Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference 2011

Fully Substrate-Integrated High-Gain Thin Fabry-Perot Cavity Antennas

Bo Zhu #1,*2, Zhi Ning Chen *2, Yijun Feng#3
#

Department of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093 China yjfeng@nju.edu.cn *RF and Optical Department, Institute for Infocomm Research, Singapore 138632 2 chenzn@i2r.a-star.edu.sg
3

ABSTRACT Fabry-Perot cavity (FPC) antennas are fully integrated onto a printed circuit board. The antenna consists of a partially reflective sheet formed by finite-size periodic array of metal patches printed on a grounded dielectric substrate and a feeding microstrip patch embedded in the substrate. The field distribution reveals the basic features of operating modes and the distribution of power loss. Simulated and measured results of the proposed antennas operating at 10 GHz show the realized gain of 15 dBi with an aperture of 22 the operating wavelength in free space. Moreover, the proposed antenna realizes circularly polarized radiation. The study shows that such fully dielectric-integrated planar FPC antennas are able to provide high gain and circular polarization operation function with low profile, easy integration onto circuit board, and mechanical robustness, suitable for low-cost mass production. Index Terms Circularly polarized, Fabry-Perot cavity, highgain antenna, substrate-integrated.

source into the cavity of FPC antennas [5]. Due to the existence of air-gap between the PRS and ground plane these configurations suffer bulky volume, in particular, at higher operating frequencies, severely the tolerance of fabrication and installation. In this paper, we first propose fully substrate-integrated FPC antennas. A high-gain FPC antenna is fully integrated onto a dielectric substrate with an array of patches as the PRS, a ground plane, and a microstrip patch source embedded into the substrate using the printed circuit board technique. Distribution of electric fields for the finite-size configurations is examined. Parametric study provides the information about the design and fabrication tolerance. After that, a circularly polarized FPC antenna is designed. All simulation is carried out by CST Microwave Studio 2009. II. SUBSTRATE-INTEGRATED HIGH-GAIN FPC ANTENNAS A. Antenna Design According to plane wave expansion approximation, for a high directivity at a given operating frequency with a wavelength 0 ( 0 is the operating wavelength in free space), the thickness of the FP cavity which is fully air filled between its PRS and ground plane is determined by [4], + prs 4 h / 0 = 2 N , N = 0, 1, 2,......, (1) where and prs are the reflection phase of the ground plane and the PRS, respectively. h indicates the thickness of the FP cavity. When an array of single-layered metallic patches or slots in the metallic screen is used as the PRS, the height of the cavity, h is about 0/2. Recent research has showed that this height can be reduced to 0/4 or even smaller by exploiting a double-layered metamaterial structure as the PRS with the required reflection phase determined by Eq. (1) [3, 4]. However, the double-layered structure suffers high ohmic loss when its reflection phase tends to zero so that the antenna radiation efficiency is lowered. Fig. 1(a) shows the proposed FPC antenna operating at 10 GHz. A single layer of 77 metallic square patches is printed onto a dielectric substrate with a periodicity of p=9 mm. The size of square patch is w=8.2 mm. The dielectric substrate is formed by multi-layered dielectric boards (Rogers 4003, r = 3.38, tan = 0.0027). The overall dimension of the antenna is 64648.43 mm (or 220.3 0). The cavity thickness is 0.3 0 comparable to that of the air-filled AMC-loaded cavity design

I. INTRODUCTION With the miniaturization of wireless electronic devices, the demands for the high-gain antennas which can be readily integrated to circuit boards with mechanical robustness are increasing significantly. The fully substrate integration of antennas is one option because of the merits such as compactness with low profile, mechanical robustness, stability of installation and fabrication, low-cost fabrication, as well as less insertion loss. However, the fully dielectric integration will cause several design challenges such as increase in dielectric loss and lowered directivity caused by small volume of antennas. Leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) have been well known as an option to enhance the directivity of antennas for years [1]. An LWA usually consists of a waveguided structure in which fast wave modes with a complex wave number or leaky waves propagate and radiate. The planar LW structures have been used to design two-dimensional LWAs. Fabry-Perot cavity (FPC) antennas are usually constructed by a partially reflective surface (PRS) suspended above a ground plane with a half-wavelength gap. The reflectivity amplitude of the PRS should be close to unity in order to achieve high-gain performance [1, 2]. By combining the PRS with for example, an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC), the profile of FPC antennas can be greatly reduced but with high losses [3, 4]. Circularly polarized radiation can be achieved through embedding a circularly polarized feeding

978-0-85825-974-4 2011 Engineers Australia

602

[3]. A 68-mm microstrip patch is em mbedded into the substrate at the center of x-y plane at a heig of d=0.81 mm ght above the ground plane. The patch is fed by a 50- bMiniature version microstrip line (c=1.55 mm) through a Sub A (SMA) connector as shown in Fig. 1(b).

(a)

ompared with the simulation, shifts down by 150 MHz co which may be caused by the air-gap between the stacked e dielectric sheets. The theoretic maximum directivity of the cal antenna is Dmax = 10log10 (4 A/ 02) =18 dBi with the aperture area of A=6464 mm at 10 G GHz. The realized gain of the antenna is 86% of the theoreti ical maximum directivity. The drop of gain is due to the di ielectric loss and non-uniform amplitude and phase distributio of the field on the aperture ons due to much short distance betw ween the source and PRS. The radiation patterns in E a H-planes are plotted in Fig. and 3(b). The measured and sim mulated radiation patterns are compared at 10.5 and 10.65 GH respectively. It can be seen Hz, that radiation patterns are sym mmetric in both the E and Hplanes. The measured ratio of co to cross-polarized radiation levels is higher than 15 dBi eve in the E-planes at 10.5 GHz. en
0 -10 |S11| (dB) -20 -30 -40 10.0 16 12 8 4 0 11.0 Boresight Gain (dBi)

(b)

(c) )

Fig. 1 Profile of (a) proposed FPC antenna (s = 64 m h = 8.43 mm), (b) mm, the microstrip feeding patch (a = 6 mm, b = 8 mm) an (c) a PRS patch. nd

1.00 Reflection Magnitude 0.95 0.90 0.85 0.80 9.75

w = 8.0 mm w = 8.2 mm w = 8.4 mm w = 8.2 mm w = 8.0 mm

-140

Meas sured Simu ulated 10.2 10.4 10.6 10.8 Frequen (GHz) ncy
(a)

-150

Reflection Phase

-160

Amplitude Phase

10.00

10.25

10.50 0

-170 10.75

Frequency (GHz)
Fig. 2 The simulated reflection coefficient of PRS wi the unit cell period ith p = 9 mm. Inset shows the unit cell in simulation.

(b) ( Fig. 3 Measured and simulated (a) |S11| and gain at boresight, and (b) radiation patterns in E and H-planes.

d The reflectivity of the PRS is optimized to obtain a high directivity with a given aperture of the F FPC antenna. The reflection coefficient of the PRS can be esti imated through the simulation of a single unit cell using p periodic boundary conditions as shown in Fig. 2. The cell is composed of a ween the dielectric metallic patch printed on the interface betw substrate and free space. A waveguide port is attached to the t bottom of the dielectric substrate to ge enerate a normal incident plane wave illuminating on the P PRS. As shown in Fig. 2, the magnitude and phase of reflect waves are 0.9 ted and 147o at 10 GHz for w=8.2 mm and p=9 mm. 9 Fig. 3(a) compares the simulated and mea asured |S11| as well as the realized gain at boresight. The meas sured |S11| is lower than 10 dB over 10.4-10.8 GHz. The meas sured gain reaches up to 15.5 dBi at 10.5 GHz. The peak of t measured gain the

B. Field Distribution and L Loss Analysis Fig. 4(a) illustrates the elect field distribution in the x-y tric plane at z=4.2 mm at 10.65 G GHz. It is seen that the electric field is strong around the feeding patch and decreases gradually along radial directio In Fig. 4(b), the simulated on. phase distribution of electric f field component Ey shows that the phase descends along the r radial direction. With the small gradient of phase variation whe the field is strong, the phase ere can be regarded as evenly dis stributed for a highly directive radiation. Therefore, the leaky wave mode is excited, which y descends along radial direction inside the FPC antenna, and ns radiates simultaneously so th the radial wavenumber is hat complex while the standing wa aves exist in the cavity. The distribution of the ove erall power loss density in a longitudinal section of the ante enna is plotted in Fig. 4(c). It is

603

Boresight Gain (dBi)

8 4 0 10.0

r=3.28 r=3.38 =3.48

r -4 40 10.5 11.0 11.5 10.0 10.5 11.0 11.5 Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 5 Effects of substrate permittivit on |S11| and boresight gain. ty (a) (b)

|S11| (dB)
h=8.01 mm h=8.43 mm h=8.85 mm

observed that the majority of power loss a appears around the central of the FPC due to the dielectric lo caused by the oss strongest electric field in this portion as shown in Fig. 4(a). Table I compares the directivity and ga for the designs ain with/without dielectric loss and ohmic loss. It is clear that the dielectric loss reduces the gain by 1 dB wh hereas the patches of PRS reduce the gain by 0.1 dB due to the ohmic loss. e

16 12

0 -1 10

-2 20

-3 30

16 Boresight Gain (dBi) 12 8 4 0 10.0

0 -10 -

(c) Fig. 4 Distribution of (a) magnitude, (b) phase of Ey in x-y plane at z=4.2 mm and (c) power loss density in a longitudinal section of antenna at 10.65 GHz.

TABLE I COMPARISON OF GAIN FOR ANTENNAS

Antenna ideal proposed proposed proposed Loss No Dielectric loss* and ohmic loss ohmic loss only dielectric loss only D, dBi 18 16.49 16.66 16.50 G-IEEE, dBi E 18 8 15.68 16.59 15.78

-radiation, %
100 83 98 85

|S11| (dB)

-20 -30 -

10.5 11.0 11.5 Frequency (GHz)

-40 10.0

10.5 11.0 11.5 Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 6 Effects of substrate thickne on |S11| and boresight gain. ess

*Dielectric loss tangent: tan = 0.0027

C. Parametric Study With simulation a parametric study is conducted to study the effect of fabrication tolerance on antenn performance. In na the study, only one parameter is varied at a t time. Substrate Permittivity: Fig. 5 shows that the higher substrate dielectric constant lowers the re esonant frequency where the peak gain is achieved. However, a 3% change in , dielectric constant distorted radiation patte erns in both the E and H-planes because the condition of i in-phase of leaky waves in the FP cavity is degraded. The des sign was optimized for r=3.38 at 10.65 GHz. The distort tion includes the variation in beamwidth and sidelobe levels for the permittivity higher than optimal 3.38. Th herefore, the 3% permittivity tolerance of dielectric substrate is acceptable. Substrate Thickness: Fig. 6 shows that in ncreasing substrate thickness lowers the resonant frequency (indicated by the circle), reduces the gain, and degrades the impedance matching. Increasing the thickness from the optimal thickness e h = 8.43 mm causes higher sidelobe levels in both the E and H-planes. Such effects stem from the sig gnificant thickness change which distorts the reflected wave ph hase distribution in the FP cavity. Therefore, a particular attenti should be paid ion to the substrate thickness in fabrication.

PRS Patch Dimension: Fig 7 shows that the impedance g. matching and resonant frequency but gain are greatly affected tches. As shown in Fig. 2, the by the dimensions of PRS pat phase of reflection of PRS in ncreases and the amplitude of reflection decreases as the pa atch of PRS becomes smaller with the fixed periodicity of p p=9 mm. Reducing the patch size from w=8.2 mm widens th beamwidth in the E-planes. he The larger patches increase th sidelobe levels and reduce he gain slightly due to the reduc ction of leaky waves radiating from the PRS. Moreover, the study shows that the tolerance d of PCB fabrication is suggested to be less than 0.2 mm.
16 12 8 4 0 10.0 0 -10 |S11| (dB)
w=7.8 mm w=8.2 mm w=8.6 mm

Borsight Gain (dBi)

-20 -30

-40 10.5 11.0 11.5 10.0 10.5 11.0 11.5 Frequency (GHz) Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 7 Effects of PRS patch siz on |S11| and boresight gain. ze

604

III. CIRCULARLY POLARIZED DESIGN

The CP operation of the antenna can be achieved by n replacing the linearly polarized feeding p patch of the FPC antenna presented in Section II with a corn truncated patch ner of a=6 mm and b=4 mm as illustrated in Fig 8(a). A segment g. of l = 6 mm of the microstrip feeding line is narrowed from width c = 1.55 mm to c = 0.4 mm. All oth dimensions and her parameters are kept the same as those of the previous linearly e polarized antenna. Fig. 8(a) shows that the measured |S11| is e below 10 dB over the frequency range of 10.05-11.0 GHz. f The discrepancy between the simulated and measured results d is mainly caused by the air gap between die electric layers. The measured axial ratio (AR) at boresight is b below 3 dB over a frequency range of 10.4 to 10.8 GHz and t measured gain the achieves 15 dBic at 10.5 GHz as illustrated in Fig. 8(b). Fig. d 9 plots the simulated AR profile for the CP FPC antenna with the feeding patch rotated by 45o. As can be seen, the CP n property is achieved from 10.6 to 10.8 GHz and the profile is z similar to the previous one without any rota ation of the feeding patch. This suggests that the FP cavity is isotropic in the x-y plane and the CP performance is in nsensitive to the polarization direction of each orthogonal mo ode.
[4] [5]

nnas, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., profile high-gain planar anten vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 209215, Jan 2005. n. A. Ourir, A. de Lustrac, and J.-M. Lourtioz, All-metamaterial-based sub-wavelength cavities ( /6 for ultrathin directive antennas, 60) Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 88, no 8, Feb. 2006, paper 084103. Ederra, R. Gonzalo, A. Gosh J. Laurin, C. Caloz, Y. Brand, M. h, Gavrilovic, Y. Demers, and P. de Maagt, EBG superstrate for gain enhancement of a circularly po olarized patch antenna, in Proc. IEEE Antennas Propag. Soc. Int. Sy ymp., Albuquerque, NM, Jul. 2006, pp. 2993-2996.

0 -10 |S11| (dB) -20 -30 -40 10.0 Measured Simulated 10.2 10.4
(a)

10.6

10.8

11.0

Frequen (GHz) ncy

IV. CONCLUSION
Two fully substrate-integrated high-gain F Fabry-Perot cavity antennas have been presented. Circularly p polarized operation with the gain of 15 dBi under antenna aperture of 22 0 has been realized at X-band. Parametric stu udies of substrate thickness, permittivity and PRS size have b been done to show the effects on the antenna performance and acceptable e fabrication tolerance. The field distribution has revealed the n basic features of the leaky wave mode in a cavity and power loss distribution. The study has shown that the proposed fully dielectric-integrated FPC antennas feature low-profile, easy integration onto circuit boards and mech hanical robustness, suitable for cost-effective mass production.
Axial Ratio (dB)

16

Boresight Gain (dBic)

12 8

3
Measured Simulated d

4 0 11.0

0 10.0

10.2

10.4

10.6

10.8

Frequen (GHz) ncy

(b b) Fig. 8 Measured and simulated (a) |S11| and (b) AR and boresight gain. S

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is partially supported by th National Basic he Research Program of China (2004CB7 719800) and the National Nature Science Foundations of C China (60990322, 60990320, 60671002 and 60801001) and A*STAR SERC d Metamaterial Program: Meta-Antennas (092 154 0097). 2

Axial Ratio (dB)

REFERENCES
[1] [2] G. von Trentini, Partially reflecting sheet arrays, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 666-671, O 1956. Oct. S. N. Burokur, R. Yahiaoui, and A. Lus strac, Subwavelength metamaterial based resonant cavities fed by multiple sources for y high directivity, Microw. Opt. Technol. Let vol. 51, no. 8, pp. tt., 1883-1888, Aug. 2009. P. Feresidis, G. Goussetis, S. Wang, and J. C. Vardaxoglou, d Artificial magnetic conductor surfaces and th application to lowheir

0 10.4

10.6

10.8

11.0

Frequency (GHz) y
Fig. 9 Simulated AR profile for a 45o rotated feeding patch.

[3]

605