PHY), while at upper layer working at internet protocol
(IP) where all packets from all radios are converged at with convergence sub-layer
(SC). At MAC layer there are many convergence protocols has beenproposed by re-

5
searchers. Several technologies have been developed for vertical handover purposes,
for example, media independent handover 802.21 MIH is an emerging IEEE standard
that enables handover and interoperability between the heterogeneous network types
including both 802 and non 802 networks which allow handover between the cellular
and the 802 based technologies, i.e., 802.11, 802.15 and 802.16 networks. Unlicen-
sedMobile Access (UMA) based on IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) is ETSI 3GPP
standard which provides vertical handover and inter-working to extend mobile voice,
data and Multimedia applications over the IP networks [7]. However these standards
are designed for separate entities, i.e., gateway or server works as inter-working de-
vice between the two networks which can be owned and controlled by the operator.
The needs for lightweight handover module that can work on the mobile or small
access point open the door for many research proposals.

At physical layer there are many efforts and concern has been given to radios
convergence. Two approaches can be considered for convergence at baseband and RF
levels. At baseband level, one of the most interested topics in recent year was soft-
ware defined radio (SDR). In SDR all the baseband portion in the transceiver is com-
bined in one chip i.e. digital signal processing. At RF level, convergence can be done
for zero IF or at multiband antenna levels. Multiband antenna, an antenna designed to
operate on several bands. These antennas often use designs where one part of the an-
tenna is active for one band, and another part is active for a different band. Conver-
gence techniques can be summarized as in Figure 2.1.

2.4.1 Multiband antenna:

Antennas are transducers that transfer electromagnetic energy between a transmission

line and free space. Antennas are in general reciprocal devices, which can be used
both as transmitting and as receiving elements. Antenna measurement techniques re-
fer to the testing of antennas to ensure that the antenna meets specifications or simply
to characterize it. Antenna Parameters are gain, bandwidth, efficiency,directivity
andradiation pattern. Gain as a parameter measures the directionality of a given an-
tenna. An antenna with a low gain emits radiation in all directions equally, whereas a
high-gain antenna will preferentially radiate in particular directions. The bandwidth is
the range of frequencies within which the performance of the antenna, with respect to

6
 some characteristic, conforms to a specified standard. In other words, bandwidth de-
pends on the overall effectiveness of the antenna through a range of frequencies, so all
of these parameters must be understood to fully characterize the bandwidth capabili-
ties of an antenna. Efficiency is the ratio of power actually radiated to the power put
into the antenna terminals. Antenna directivity is the ratio of maximum radiation in-
tensity (power per unit surface) radiated by the antenna in the maximum direction di-
vided by the intensity radiated by a lossless isotropic antenna with the same input
power. Directivity is a dimensionless ratio and may be expressed numerically or in
dB. Directivity is determined without respect to antenna efficiency and differs from
gain where antenna efficiency is considered. Directivity is a theoretical quantity based
on the lossless case and will always be greater than gain. The radiation pattern is a
graphical depiction of the relative field strength transmitted from or received by the
antenna. As antennas radiate in space often several curves are necessary to describe
the antenna [11].

Convergence

PHY Layer Convergence MAC Layer Convergence Upper Layer

Baseband RF 802.21(MIH) IMS UMA

SDR

Zero IF Multiband Antenna

Fixed Reconfigurabl

Figure 2.1: Convergence Techniques at Different Levels.

7
 Modern wireless devices or systems are getting smaller and thinner in addition
to the increase in the number of services required to be integrated in one device.
Therefore, antennas are required to fulfill these needs with multiple bands capabilities
and with small and slim overall size. Some of wireless applications requires fixed an-
tenna where the antenna is designed and optimized to operate at particular frequencies
and some requires adaptive antenna (reconfigurable) where the antenna’s operating
frequencies can change to other bands by using reconfigurable elements (multifunc-
tional antenna). In the fixed designs, independent control of the operating frequencies
is investigated to enhance the antennas capabilities and to give the designer an addi-
tional level of freedom to design the antenna for other bands easily without altering
the shape or the size of the antenna. Although fixed multiband antennas can widely be
used in many different systems or devices, they lack flexibility to accommodate new
services compared with reconfigurable antennas. A reconfigurable antenna can be
considered as one of the key advances for future wireless communication transceivers.
The advantage of using a reconfigurable antenna is to operate in multiband where the
total antenna volume can be reused and therefore the overall size can be reduced [17].

2.4.2 Software Define Radio:

As the numbers of different wireless systems grow, the need for interoperability is
being addressed through multimode radios that support multiple standards. Today,
such radios use one receiver chain for each standard, and channels are selected using
fixed analog-defined channel filters. However, given the absence of a single standard,
the ability to reconfigure the radio to each standard on demand is more appealing be-
cause of the flexibility and apparent cost advantages it could provide.

The goal of software-defined radios (SDRs) is to enable coverage of multiple radio

systems with a single handset using common hardware whose configuration is under
software control.In principle, SDR systems could use a single wideband analog stage
and convert all channels to and from digital form by a single high-speed analog-to-
digital converter (ADC) in the receiver, or a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in the
transmitter. At the receiver, the desired channel could be selected from the digitized
carrier waveform by software-defined channel selection filters within the digital sig-
nal processor. Analog filters would still be essential to limit the noise bandwidth, to

8
prevent aliasing, and to limit the bandwidth to prevent spurious signals entering the
ADC. Some compromise would be required, since the need for multimode coverage
would imply that these filters would need to be kept broadband to cover the entire
range of possible input bandwidths. Digital filtering would in principle be used after
the ADC to pick out the desired channel component from an array of possible chan-
nels that exist within this bandwidth [8].

2.5 Wireless Transceiver Design:

The insatiable requirement for high-speed real-time computer connectivity anywhere,

at any time, fuelled by the wide-spreading acceptance of the Internet Protocol, has
accelerated the birth of a large number of wireless data networks. Buzzwords, such as
WiFi, Bluetooth and WiMax, have already become everyday language even for
people unfamiliar with their technological meaning. They all, however, refer to the
same basic functionality: the transfer of high-speed data through wireless networks.
As we proceed in the twenty-first century, the variety of wireless standards is far from
converging, since each one has its own peculiar advantages. Trying to figure out their
evolution is very difficult. The only certain fact is that all of them will seek to enable
digital communications through broadband wireless equipment, and one of the main
tasks being the capability of allowing a large number of different users to coexist and
operate in a crowded and often unregulated electromagnetic environment [9].

The design of modern digital wireless modems and transceivers, capable of support-
ing high-speed data protocols in such wild scenarios, is very different from the tradi-
tional one. Many of the components in the wireless chain require an integration scale
whose cost can be justified only for extremely large production quantities, thus, their
design and production is way beyond the capability of most hi-tech industries.

Modern transceiver architectures are very different from traditional ones. Many of the
functions traditionally belonging to radio-frequency (RF) circuitry have been taken
over by digital signal processors, and the boundaries between baseband (low-
frequency) functionality and radio-frequency performance have become fuzzy [9].

The small physical size and low cost, required by competitive commercial equipment,
together with mandatory multisystem operability and very low current consumption,

9
dictate large integration scales for both baseband and RF subsystems. Such a high in-
tegration level on a chip cannot be achieved with conventional transceiver configura-
tions [9].

5.2.1 Basic Wireless Transceiver Design:

The receiver can divide into three main functional blocks as shown in Figure 2.2:
• Front end: all the circuits that carry out operations at final RF frequency,
such as RF front filters, low-noise amplifiers (LNA), high frequency mixers etc.
• Intermediate frequency (IF) chain: all the circuits operating at non-zero IF
frequency (if any).
• Backend: all the circuits operating at a frequency below first IF (if any) or
other than final RF frequency, such as baseband processing, detector etc.
And also, the transmitter can divide into three main functional blocks:
• Power amplifier (PA): all the amplifiers at final RF frequency with input
>+10 dBm.
• Exciter: the amplifier chain whose output drives the PA.
• Backend: all the other circuits.

Figure 2.2: Basic Transceiver Design [9]

10
2.5.2 Heterogeneous Transceiver :

Heterogeneous transceiver that can support many frequency band and radio
transmission system on a single mobile terminal and more efficient use of the
radio spectrum through the future technology of cognitive radio. Figure 2.3 is
shown heterogeneous transceiver design.

Figure 2.3: Heterogeneous Transceiver Design.

2.6 Microstrip Antenna:

The concept of microstrip antenna dates back to the 1950’s, but it was not until the 1970’s
that greater emphasis was given to develop this technology. This is mainly due to the availa-
bility of good substrates. Since then, extensive research and development of microstrip
antenna and arrays, exploiting the numerous advantages such as light weight, low volume,
low cost, planar configuration, compatibility with integrated circuits, have led to diversified
applications and to the establishment of the topic as a separate entity within the broad field of
microwave antennas. [10]The rapidly developing markets, especially in personal communica-
tion systems (PCS), mobile satellite communications, direct broadcast (DBS), wireless local
area networks (WLAN) and intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS), suggest that the
demand for microstrip antennas and arrays will increase even further. In the meantime, the
increasing demand calls for the further development of them[11]. Microstrip antennas are

11
characterized by a larger number of physical parameters than a conventional microwave
antenna. All microstrip antennas can be divided into four categories: microstrip patch anten-
nas, microstrip dipoles, printed slot antennas and microstrip traveling-wave antennas
[12][13].

2.6.1 Microstrip Patch Antenna Structure:

A microstrip antenna generally consists of a dielectric substrate sandwiched between a

radiating patch on the top and a ground plane on the other side as shown in Figure 2.4. The
patch is generally made of conducting material such as copper or gold and can take any
possible shape. The radiating patch and the feed lines are usually photo etched on the dielec-
tric substrate.

Figure2.4: Basic Structure of Microstrip Antenna.

2.6.2 Advantages and Disadvantages:

Microstrip antennas are used as embedded antennas in handheld wireless devices or mobile
node such as cellular phones and wireless access point, and also employed in Satellite com-
munications. Some of their principal advantages are given below:

• Light weight and low fabrication cost.

• Supports both, linear as well as circular polarization.
• Can be easily integrated with microwave integrated circuits.
• Capable of dual and triple frequency operations.
• Mechanically robust when mounted on rigid surfaces.
12
Microstrip patch antennas suffer from more drawbacks as compared to conventional anten-
nas. Some of their major disadvantages are given below:

• Narrow bandwidth.
• Low efficiency and Gain.
• Extraneous radiation from feeds and junctions.
• Low power handling capacity.
• Surface wave excitation.

2.6.3 Types of Microstrip Patch Antenna:

The radiating patch may be square, rectangular, thin strip (dipole), circular, elliptical,
triangular, or any other configuration. These and others are illustrated in Figure2.5. Square,
rectangular, dipole (strip), and circular are the most common because of ease of analysis
and fabrication, and their attractive radiation characteristics, especially low cross-
polarization radiation.[13]

Figure2.5: Shapes of Microstrip Patch [11]

2.6.4 Rectangular Microstrip Patch antenna:

As shown in Figure 2.6, the basic structure of rectangular microstrip patch antenna consists
of a very thin (t<<λ , whereλ is the free-space wavelength) metallic strip (patch) placed a
small fraction of a wavelength (h<<λ ) above a ground plane. The strip (patch) and the

13
ground plane are separated by a dielectric substrate. The length L of the element is usually
λ /3 < L <λ /2.

Figure2.6: Basic Structure of Rectangular Microstrip PatchAntenna

2.6.4.1 Substrates Characteristics:

There are many substrates that can be used for the design of microstrip antennas, and their
dielectric constants ( ) are usually in the range of 2.2 ≤ ≤ 12. Thick substrates are most
desirable for antenna performance as their dielectric constants are in the lower end, which
provide better efficiency, larger bandwidth, loosely bound fields for radiation into space
(better radiation power). However, these are achieved at the expense of larger element size,
increase in weight, dielectric loss, surface wave loss and extraneous radiations. Thin sub-
strates with higher dielectric constants, on the other hand, are desirable for microwave
circuitry because they require tightly bound fields to minimize undesired radiation and
coupling, thus leading to smaller sizes. However, because of their greater losses, they are less
efficient and have relatively smaller bandwidth [13]. Since microstrip antennas are often
integrated with other microwave circuitry, a compromise has to be reached between good
antenna performance and circuit design.

2.6.4.2 Feed Techniques:

Microstrip patch antennas can be fed by a variety of methods. These methods can be classi-
fied into two categories- contacting and non-contacting. In the contacting method, the RF
power is fed directly to the radiating patch using a connecting element such as a microstrip
line. In the non-contacting scheme, electromagnetic field coupling is done to transfer power
14
 between the microstrip line and the radiating patch. The four most popular feed techniques
used are the microstrip line, coaxial probe (both contacting schemes), aperture coupling and
proximity coupling (both non-contacting schemes).

a) Microstrip feed line: The microstrip feed line as shown in Figure2.7 is a conducting
strip of much smaller width compared to the patch. It is easy to fabricate, simple to
match by controlling the inset position and rather simple to model. However, as the
substrate thickness increases surface waves and spurious feed radiation, the usage
limits the practical bandwidth (typically 2-5%).

Figure2.7: Microstrip Line Feed

b) Coaxial feed: The coaxial feed as shown in Figure2.8 is an inner conductor of the
coax and is attached to the radiation patch where the outer conductor is connected to
the ground plane. It is easy to fabricate, match and it has low spurious radiation. The
disadvantages are that it has a narrow bandwidth and more difficult to model espe-
cially for thick substrate(h > 0.02λ ).

Figure 2.8: Coaxial Feed

15
c) Aperture coupling: The aperture coupling as shown in Figure 2.9 is the most diffi-
cult of all four to fabricate and it also has narrow bandwidth. However, it is easier to
model and has moderate spurious radiation. The aperture coupling consists of two
substrates separated by a ground plane. On the bottom side of the lower substrate,
there is a microstrip feed line whose energy is coupled to the patch through a slot on
the ground plane separating the two substrates. The ground plane between the sub-
strates also isolates the feed from the radiating element and minimizes interference of
spurious radiation for pattern formation and polarization purity [13].

Figure 2.9: Aperture Coupling

d) Proximity coupling: The proximity coupling as shown in Figure 2.10 has the largest
bandwidth, is easy to model and has low radiation but the fabrication is more diffi-
cult.

Figure 2.10: Proximity Coupling

16
2.6.4.3 Analysis Methods:

The preferred models for the analysis of Microstrip patch antennas are the transmission line
model, cavity model, and full wave model. The transmission line model is the simplest of all
and it gives good physical insight but it is less accurate. The cavity model is more accurate
and gives good physical insight but is complex in nature. The full wave models are extremely
accurate, versatile and can treat single elements, finite and infinite arrays, stacked elements,
arbitrary shaped elements and coupling. These give less insight as compared to the two
models mentioned above and are far more complex in nature.

2.6.4.4 Transmission line Models:

This model represents the microstrip antenna by two slots of width W and height L, sepa-
rated by a transmission line of length L. The microstrip is essentially a non homogeneous
line of two dielectrics, typically the substrate and air. Hence, most of the electric field lines
reside in the substrate and parts of some lines in air. As a result, this transmission line cannot
support pure transverse-electric-magnetic (TEM) mode of transmission, since the phase
velocities would be different in the air and the substrate. Instead, the dominant mode of
propagation would be the quasi-TEM mode. Hence, an effective dielectric constant (ε )
must be obtained in order to account for the fringing and the wave propagation in the line.
The value of ε is slightly less than ε because the fringing fields around the periphery of
the patch are not confined in the dielectric substrate but are also spread in air.

The expression for ε is given by [14] as:

ε ε
ε = + ⁄
(2.1)

Where:
ε : Effective dielectric constant
ε : Dielectric constant of substrate
h : Height of dielectric substrate
W : Width of the patch

The lowest order mode TM01 resonates when the effective length of the rectangular patch
is half wavelength. Radiation occurs from the fringing fields. For the principal E-plane,

17
the dimensions of the patch along its length have been extended on each end by a
tance∆L, as show in Figure2.11, which is a function of the effective dielectric constant
and the width-to-height ratio (W/h). The extension of length is given by [14]

(ε . )( . )
∆L = 0.412h ( )(
(2.2)
ε . . )

Figure 2.11: Effective Length(∆L) Distance.

The actual length L of the patch is given as

L= − 2∆L (2.3)
° ε

Hence the effective length of the patch is now

L = L + 2∆L (2.4)
OR

L = (2.5)
° ε

The width of the patch is given as

W= (2.6)
°∗ ( )⁄

18
2.6.5 Performance Parameter:

2.6.5.1 Far Field and Radiation Pattern:

As shown in Figure 2.12 (a) [13], a rectangular microstrip patch is place a small fraction of a
wavelength above a ground plane. Assuming no variations of the electric field along the
width and the thickness of the microstrip structure, the electric field configuration of the
radiator can be represented as shown in Figure 2.12 (b).

Figure 2.12: Field Analysis of Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna[13]

The fields vary along the patch length which is about half a wavelength ( /2). Radiation
may be ascribed mostly to the fringing fields at the open-circuited edges of the microstrip
antenna. The fields at the end can be resolved into normal and tangential components with
respect to the ground plane. The normal components are out of phase because the patch line
is /2 long; therefore the far fields produced by them cancel in the broadside direction. The
tangential components (those parallel to the ground plane) are in phase, and the resulting
fields combine to give maximum radiated field normal to the surface of the structure, i.e.,

19
the broadside direction. Therefore, the patch may be represented by two slots /2 apart
(Figure 2.12 (c)) excited in phase and radiating in the half space above the ground plane.

The 2 slots are assumed to be lying flush and have component of slot aperture fields directed
in both same direction. It is assumed that the slot width to be same as substrate thickness, h
since h<< . Hence, using the coordinate system in Figure 2.12 (d) the total radiated field is
the sum of the two-element array radiating in phase separated by /2 spacing. The far field
of one slot is given as [13]

° °
E θ (r) =j π
P sin Φ (2.7)

° °
E Φ (r) =j π
P cos θ sin Φ (2.8)

Where P = E° h sinc(k °2h sin θ cos Φ)W sinc k ° sin θ sin Φ

The array factor for the two elements of same magnitude and phase, separated by a distance
of /2 along the y direction is

π
AF = 2 cos( sin θ sin Φ) (2.9)

Hence, the overall radiation fields for the microstrip antenna consisting of 2 effective radiat-
ing slots can be found by multiplying 1 element’s radiation fields by the array factor. The
principal E-plane is the XOY plane at = 90° is given as

° ° ° π
θ (r)
°
E =j sinc( sin θ) cos( sin θ) (2.10)
π

And the principal H-plane in the XOZ plane at = 0° is given as

° ° ° °
E Φ (r) =j
π
sinc( sin θ) cos θ (2.11)

20
2.6.5.2 Radiation Conductance:

Each radiating slot is represented by a parallel equivalent admittance Y with conductance G

and susceptance B as shown in Figure 2.13 [13]. The slots are labeled as #1 and #2. The
equivalent admittance of slot #1, based on an infinitely wide, uniform slot is given by [13]

Y = G + jB (2.12)

Where for a slot of finite width W

G = λ°
1− (k °h) λ°
< (2.13)

B = [1 − 0.636 ln(k ° h)] < (2.14)

λ° λ °

Figure 2.13: Rectangular Microstrip Patch and its Equivalent Circuit Transmission Model

Since slot #2 is identical to slot #1, its equivalent admittance is

Y =Y , G =G ,B =B (2.15)

The conductance of a single slot given as

, W ≪ λ°
λ°
G = (2.16)
, W ≫ λ°
λ°

21
2.6.5.3 Resonant Input Resistance:

The total admittance at slot #1 is obtained by transferring the admittance of slot #2 from the
output terminals to input terminals using the admittance transformation equation of transmis-
sion line. The separation of the two slots is slightly less than /2, thus the transformed
admittance of slot #2 becomes

Y = G + jB = G − jB (2.17)

Therefore the total resonant input admittance is real and is given by

Y = Y + Y = 2G (2.18)

Hence the total input impedance is also real, or

= = = (2.19)

The characteristic impedance of a microstrip line feed to the patch antenna is given by [13]

ε
ln + , ≤ 1
Z = π (2.20)
, > 1
ε . . .

Where is the width of the microstrip line.

The resonant input resistance can be changed by using an inset feed, recessed a distance °

from slot #1, as shown in Figure 2.14. The inset feed point can be found using

π
R (y = y° ) = R (y = 0) cos y° (2.21)

22
 Figure 2.14: Recessed Microstrip-line Feed

2.6.5.4 Q- Factor:

The quality factor is a figure of merit that is representative of the antenna losses. There are
four loss mechanisms to be considered, namely, radiation, conduction (ohmic), dielectric
and surface wave losses. The total quality factor is given by [13]

= + + + (2.22)

Where Q = Total quality factor.

Q = Quality factor due to radiation (space wave) losses.
Q = Quality factor due to conduction (ohmic) losses.
Q = Quality factor due to dielectric losses.
Q = Quality factor due to surface waves.

For very thin substrates, the losses due to surface waves are very small and can be neglected.
The approximate formulas to represent the quality factors of the various losses can be
expressed as [13]

Q = h πfμσ (2.23)

Q = (2.24)

ωε
Q = K (2.25)
/

23
Where tan is the loss tangent of the substrate material, is the conductivity of the conduc-
tors associated with the patch and ground plane, /l is the total conductance per unit length
of the radiating aperture and

∬ | |
K= (2.26)
∮ | |

For a rectangular aperture operating in the dominant TM mode

K= (2.27)

G /l = (2.28)

2.6.5.5 Bandwidth:

The bandwidth of a microstrip antenna is expressed as the percent bandwidth determined

from the impedance data as

BW% = [(f − f )/f ]100 (2.29)

Where f is the resonant frequency, while f and f are the frequencies between the mag-
nitude of the reflection coefficient of the antenna is less than or equal to 1/3. In general,
bandwidth is proportional to the volume, which for a microstrip antenna at a constant reso-
nant frequency can be express as

BW ~ volume = area x height = length x width x height (2.30)

An empirical formula by Jackson and Alexopolus for the bandwidth (VSWR<2) is [12]

BW = 3.77[(ε − 1⁄ε )(W⁄L)(h⁄λ° )] (2.31)

2.6.5.6 Directivity:

The directivity of the antennas is defined as the ratio of the maximum power density in the
main beam to the average radiated power density. The directivity of a microstrip antenna
comprising two slots at a spacing L is expressed as
24
 6.6 = 8.2 dB , W ≪ λ°
D= (2.32)
8 λ°
, W ≫ λ°

2.6.5.7 Efficiency:

The radiation efficiency of an antenna is defined as the total power radiated over the net
input power of the antenna. It is expressed in terms as

η= = (2.33)

2.6.5.8 Return loss:

Return loss or reflection loss is the reflection of signal power from the insertion of a device
in a transmission line or optical fiber. It is expressed as ratio in dB relative to the transmitted
signal power. The return loss is given by

RL(dB) = 10 log (2.34)

Where P is the power supplied by the source and P is the power reflected. If V is the ampli-
tude of the incident wave and V that of the reflected wave, then the return loss can be
expressed in terms of the reflection coefficient Γ as

RL = −20 log|Γ| (2.35)

And the reflection coefficient Γ can be expressed as

Γ= (2.36)

For an antenna to radiate effectively, the return loss should be less than −10dB.

2.6.5.9 VSWR:

A standing wave in a transmission line is a wave in which the distribution of current, voltage
or field strength is formed by the superimposition of two waves of same frequency propagat-

25
ing in opposite direction. Then the voltage along the line produces a series of nodes and
antinodes at fixed positions.

Then the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) can be defined as:

|Γ|
VSWR = = |Γ|
(2.37)

The value of VSWR should be between 1 and 2 for efficient performance of an antenna.

2.7 Reconfigurable Antenna:

If the traditional antennas are adopted, multiple antennas must be installed within one ve-
hicle, so as to transmit and receive different signals. With regard to the space vehicle, the
whole design cost, weight and size will increase greatly, some problems, such as coupling
among different antennas and electromagnetic compatibility, will impact on the system
performance, the concept of “reconfigurable antenna” is proposed. It can change the elec-
trical structure within one antenna in real time; the radiation characteristic is changed accor-
dingly. [15] Reconfigurable Antenna means the antenna properties can be changed dynami-
cally by external control. A reconfigurable antenna can be considered as one of the key
elements in future wireless communication transceivers. The advantage of using a reconfi-
gurable antenna is the ability to operate in multiple bands where the total antenna volume
can be reused thus enabling the overall size to be reduced. Modern wireless communication
systems relying on multiband reconfigurable antennas are becoming more popular for their
ability to serve multiple standards. Devices using a single compact antenna allow reduction
in the dimensions of the device and more space to integrate other electronic components.[16]

2.7.1 Types of Reconfigurable antenna:

Reconfigurable antennas can be classified into three different categories:

1. Frequency reconfigurable: The first category is based on frequency reconfigurabili-

ty. The aim is to tune/switch the operating frequency of the antenna and to have a sin-
gle multifunctional antenna in a small terminal for many applications. The shape of
the radiation patterns of these reported antennas remain unchanged when the frequen-
cies are tuned/switched from one band to the other.[16]

26
 Frequency reconfigurable antennas are classified into two categories:
 Continuous (Tunable Antenna): This can be achieved by using varactor diodes
where the antenna allows for smooth transitions within or between operating bands
without hops.
 Coarse (Switchable Antenna): This can be achieved by using PIN diode switches.
Coarse tuning employs different switching mechanisms to operate at multiple bands.
2. Radiation pattern reconfigurable: The second category is based on pattern reconfi-
gurability, where the frequency band remains unchanged while the radiation pattern
changes based on system requirements. The antenna can steer its radiation pattern
main beam in different directions.
3. Polarization reconfigurable:The third category is based on polarization reconfigura-
bility, where the polarization is switched from linear to circular and from left hand
(LHCP) to right hand (RHCP) circular.

2.7.2 Switching Technology:

The change of the desired parameter of the reconfigurable antenna is in most cases ob-
tained by the use of a switch. The choice of the switch is critical because overall per-
formance, suitability and cost of the reconfigurable antenna are strongly dependent on
its characteristics.[17] The most popular of switches are PIN diode, Varactor diode and
RF MEMS (microelectromechanical).

 PIN Diode:
PIN diode is a semiconductor device that operates as a variable resistor at RF and Mi-
crowave frequencies. It can also be used as a switch and Limiter. PIN diodes are pop-
ular in microwave circuit applications due to its fast switching times and relatively
high current handling capabilities. The P and N types are separated by an intrinsic re-
gion, the P contact is the anode, and the N contact is the cathode as shown in Figure
2.15 where the anode is the side with the arrow, the cathode is the side with the plate.
Between the P and N region is the intrinsic where the width of this region has an im-
portant role on the performance of the PIN diode. [16]

27
 Figure 2.15: PIN diode:a) reverse bias, b) forward bias

This diode operates at DC and low frequencies similar to an ordinary pn diode. How-
ever, due to the introduction of the intrinsic layer, the PIN diode can operate as a cur-
rent controlled linear resistor for the RF signal. If one drives the PIN diode using only
two bias states, namely the reverse and the forward bias, it will exhibit switch charac-
teristics for the RF signal. Ideally, the intrinsic layer would be depleted of carriers at
zero bias. Thus, there would be no support for the current flow, and the diode would
act as an open circuit to the RF signal.

The practical PIN diode has some charge in its i-region at zero bias, due to the pres-
ence of impurities. To fully deplete the i-region of mobile carriers, some reverse vol-
tage is required. This reverse voltage at which the mobile carriers are displaced from
the intrinsic layer is referred to as the swept-out or “punch-through” voltage. It is very
important to drive the PIN diode with the reverse voltage equal or somewhat higher
than the swept-out voltage. Otherwise, the mobile carriers would allow current flow
and the PIN diode would not operate well as an open switch.

When the PIN diode is forward biased, electrons and holes are injected into the i-
region, where they have a finite lifetime before they recombine. The charge density is
building up in the i-layer, allowing the PIN diode to operate as a linear resistor for the
RF signal above some frequency limit, determined by the lifetime of minority carri-
ers’τ. The charge stored in the intrinsic region is related to the diode current by

28
 = + (2.38)

Where = + is the total current, composed of the DC and the RF compo-

nents, while = + is the total charge, also composed of the DC and the RF
components. The equation (1) can also be written as

( )
+ = + (2.39)

Obviously, d /dt = 0, so the DC component of the current is

= (2.40)

While the RF component is

= + (2.41)

In the frequency domain, the equation (2.41) reads

( )
( )= ( )+ (2.42)

Where (ω) and (ω) are the Fourier transforms of the current and the stored
charge, and ω is the radial frequency. The equation (2.42) can also be written as

( )
( )
= (2.43)
√

The PIN diode behaves like an ordinary pn diode at frequencies below ° = 1⁄ 2 ,

since the second term of the equation (2.42) dominates and the low frequency signal
just modulates the stored charge. On the contrary, at frequencies above this limit, the
stored charge cannot accumulate and de-accumulate at given rate and the PIN diode
acts as the resistor which resistance is fairly linear and governed by the amount of the
charge stored by the DC (and possibly low frequency) current [16].

29
  PIN diode, Varactor diode and RF MEMS:
The comparison betweenmost popular of switching component (PIN diode, Varac-
tor diode and RF MEMS) as shown in table 1:

Table 2.1: Comparison between PIN diode, Varactor diode and RF MEMS
Switching
Advantages Disadvantages
component
Need high-control voltage (50–
Reduced insertion loss, good isolation,
100V), poor reliability due
extremely high

to mechanical movement within the

MEMS linearity, low power losses, consumes
switch (0.2–100 μs),
little or almost no

slow switching speed, discrete tuning,

DC power, wide bandwidth
limited lifecycle
Needs very low driving voltage, high Needs high DC bias current in their
tuning speed on state which

(1–100 ns), high power handling ca- consumes a significant amount of

PIN Diode
pability, very reliable DC power, nonlinear

since there are no moving part, extremely

behavior, poor quality factor, discrete
low cost tuning
The current flow through the varactor Varactors are nonlinear and have low
is small compared dynamic range, and
Varactor

to PIN diode or MEMS, continuous tuning

complex bias circuitry are required

2.8 Related Works:

With the rapid growth of the wireless mobile communication technology, the future
technologies needs a very small antenna and also the need of wide band and multi
band antenna is increased to avoid using two antennas. Reconfigurable antennas are a
new generation of antennas that will not be limited to a certain function or resonance

30
 but will change their functionality depending on the implementation requirements.
Microstrip patch antenna is promising to be a good candidate for the future technolo-
gy.

Multi studies for multiband antenna and reconfigurable multiband antenna using mi-
crostrip patch antenna. These studies are agreeing in base concept for Patch design
and differently in slot shape, dimensions and analysis method.

 Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna:

Design of dual band and multiband single layer microstrip antenna are presentedfor
wireless communications applications with different method to enhance antenna per-
formance. Also,reduce size and good gain multifrequency microstrip patch antenna by
used slot and slit techniques [18]-[21]. The design of rectangular microstrip antenna
(RMSA) operating in X-band for 10 GHz is made to several dielectric materials, and
the selection is based upon which material gives a better antenna performance with
reduced surface wave loss [22]. In order to achieve gain enhancement a rectangular
cut structure have been introduced in the rectangular patch antenna as shown in Fig-
ure 2.16. The microstrip patch radiated with enhanced gain has been designed of 10
dB with centre frequency of 2GHz. [23]

Figure 2. 16: Rectangular Cut Design for 2 GHz

In Figure 2.17, Dual frequency operation of rectangular patch antennas with

stacked patch has been investigated with resonates at 7.66 GHz and 9.73 GHz fre-

31
quencies.The antenna design contains two patches one is a U-slot loaded rectangular
patch and other is a parasitic H- shaped patch. A combination of these two resulted in
a dual frequency of operation with a low return loss. For good antenna performance a
thick dielectric substrate having a low dielectric constant is preferred and it’s giving
the gain of 4.63dB and 6.03dB [24].

Figure 2. 17: Design of Dual Frequency Operation with Stacked Patch

Rectangular microstrip patch antenna is designed to support dual band operation with
resonance at 1.8 and 2.4GHz. Dual band operation is possible with proper position of
the feed line, proper determination of inset size and proper dimensions of patch slots
as shown in figure 2.18.[25]

32
 Figure 2. 18: Design of Dual bandRectangular Patch Antenna at 1.8 & 2.4GHz.

 Reconfigurable Microdtrip Patch Antenna:

In last year’s, many researches are concentrated effort in development of reconfigura-

ble antennas such as [26] – [30].A novel compact dual-band reconfigurable square-ring
microstrip antenna is presented. The tuning is achieved using a single varactor diode
connected to a small square patch attached to an inner corner of the square-ring. The
square patch perturbs the symmetry and splits the two degenerate modes to create dual-
band operation.The frequency ratio in the range of 1.04 to 1.4 can be achieved by the
proper selection of the square patch size. The lower resonance frequency can be further
decreased by loading the square patch at its corner by a reverse biased varactor diode.
The diode has almost no effect on the upper resonance frequency. The resulting lower
resonancefrequency is tuned from 1.37 to 1.7 GHz in the voltage range from 0 to 30
V,respectively [31]. Also, dual-band tunable rectangular slot antenna is presented in
[32]. The frequency tuning is achieved by utilizing the RF MEMS variable capacitor
on a stub. The DC voltage of the MEMS is applied between the RF signal line and the
ground plane which eliminated the need for additional bias lines. Simulation and expe-
rimental results predicted that the resonance frequencies of the antenna can be shifted
from 10.22GHz to 10.57GHz and from 7.7GHz to 8.7GHz.

In [33], a reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna with RF PIN diode switches is im-
plemented for dual band of 2.4 GHz and 5.6 GHz Software Defined Radio (SDR) ap-
plications. For the dual band SDR system, the use of a single antenna with a wide
bandwidth to cover both of the bands can be limiting for low power level signal appli-
cations due to wideband noise. A reconfigurable nested microstrip patch antenna is
designed on a Rogers’s 5880 RT/DUROID substrate which is fed by a coaxial probe
from the back side of the grounded substrate. RF switching circuitry involves four RF
pin diodes at each side of the inner patch and frequencyoperation can be simply ob-
tained by switching the PIN diodes on and off. As shown in Figure 2.19, a polarization
reconfigurable slot antenna is proposed. The antenna polarization can be switched be-
tween vertical and horizontal polarization by changing the feeding structure between
CPW feed and slotline feed. The operatingmodes of the CPW-to-slotline transition are

33
shown in Figure 2.20. When PIN 1 is ON and PIN 2 is OFF, the structure operates in
the CPW mode. The slotline mode is activated when PIN 2 isONand PIN 1 is OFF.
The right slotline is used to feed the horizontal polarization.

Figure 2.19: Geometry of a Reconfigurable Slot Antenna

Figure 2.20: Feeding Structure of the Reconfigurable Slot Antenna: (a)

34
CPWmode; (b) slotline mode

In [34] as shown Figure 2.2 , a compact of a reconfigurable rectangular microstrip slot

patch antenna is proposed for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) applications. It
has one port excited with microstrip line feed mechanism. The antenna consists of a
single layer patch antenna with two parallel slots designed that can be controlled via
two PIN diode switches. By adjusting the status of the switches state either on or off
mode in simultaneously, the resonance frequencies can be varied, thus achieving fre-
quency reconfigurable. This antenna is capable to achieve return loss less than-10dB
in multiband frequencies at 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz when both switches are ON mode
while only in 2.4GHz can be achieved when both switches are OFF mode. In this
work, the result of 5.8 GHz is not really good in the antenna performance where the
gain is very smaller compare to 2.4 GHz.

Figure 2.21:Reconfigurable Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna for WLAN

However, no of this paper consider reconfigurable dual band antenna for Femtocell
Access Point (FAP) applications. In this project we propose design and analysis re-
configurable dual band antenna for WLAN bands at 5.2 GHz and fixed WiMax bands
at 3.5 GHZ.

35
2.9 Chapter Summary:

Heterogeneous network tends to use multiple types of wireless access networks. In

heterogeneous wireless networks, different wireless access technologies are integrated
to complement each other in terms of coverage area, mobility support, bandwidth, and
price. Reconfigurable antennas are a new generation of antennas that will not be li-
mited to a certain function or resonance but will change their functionality depending
on the implementation requirements. The microstrip patch antenna is very well suited
for heterogeneous network applications, which due to its advantages such as low
weight, low profile planar configuration, and low fabrication cost.

This chapter presents the introduction of broadband wireless network, heterogeneous

network, fixed-mobile convergence for SDR and multiband antenna and basic wire-
less transceiver design.

Then introduce the basic concept of microstrip patch antenna structure, characteris-
tics, analysis methods and performance parameters. Also, this chapter presents the
reconfigurable antenna technology, as well as switching technology, and RF PIN di-
ode structure.

Finally this chapter discus some related work for rectangular microstrip patch antenna
design and reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna.

36