Advanced Circularly Polarised Microstrip Patch Antennas

The thesis describes outcomes of research on advanced circularly polarised antennas. The proposed designs are intended for integration into small mobile devices, therefore low profile and easy manufacturability are key parameters, along with good CP radiation properties. The designs were validated by simulation and measurement, and are also backed by theory and design guidelines. The primary focus is on the development of planar omnidirectional circularly polarised antennas, which are fabricated using multilayer PCB techniques and thus are lightweight and cost-efficient. Unlike in classical microstrip patch antenna designs, the groundplane of the proposed antenna was substantially reduced. This helps to achieve an omnidirectional circular polarisation pattern and miniaturize the antenna, however at the cost of increased feed circuit complexity. The basic design, its advantages and disadvantages are discussed in Section 3. In the next step, the omnidirectional circularly polarised antenna was extended with additional, advanced features. A miniaturized version is investigated, which offers a 20% footprint reduction by folding parts of the patch underneath itself. Further miniaturization is possible by increasing the dielectric constant of the substrate. A method to adjust the omnidirectional circularly polarised antenna performance by trimming four lumped capacitors is also investigated. Manufacturing inaccuracy in large scale production may cause some of the units to radiate outside of the desired frequencies. By integrating four trimmed capacitors into the antenna it can be precisely tuned to the desired band. Simulated results demonstrate this property by trimming the antenna between GPS L1 band (centre frequency at 1.575 GHz) and Galileo/Beidou-2 E2 band (1.561 GHz). Furthermore, a dual-band omnidirectional circularly polarised antenna is presented, which employs slots and capacitor loading to steer the current path of the first and second resonant mode. The design offers a small frequency ratio of 1.182. The methods to obtain a planar omnidirectional circularly polarised antenna have been further advanced to propose a reconfigurable antenna. The beam reconfiguration is capable of rotating it dipole-like radiation pattern around an axis, thus allowing reception or transmission from any spherical angle. The switching method is simple and does not require any semiconductor devices. Finally, a dual circularly polarised antenna is presented, which achieves dual-polarisation by employing even and odd modes in a coplanar waveguide. This technique allows greater flexibility and size reduction of the feed network, as two signals can be transmitted by a single multi-mode transmission line. Simulated results demonstrate this property by trimming the antenna between GPS L1 band (centre frequency at 1.575 GHz) and Galileo/Beidou-2 E2 band (1.561 GHz). Furthermore, a dual-band omnidirectional circularly polarised antenna is presented, which employs slots and capacitor loading to steer the current path of the first and second resonant mode. The design offers a small frequency ratio of 1.182. The methods to obtain a planar omnidirectional circularly polarised antenna have been further advanced to propose a reconfigurable antenna. The beam reconfiguration is capable of rotating it dipole-like radiation pattern around an axis, thus allowing reception or transmission from any spherical angle. The switching method is simple and does not require any semiconductor devices. Finally, a dual circularly polarised antenna is presented, which achieves dual-polarisation by employing even and odd modes in a coplanar waveguide. This technique allows greater flexibility and size reduction of the feed network, as two signals can be transmitted by a single multi-mode transmission line

Polarization reconfigurable antennas for space limited multiple input multiple output system

Wireless communication undergoes rapid changes in recent years. More and more people are using modern communication services, thus increasing the need for higher capacity in transmission. One of the methods that is able to meet the demands is the use of multiple antennas at both link ends known as Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system. However, for the space limited MIMO system, it is relatively difficult to accomplish good performance by using conventional antennas. Therefore, to further improve the performance offered by MIMO, Polarization Reconfigurable Antennas (PRAs) can be adopted. The diversity in polarization can be exploited to increase channel capacity. Moreover, the use of PRAs can also provide savings in terms of space and cost by arranging orthogonal polarized together instead of two physically space separation antennas. Here, single and dual port PRAs are proposed. Two techniques are deployed to achieve the PRAs are slits perturbation (switches on the radiating patch) and alteration of the feeding network (switches on the ground plane). Switching mechanism (ideal and PIN diode) is introduced to reconfigure the polarization between left-hand circular polarizations, right-hand circular polarizations, or linear polarization, operating at wireless local area network frequency band (2.4 – 2.5 GHz). Furthermore, by exploiting the odd and even mode of the coplanar waveguide structure, dual ports PRAs are realized with the ability to produce orthogonal linear polarization (LP) and circular polarization (CP) modes simultaneously. Good measured port polarization isolations (S21) of -16.3 dB and -19 dB are obtained at the frequency of 2.45 GHz for configuration A1 (orthogonal LP) and A2 (orthogonal CP), respectively. The proposed PRAs are tested in 2 x 2 MIMO indoor environments to validate their performances by using scalar power correlation method when applied as receiver in both line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios. Channel capacity improvement has been achieved for spatial diversity (92.9% for LOS and 185.9% for NLOS) and polarization diversity (40.7% for LOS and 57.9% for NLOS). The proposed antenna is highly potential to be adopted to enhance the performance of the MIMO system, especially in dealing with multipath environment and space limited applications

Omnidirectional Circularly Polarized Antennas – a Small Antenna Perspective

The paper discusses recent developments and challenges in the design of small omnidirectionalcircularly-polarized (CP) antennas. Although omnidirectional CP coverage is easily achievable using antenna arrays, it is just recently that small and low-cost antennas delivered this functionality.The paper addresses practical design problems for these antennas, not reported in previous publications.This includes selection of the omnidirectional plane relative to the ground plane and measurement challenges. Future perspectives on how these antennas can provide electronically steerable beams are investigated using simulated results

The Study of Reconfigurable Antennas and Associated Circuitry

This research focuses on the design of pattern reconfigurable antennas and the associated circuitry. The proposed pattern reconfigurable antenna designs benefit from advantages such as maximum pattern diversity and optimum switching circuits to realise 5G reconfigurable antennas. Whereas MIMO based solutions can provide increased channel capacity, they demand high computational capability and power consumption due to multiple channel processing. This prevents their use in many applications most notably in the Internet of Things where power consumption is of key importance. A switched-beam diversity allows an energy-efficient solution improving the link budget even for small low-cost battery operated IoT/sensor network applications. The main focus of the antenna reconfiguration in this work is for switched-beam diversity. The fundamental switching elements are discussed including basic PIN diode circuits. Techniques to switch the antenna element in the feed or shorting the antenna element to the ground plane are presented. A back-to-back microstrip patch antenna with two hemispherical switchable patterns is proposed. The patch elements on a common ground plane, are switched with a single-pole double-throw PIN diode circuit. Switching the feed selects either of two identical oppositely oriented radiation patterns for maximum diversity in one plane. The identical design of the antenna elements provides similar performance control of frequency and radiation pattern in different states. This antenna provides a simple solution to cross-layer PIN diode circuit designs. A mirrored structure study provides an understanding of performance control for different switching states. A printed inverted-F antenna is presented for monopole reconfigurable antenna design. The proposed low-profile antenna consists of one main radiator and one parasitic element. By shorting the parasitic element to the ground plane using only one PIN diode, the antenna is capable of switching both the pattern and polarisation across the full bandwidth. The switched orthogonal pattern provides the maximum spatial pattern diversity and is realised using a simple structure. Then, a dual-stub coplanar Vivaldi antenna with a parasitic element is presented for the 5G mm-Wave band. The use of a dual-stub coupled between the parasitic element and two tapered slots is researched. The parasitic element shape and size is optimised to increase the realised gain. A bandpass coupled line filter is used for frequency selective features. The use of slits on the outer edge of the ground plane provides a greater maximum gain. This integrated filtenna offers lower insertion loss than the commercial DC blocks. The UWB antenna with an integrated filter can be used for harmonic suppression. The influence of the integrated filter circuit close to the antenna geometry informs the design of PIN diode circuit switching and power supply in the 5G band. Based on the filter design in the mm-Wave band, a method of designing a feasible DC power supply for the PIN diode in the mm-Wave band is studied. A printed Yagi-Uda antenna array is integrated with switching circuitry to realise a switched 180° hemispheres radiation pattern. The antenna realises a maximum diversity in one plane. The study offers the possibility to use PIN diodes in the mm-Wave band for reconfigurable antenna designs. For the presented antennas, key geometric parameters are discussed for improved understanding of the trade-offs in radiation pattern/beamwidth and gain control for reconfigurable antenna applications

Microstrip Array Antenna using Series-Corporate Feed for Navigation System

In this paper, the proposed antenna consists of a single transmission line for 6-elements microstrip array antenna using Rogers RT5880 substrate material with a dielectric constant (εr) of 2.2 and thickness of 0.787 mm for navigation applications. The array structures of unequal patches placement are proposed with corporate feed line and H-shaped configurations are employed on the substrate and used the microstrip feed line with a corporate feed network excited via 50 Ω with T-junction method to control the feed for each group. 6-elements microstrip array antenna has operated at the resonant frequency of 1.27 GHz was obtained between the frequency from 1.2663 GHz to 1.2734 GHz where the S11-parameters of the structure designed and simulation below than <-10 dB. The analysis shows the antenna gain has increased 72.6% with high directivity as compared to single elements microstrip antenna. The radiation characteristics and other array parameters are evaluated with respect to the application requirements. However, circular polarization has obtained in 6-elements array antenna as the axial ratio is successfully achieved below than -3dB. The antenna efficiency, the current distribution, VSWR, and S11-parameters of the proposed 6-elements CP microstrip array antenna have been presented and discussed in detail. The design methodology and the measurement results have been presented and discussed in this paper

Multipolarization-reconfigurable air-filled substrate integrated waveguide cavity-backed slot antenna

A novel single-feed ultrawideband cavity-backed slot antenna with a reconfigurable polarization capability is demonstrated in substrate-independent air-filled substrate integrated waveguide (AFSIW) technology for Internet-of-Things applications in the [5.15-5.85] GHz frequency band of the unlicensed national information infrastructure. The antenna achieves an ultrawide impedance bandwidth by exploiting a double ring of slots and supports four switchable linear polarization states (+/- 45 degrees, 0 degrees, +45 degrees, and 90 degrees) by leveraging four quartets of p-i-n diodes. By electrically shorting the slots at well-defined positions by these p-i-n diodes, dynamic polarization reconfiguration is achieved by switching their dc bias current, supplied at the antenna feed through an external bias tee and routed from the antenna's back to front cavity plane via the AFSIW sidewalls. This new simple, yet effective, bias network enables the integration of all polarization control electronics inside the antenna cavity to protect them from environmental effects. Finally, measurements prove that the prototype exhibits an overlapping impedance bandwidth of 29%, from 4.85 to 6.45 GHz, and a stable conically shaped radiation pattern across the operating bandwidth with a 3 dB beamwidth of 45 degrees and a peak gain of 6.5 dBi for all four states

Circularly polarized integrated filtering antenna with polarization reconfigurability

A new design of circularly polarized (CP) integrated filtering antennas with reconfigurable polarization is proposed in this paper. Two phase-reconfigurable coupled λ/2-resonator pairs have been used to feed the antenna and generate the 2nd-order filtering response and the circular polarization simultaneously. By switching the PIN diodes inserted in the feeding network, a phase difference of +90° or - 90° can be realized at the outputs of the feeding network. This renders the antenna’s capability of switching its polarization from right hand circular polarization (RHCP) to left hand circular polarization (LHCP) or vice versa. The use of the coupled-resonator pairs significantly improves the frequency selectivity and out-of-band rejection of the CP antenna. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of a multifunctional antenna which has integrated filtering performance, circular polarization and polarization reconfigurability. To verify the design concept, a reconfigurable CP antenna operating at 2.45 GHz is implemented. The simulated and measured results agree well with each other and show that the antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 4.5 %, an average in-band gain of 6.0 dBic (LHCP)/6.1 dBic (RHCP), out-of-band rejections of greater than 10.8 dB, and 3-dB AR bandwidth of 9.4 %/10.5 %

Multiple Slot Fractal Structured Antenna for Wi-Fi and Radio Altimeter for uncertain Applications

A multiple slot fractal antenna design has been determined communication efficiency and its multi-function activities.  High-speed small communication devices have been required for future smart chip applications, so that researchers have been employed new and creative antenna design. Antennas are key part in communication systems, those are used to improve communication parameters like gain, efficiency, and bandwidth. Consistently, modern antennas design with high bandwidth and gain balancing is very difficult, therefore an adaptive antenna array chip design is required. In this research work a coaxial fed antenna with fractal geometry design has been implemented for Wi-Fi and Radio altimeter application. The fractal geometry has been taken with multiple numbers of slots in the radiating structure for uncertain applications. The coaxial feeding location has been selected based on the good impedance matching condition (50 Ohms). The overall dimension mentioned for antenna are approximately 50X50X1.6 mm on FR4 substrate and performance characteristic analysis is performed with change in substrate material presented in this work. Dual-band resonant frequency is being emitted by the antenna with resonance at 3.1 and 4.3 GHz for FR4 substrate material and change in the resonant bands is obtained with change in substrate. The proposed Antenna is prototyped on Anritsu VNA tool and presented the comparative analysis like VSWR 12%, reflection coefficient 9.4%,3D-Gain 6.2% and surface current 9.3% had been improved

Low-Profile Wideband Antenna Arrays for Mobile Satellite and 5G Communication

Three innovative low-profile antenna arrays are designed and tested for vehicular satellite and 5G communication. All of the systems presented target key challenges of GEO, LEO and 5G communication. Each design provides a high level of performance for the given application in a far more compact and lower cost design than existing systems.Firstly, a wideband curl antenna array is developed to enable L-band GEO satellite communication for emergency vehicles. This novel 1×3 rotated array utilises a hybrid switch beam and phase shifting technique to enable full beamforming down to 70° in all directions with 40% lower cost than standard phased array systems. Uniquely, this provides excellent azimuth beam steering at low angles from a linear array. This system also utilises a high impedance surface to reduce the height of the antenna elements by 50% compared to existing curl antenna designs.Secondly, a shared aperture antenna array is developed to enable Ka-band LEO satellite communication for vehicular integration. This system utilise a new combination of circular polarised triangular antennas in an interlaced planar triangular lattice such that the topology provides optimal tessellation. As a result, the system provides high performance beam steering and reconfigurable circular polarisation in a highly compact design. This array has been developed such that it is suitable for common PCB manufacturing methods. Unlike existing shared aperture arrays for LEO terminals, this topology enables reconfigurable circular polarisation in a single, planar PCB structure.Finally, a low-cost wideband compressed spiral antenna array is designed and fabricated for global 5G ground-to-air communication for aircraft. An innovative spiral antenna optimisation is presented where the spiral is highly compressed such that it can provide an axial beam over a wide bandwidth while maintaining a lower profile than existing wideband solutions