7 04

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS A N D

PROPAGATION. VOL. 38.

NO. 5 . MAY 1990

The Cross Antenna: A New Low-Profile Circularly Polarized Radiator

A conducting wire or flat strip follows the contours of a cross, which is supported a fraction of a wavelength above a conducting ground plane. The line is fed at one end by a coaxial cable and terminated at the other by a load. The length of the branches is selected so that the current phase shift along the line from one branch to the next is 2 a +27r/N, N being the number of branches; since the electric field radiated by each branch rotates by 2 a / N from one branch to the next, the total field radiated on axis will be perfectly circularly polarized if no attentuation along the line is assumed. In practice this is approached if the decay along the line is slow. This is best seen in the case of the four-branch, one-arm cross antenna of the figure. The long sides of its arms have a I. INTRODUCTION length of Xe/2, the short ones a length of Xe/4, Xe being the IRCULARLY POLARIZED antennas with medium gain effective wavelength (in practice a few percent longer than the (12-15 dBi) are required for applications with narrow line wavelength). beam scan, in particular on-board geostationary satellites Successive pairs of long arms each radiate a field essentially where the field of view is less than f 10" for earth covoriented along their bisecting directions, with amplitudes deerage and data relay missions. They are also needed as feeds creasing toward the line end. The short arms introduce 90" for reflectors with large focal length to diameter ratios. phase shift between the fields radiated by successive pairs, Available medium gain radiators include helices, short and also add to the overall circular polarization radiation. backfires, and horns, which all have significant longitudiAs for other traveling wave antennas of this type, the current nal dimensions particularly at low microwave frequencies. decays approximately exponentially along the line with onduWhen low-profile elements are required, subarrays of crossed lations corresponding to reflections at the bends. The power dipoles or microstrip patches can provide medium gain, but absorbed or reflected at the end of the line can be limited they involve somewhat complex matching and power divider to a few percent of the input power by adjusting the height circuity. of the line above the ground plane (typically 1/20 to 1/4 waveThe cross antenna [l], which will be discussed here, belength). longs to the family of traveling wave antennas. It involves The line length can also be optimized (typically five to 15 only a wire or microstripline above a ground plane, fed at wavelengths) by changing the number of branches and turns one end and terminated at the other by a load. of the antenna. This type of antenna with low profile and potentially low Waves reflected by successive bends tend to cancel each production cost in printed circuit techniques, has been invesother out so that a broad-band input impedance match can tigated for application to mobile communication satellites at easily be achieved. 1500 MHz, as an array element or a primary feed for offset Power reflected at the end of the line radiates a crossedreflectors. Another flat circularly polarized traveling wave anpolarized beam, and this can be used to reduce or cancel out tenna, the rampart line antenna [2], can also provide medium the on-axis cross polarization by optimizing the value of the gain, but its beam is highly elliptical in cross section and load impedance. therefore cannot be used for the above applications. The deThe bandwidth of the antenna depends on the number of scription of the cross antenna and its radiation mechanism are branches and turns, but due to the traveling wave radiation outlined in the next section. mechanism, radiation pattern and polarization degradation occur if operation is extended over 5 % bandwidth. 11. DESCRIPTION PRINCIPLE AND The radiation mechanism along a transmission line with The basic geometry of the antenna is illustrated in Fig. I bends has been addressed by several authors. where a few typical configurations are shown. For a straight, lossless, two-wire line terminated in its charManuscript received January 20. 1988; revised July 12, 1989. acteristic impedance, Storer and King [3], [4] have indicated The author ia with the European Space Research and Technology Centre, that a straight two-wire line with a length of several waveEuropean Space Agency. Posthus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk zh, The Netherlengths does not radiate any more than if it was only a quarterlands. IEEE Log Number 9034579. wavelength long.
Abstract- A new low-profile circularly polarized medium gain antenna i s presented. This traveling wave antenna consists of a conducting wire or strip placed above a ground plane and following the contour of a cross with four or more branches and a diameter of around 1.5 wavelength. The length of the wire is typically 5-20 wavelengths over one or more turns. The antenna i s fed from a coaxial input and terminated in a load. Multiple arm configurations are also introduced. A description i s included of the antenna and its principles of operation. Computer modeling of the antenna i s then followed by the optimization of a few configurations for which design data and typical performances are given. Experimental results on both one- and two-turn versions agree well with predictions and confirm the practical value of this novel antenna configuration.

0018-926X/90/0500-0704$01.OO

0 1990 IEEE

ROEDERER: THE CROSS ANTENNA

705

ONE-ARM,ONE- TURN, E I G H T - BRANCH CROSS

ONE-ARM.TW0-TURN.

S I X - BRANCH CROSS

FOUR-ARM. ONE-TURN, FOUR-BRANCH CROSS

Fig. I.

Typical configurations of cross antennas.

which the same approach was used by Roederer [I], Brewster and Orton [9], and Pholien [IO] and will be pursued in the present study.
111. MODELING AND
COMPUTER OPTIMIZATION

I
Fig. 2. Four-branch, one-arm cross antenna.

1
I

This is due to the fact that along a straight two-wire line of a certain length, the series radiation resistance and shunt conductance per unit length are close to zero, except near both extremities where they are not cancelled out by adjacent current and charges. The case of a bend in an infinite two-wire transmission line has been covered by Tomiyasu 1.51 and by King [4] using a lower frequency approximation. The series inductance and shunt susceptance per unit length are decreased with respect to a straight line so that negative equivalent series conductance and shunt capacitance appear, introducing a reflection and a (positive) phaseshift on the transmitted wave. The determination of the change of series resistance and shunt conductance due to the bend and leading to radiation assumes a priori knowledge of the current and charge distributions near the bend. An alternative approach, proposed by Wood 161 for a bend in a microstripline, uses the fringing field to determine the equivalent magnetic current and is useful to provide radiated fields for a single bend. In the case of closely cascaded bends, the above derivations can only provide qualitative information and it seems that the only way to analyze the antenna is to solve globally the classical Hallen-type integral equation for the current distribution. This is the approach selected by Lee and Mei [7] and later by Shafai and Sebak [8] to analyze zigzag and undulated line antennas which have similarities with the cross antenna for

The modeling of various configurations of cross antennas was performed using a code adapted from the Richmond computer program for thin-wire structures [ 1 11. The foundation for this program, which uses the formulation of the sinusoidal reaction technique, is well described in [ l I ] and [I21 and will not be discussed here. Minor modifications were made to the code to introduce images and to model crosses with multiple arms. The well-proven basic software has been further validated by checks on one-turn and two-turn configurations described later in the paper. Some limitations remain however regarding accuracy for configurations with very closely spaced wires, sharp angles and/or wire lengths over 15 wavelengths.

A . Single-Arm Crosses Single-arm crosses are simply fed by a coaxial cable. Good matching of the input impedance is easily achieved with a transformer over a frequency band exceeding the operating bandwidth. It is desirable to limit the power dissipated in the load to a few percent of that at the input while keeping the height of the antenna over the ground plane below one or two tenths of wavelength to avoid excessive protrusion. It was found that this implies total wire length of at least six wavelengths over one, two or more turns. Single-turn cross antennas exhibit more frequency scanning of their beam than multiple turn ones for which scanning can be limited by a slight log periodic expansion and proper choice of the wire spacing. As in the case of a straight wire line section, radiation efficiency increases with the wire separation from the ground. Performance is relatively insensitive to small changes in the wire diameter. For a single-arm antenna the on-axis cross polarization can usually be cancelled by choosing for the load the optimum value determined as follows: The antenna is successively analyzed in the two cases where it is fed at one end, the other being terminated by a short circuit and vice versa. Let ports 1, 2, 3, 4 represent, respectively, one end, the other end of the

706

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION. VOL. 38. NO. 5. MAY 1990

Fig. 4. Single-arm. single-turn cross antenna: principal pattern cuts. Fig. 3. Single-arm. single-turn cross antenna.

wire, and the inputs of two circularly polarized probes placed on the antenna axis in the far field with right-hand and lefthand circular polarizations, respectively. Then the following linear relationships apply, with obvious notations:

1 2 = Y2,

v , + Y22 v2

(2)

14

= Y4I VI

+ Y42Vz = E L .

(4)

Computation of 1 1 1 2 , E R and E L in the above two cases provides all the Y coefficients in (1)-(4) above. The condition for pure on-axis right-hand circular polarization radiation is

tL
Fig. 5. Single-turn, two-turn cross with log-periodic expansion.

1
I

EL =1 4
Equations

= 0.

(5)

(3, and (2) lead to (4)

-

v =z[ 2
I2

which provides the optimum load impedance for zero on-axis cross polarization. The above derivation is simplified in cases where the antenna is symmetrical [9]. Two examples of singlearm antennas are described below. The first one, shown in Fig. 3 , is a symmetrical one-turn, eight-branch cross which has been optimized to provide maximum coverage gain and low cross polarization within a -f 9" cone. In addition, it can operate simultaneously in right and left hand circular polarizations by using both of its ports. The line is terminated in its characteristic impedance. Geometrical data for the antenna is as follows referred to the wavelength at the center frequency of operation:
~ ~~

Branch length: Branch width: Cross diameter: Height from ground: Wire diameter:

0.543 X, 0.136 X, 1.42 0.10 X, 0.02 X,

It is to be noted that the actual wire length of a branch is somewhat longer than the expected value of 1.125 wavelength, since the effective wavelength along the structure is increased with respect to that in free space by mutual coupling effects as discussed in the previous section. Fig. 4 shows computed principal pattern cuts. The computed peak gain is 14.1 dB. This corresponds to a circular effective area (uniformly illuminated) of diameter 1.61 ho. The cross-polarization performance can be improved by replacing the matched load by one optimized for zero cross polarization as discussed earlier. The main limitation of the single-arm, single-turn antenna is the frequency sensitivity of the beam shape and peak direction. One way suggested by Imbriale (131 to limit the frequency sensitivity is to introduce a log-periodic expansion in a multiturn configuration. This idea was used to optimize a second cross antenna shown in Fig. 5. The innermost branch wire length is 4.6% shorter than 1.17 XO, and the outermost branch is 4.6% longer. The load is optimized for zero on-axis cross polarization. Fig. 6 shows the computed principal pattern cuts. Unlike for the single-turn antenna and because of the log periodic expansion the peak of the beam is a few degrees off broadside. Beam scanning with frequency, however, is much more limited and the antenna can be operated over some 7% bandwidth as is required for mobile communication satellites at 1550/1650

ROEDERER: THE CROSS ANTENNA

-60'
~

707
O

-0 3'
I
I

-,' 6O

0' ,

30'
' A :Oo

OBI
10

60'
I

; O '

-10

-20

Fig. 6 . Single-arm, two-turn cross: principal pattern cuts.

Fig. 8.

Breadboard model of a single-arm, single-turn cross antenna.

I
Fig. 7. Four-arm cross antenna.

MHz. The computed peak gain excluding ohmic losses at the central frequency is 15.1 dB. The largest dimension of the cross is 1.53 XO.

B . Multiple Arm Crosses

Two- and four-arm crosses have also been modeled. Modeling implies a high number of segments and the accuracy is limited. A four-arm cross is shown in Fig. 7. The four ports are fed in a turnstile mode. If phase stability can be maintained over the desired bandwidth, this guarantees on-axis polarization purity and good pattern symmetry. Four-arm crosses, with a diameter of around 1.5 wavelength, could be used to replace crossed dipoles or cupdipoles in some applications with limited scan. They have the advantage of higher gain per element and broad-band input impedance properties. Other configurations with varying numbers of turns and branches can be envisaged, and some of them are outlined in [ 11 and [ 101. They do not seem to provide performance superior to that of the antennas discussed above.
Fig. 9. Single-turn cross: measured input impedance

IV. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

A single-arm, single-turn cross antenna with eight branches was breadboarded and tested. A photograph of the antenna is shown in Fig. 8. The antenna operating around 3.2 GHz is terminated in its

characteristic impedance. A transformer at the input provides a good match over more than 15% bandwidth to the 50(1 feeding coaxial cable (see Fig. 9). Radiation patterns and gain were measured in linear polarization and compared to computed results. Fig. 10 shows a computed and measured pattern cut at 3.21 GHz. Fig. 1 1 shows computed and measured values of the gain and the axial ratio as the frequency varies. As indicated in Section 111, enhanced cross-polarization performance can be obtained by selecting an optimum load. Characteristic impedance loading, retained here as more representative of dual polarization operation, results in moderate axial ratio performance as predicted by the computations. Taking into account the tolerances to which the breadboard model was built and the measurement accuracy, as well as the perturbation introduced by the finite ground plate and the input transformer, the agreement between predicted and measured results appears to be sufficient to give confidence in computed results on other similar configurations with one turn.

708
-0 6'
DBI

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 38, NO. 5 , MAY 1990
-30'
0'

30'

60'

L: ' d
Fig. 10. Single-turn cross: computed and measured pattern cut at 3.21 GHz.
*11
REF 1.0 U n i t s

z
200.0 mUni ts/ 42.686 R 14.848 R

6
lo

El
1

MEASURED

- - - - - - _ COMPUTED

Fig. 11.

Single-turn cross: computed and measured gains and axial ratios.

START STOP

1.450000000 GHz 1.7S0000000 EHz

Fig. 13.

Plot of the input impedance of the single-arm, two-tum cross antenna.

Fig. 12.

Photograph of the two-turn cross antenna.

In view of the superior performance predicted for multiturn configurations with a log periodic expansion, a printed breadboard of the two-turn, six-branch configuration of Fig. 5 was manufactured. A photograph of the antenna is shown in Fig. 12. The microstrip conductor, printed on a 0.06 mm kapton substrate,

has a width of 4 mm, resulting in the same characteristic impedance as in the modeled wire version. The substrate is supported above the ground plane by a 18 mm thick layer of ROHACELL foam. After matching with a transformer, the input impedance has been measured and is plotted in Fig. 13. As shown in Fig. 14, the measured axial ratio varies from 0.4 to 1.5 dB over a 7% bandwidth. Pattern cuts measured at 1552 MHz are shown in Fig. 15 and can be compared with predicted ones shown in Fig. 6 . The measured gain slightly exceeds the predicted value of 15.1 dB. Again, considering the measurement accuracy at Lband and the slight differences (wire versus microstrip, foam, versus vacuum, finite ground plane) between the modeled and the breadboarded configurations, the agreement seems reasonable enough to confirm the potential of multitum configurations.

ROEDERER: THE CROSS ANTENNA

709
1.45 1.5 1 . 5 5 GHz 1.6

AR
e

I
I
I

I
I

I
I

0-6 A R M S

10

x-8

ARMS

1.5

1 . 5 5 GHz

Fig. 14. Measured axial ratio of the two-turn cross antenna

F=1552 MHz

Fig. IS. Measured pattern cuts of the two-turn cross ( F = 1552 MHz).

V. CONCLUSION
A new type of low profile circularly polarized antenna with medium gain, the cross antenna, has been introduced and performances have been evaluated for a few configurations. The antenna, ameanable to printed circuit microstrip construction, could potentially replace horns, helical antennas, subarrays of cross dipoles or microstrip patches for some applications where 10-15 dB of gain is needed over a limited bandwidth, in single or dual circular polarization. Initial experimental

verifications have given reasonable agreement with computed results. Further work is underway to analyze microstrip configurations and to optimize them for selected space applications.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to thank G . Mica, N. E. Jensen, and J. Bregonje for their support in the early development of the cross antennas as well as W . Imbriale, Y . Rahmat-Samii, W .

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 38, NO. 5, MAY 1990

Rusch and R. Thomas for their suggestions. He also expresses his gratitude to C. Martin Pascual and J. Vassallo for their invaluable help in the breadboarding of the two-tum antenna configuration.

REFERENCES
A. G. Roederer, French Patent 85 10463, July 9, 1985. C. Wood, P. S. Hall, and J. R. James, Design of wideband circularly polarized microstrip antennas and arrays, IEE-AP Conf., 1978, pp. 312-3 16. J. E. Storer and R. King, Radiation resistance of a two-wire line, PIW. IRE, pp. 1408-1412, NOV. 1951. R. W. P. King, Transmission Line Theory. New York: McGrawHill, 1955, pp. 487-492. K. Tomiyasu, Terminal impedance and generalized two-wire line theory. Part 11, effect of a bend, Cruft Lab., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, Tech. Rep. 74, 1945. C. Wood, Curved microstrip lines as compact wideband circularly polarized antennas, Microwaves, Opt., Acoust., vol. 3, no. 6, Jan. 1979. S. H. Lee and K. K. Mei, Analysis of zigzag antennas, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-28, no. 6, pp. 760-764, Nov. 1970. L. Shafai and A. A. Sebak, Radiation characteristics and polarization of undulated microstrip line antennas, Proc. Inst. Elec. Eng., vol. 132, pt. H , no. 7, pp. 433-439, Dec. 1985. D. C. Brewster and R. S. Orton, GEC Res. Marconi Res. Center, private communication, July 1985.

D. Pholien, Analyse dune antenne filaire nouvelle a onde progressive: 1Antenne croix, Travail de fin detudes, Faculte, des Sciences Appliquees, Univ. Liege, 1986. [ i l l J. H. Richmond, Computer program for thin-wire structures in a homogeneous conductng medium, NASA CR-2399, June 1974. [ 121 -, Radiation and scattering by thin-wire structures in the complex frequency domain, NASA CR-2396, 1974. [I31 W. Imbriale, private communication, 1987.
Antoine G. Roederer (S68-M70-SM82) was born near Paris, France, in 1943. He received the Diplome dIngenieur Radidlectricien from 1 Ecole Supirieure dElectricite, France, the M.S.E.E. degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Doctorat dhgenieur from the Universite de Paris, France, in 1964, 1965, and 1972, respectively. He was a Lecturer at IEcole Spkiale de Mecanique et dElectricit6, Paris, France, and a Research Engineer at the Surface Radar Division of THOMSON-CSF, from 1968-1972. In 1973 he joined the European Space Research and Technology Centre of the European Space Agency, ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, where he now heads the Antenna Section. His main contributions have been in the areas of finite arrays, multibeam satellite antennas, and novel radiating elements. Dr. Roederer was awarded the Douglas Marsh Fellowship in 1987 to work on satellite antennas at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, for one year.

[IO]