DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF ANTENNA FOR

SATELLITE COMMUNICATION
DISSERTATION-II

Submitted in partial fulfillment of

the Requirement for the award of
the Degree of

MASTER OF TECHNOLOGY

IN

Electronics and Communication Engineering

By

Ankita Bhagat (11612565)

Under the guidance of

Gurpreet Singh Saini

Assistant Professor, L.P.U

School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering

Lovely Professional University
Phagwara, Punjab
December, 2017
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Ankita Bhagat bearing Registration no. 11612565 have completed
objective formulation/Base Paper implementation of the thesis titled, “Design and
Fabrication of Antenna for Satellite Communication ” under my guidance and supervision.
To the best of my knowledge, the present work is the result of his original investigation and
study. No part of thesis has ever been submitted for any other degree at any university.

Gurpreet Singh Saini

Assistant Professor

School of Electronics and Communication

Lovely Professional University

Phagwara, Punjab

Date:

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciatio n to my guide
Gurpreet Singh Saini, for his whole-hearted and invaluable guidance, inspiring discussions,
encouragement, and support throughout my work. I found him always sincere in helping me
even during his busiest hours of the day. His ardor and earnestness for studies are respected and
will never be forgotten. Without his sustained and sincere effort, this report would not have
taken this shape.

We are also indebted to all authors of the research papers and books referred to, which have
helped us in carrying out the research work.

Ankita Bhagat

[Link]: 11612565

iii
 DECLARATION

I, Ankita Bhagat, student of M. Tech under Department of Electronics and Communication of

Lovely Professional University, Punjab, hereby declare that all the information furnished in
this Dissertation-II report is based on my own intensive research and is genuine.

This report does not, to the best of our knowledge, contain part of my work which has been
submitted for the award of my degree either of this University or any other University without
proper citation.

Ankita Bhagat

Reg. no.
11612565

iv
 ABSTRACT

The main objective of this report is to represent the various design implementation using software
HFSS. This report also contains all the basics of antenna and its parameters which effects the
performance of an antenna. The simulation is done by HFSS and results are analyzed. The main
aim is to learn the software and know the various techniques and methods of optimum antenna
design. The implemented antennas suits well for various application such as satellite
communication, radar communication and other wireless applications. Implemented results are
then compared with the base paper and hence good agreement is achieved between the
implemented results and base paper results.

v
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

DGS………………………………………………Defected Ground structure

VSWR……………………………………………Voltage standing Wave Ratio

HFSS……………………………………..............High Frequency Simulation Software

vi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page Page No.

PAC………………………………………………………………………………………………..i

CERTIFICATE………….……………………………………………………………………....ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………...…………iii

DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………….…......iv

ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………….……...v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………….……..……...vi

LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….………….ix

LIST OF TABLE.…………………………………………………………………...…………..xi

[Link]…………………………………..…………………………………………..1
1.1 Definition of Antenna…….…………………………………………….............……..………..1
1.2 Types of antenna………. ………………………………………………………………..……1-4
1.2.1 Wire Antenna…………………………………………………………………….....................2
1.2.2 Aperture Antenna……………………………………………....................…………………...3
1.2.3 Microstrip Antenna………………………………………………………….…………...........3
1.2.4 Array Antenna…….…………………………………...............................................................4
1.2.5 Reflector Antenna…………………………………..................................................................4
1.2.6 Lens Antenna…………………………………………………………….……………............4
1.3 Parameters of Antenna……………………………………………………………..……..….4-10
1.3.1 Radiation pattern………………………………………………................................................4
1.3.1a Radiation Pattern Lobes……………………………………………………………...............4
1.3.1b Field Regions…………………………………………………………………..…………..5-6
1.3.1c Radiation intensity……………………………………………………………….…...............6
1.3.2 Beam width………...…………………………………………………………….....................7
1.3.3 Directivity………………………………….……………………………………….................7
1.3.3 Efficiency………………………………………………….......................................................7
1.3.4 Polarization………………….………………………………………………………...............8
1.3.2 Gain………...…………………….………………………………………………....................8
1.3.3 Input Impedence……...…………………….……………………………………….................9
1.3.3 Return Loss………….…………………………………….......................................................9

vii
1.3.4 VSWR……………….……………………………………………………………….............10
1.3.4 S Parameters……...………….……………………………………………………….............10
1.4 Satellite Communication………………………………………………...…………..................11
1.4.1 Application…...…………………….………………………………………….......................12
1.4.2 Frequency Bands………………………………………..........................................................13
1.4.3 Satellite antenna types……………………………………………………………..................14
1.5 Scope of Study…………………………………………………………...…………............15-16

2. LITERATURE SURVEY……...………………………..…………………………………17-21
2.1SURVEY ON MICROSTRIP ANTENNA…………............................................................21-28
3.1 Characteristics of Microstrip Patch antenna……………………………..............................17-19
3.2 MSA Operation………………………………………………………………………………...13
3.3 Advantages…………………………………………………………….....................................24
3.4 Disadvantages ……………………………………………..……………….....…...…………..24
3.5 Application of Microstrip antenna……………………………………………….…………….24
3.6 Feeding Techniques………………………………………………………….......................25-28
3.6.1 Microstrip Line………………………………………………….... ………………………...25
3.6.2 Coaxial Probe………………………………………………………………………………..26
3.6.3 Proximity Coupling……………………………………………………………..…………....27
3.6.4 Aperture Coupling………………………………………………………………….….…28-29

3. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY……………………………………………………………………30

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………….…31-36
4.1 Introduction………………………………..……………………………………..………….....31
4.2 Procedure Overview………………………………………………………………….….……..31

5. IMPLEMENTATION OF DESIGN /WORKDONE…………………………………….37-50

5.1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION…………………………….…………………..................43-51

6. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK……………………………...……..…….……….51

6.1 Conclusion ………………………………………..…………………...……………………....27
6.2 Future Work ……………………………………………………………….………....….…28-29

REFERENCES

viii
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure No Title Page No.

Figure 1.1 Antenna ………………..……………………………………………………..………….1

Figure 1.2 Antenna as a transition device……………………….…………………………………..2
Figure 1.3 Radiation lobes…………………………………………………………………..………5
Figure 1.4 Field regions……………………………………………………………………………..6
Figure 1.5Types of polarization.…………..…….……………….……….........................................9
Figure 1.6Return loss………….…………..…….……………….……….......................................10
Figure 1.7Microwave function ………….…………..……..…….……….......................................11
Figure 1.5Satellite technology application.…………..…….…….……….......................................13
Figure 1.6Frequency bands for satellite communication….……………….………........................14
Figure 3.1 Patch on the substrate…………………………………………….…………………….22
Figure 3.2 Ground plane below the substrate………………………………………………….…..22
Figure 3.3 Microstrip line ………………………………………………………............................26
Figure 3.4 Coaxial feed ………………………………………………....…………………………27
Figure 3.5 Proximity coupled feed…………………………………………………………………28
Figure 3.6 Aperture coupling ………………………………………………………………….…..28
Figure 4.1 HFSS Procedure Overview..…………………………………………............................31
Figure 4.2 Substrate design on XYZ plane………………………………………………………...33
Figure 4.3 Patch design on substrate…………………...………………………..............................33
Figure 4.4 Ground plane on substrate…………………………………………...............................34
Figure 4.5 Design of Coxial feeding…………………..………………..…….................................34
Figure 4.6 Assignment of Boundaries and Excitation……….………………….............................35
Figure 4.7 Completion of design……………………………………………….…..........................36
Figure 4.8 Completion of basic design of patch……………………………….…..........................37
Figure 5.1 Simple Patch(a),truncated corner(b),circular slots(c),side view(d).................................38
Figure 5.2 Substrate design on XYZ plane………………………………………………………...39
Figure 5.3 Patch design on substrate…………………...………………………..............................39
Figure 5.4 Ground plane on substrate…………………………………………...............................40
Figure 5.5 Design of Coxial feeding…………………..………………..…….................................40
Figure 5.6 Assignment of Boundaries and Excitation……….………………….............................41
Figure 5.7 Completion of design……………………………………………….…..........................36
Figure 5.8 Design of simple patch…………………… ………………………………………….42
Figure 5.9 Design of Patch with truncated corners………………………………………………...42
Figure 5.10 Design of Patch with circular slots……………………………………........................34
Figure 5.11 Return loss of simple patch………………………………………………………….41
Figure 5.12 2-D Total Gain……………………………………………………………………….42
Figure5.13VSWR of simple patch………………………………………….……………………43
Figure 5.14 Return of patch with truncated corners ……………………………...........................44
Figure 5.15 2-D Total Gain……………………………………………………….........................44
ix
Figure 5.16 VSWR ………………………………………………………..……………….……..45
Figure 5.17 Return of patch with circular slots ……………………………………….…………..45
Figure 5.18 2-D Total Gain…………………………………………………….…………………..45
Figure 5.19 VSWR ………………………………………………………….……………………..46
Figure 5.20 Comparison of simple patch, truncated patch and circular slots……………………...47
Figure 5.21 Substrate design on XYZ plAne……………………………………………………....47
Figure 5.22 Patch design with rectangular slots……………..………………..............................47
Figure 5.23 Ground plane on substrate………………………………………...............................48
Figure 5.24 Design of port………….…………………..……………..…….................................48
Figure 5.25 Assignment of Boundaries and Excitation……….……………….............................48
Figure 5.26 Completion of design…………………………………………….…..........................49
Figure5.27 Return loss ………………………..……………………………….…..........................49
Figure 5.28 3-D gain……..………………………………………………………………………...50
Figure 5.29VSWR………….......….,…...……..……………………………….…..........................50

x
 LIST OF TABLES

Table no. Page no.

Table 1.1 frequency bands for satellite antenna…...............................................................14
Table 1.2 Dimensions of antenna design……..…................................................................43

xi
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Communication is a way to exchanging information between two person or between two devices
or between person and device. It is a way of transferring information or data. Communication
between any two people living in any part of the world is only possible with the help of the
emerging technology in day today life. In day to day life electronic devices is manufactured at very
faster rate in order to meet the needs of people to communicate with each other irrespective of their
locations. If we see today every device or every communicating media consists of an antenna
which is used to transmit or receive the signals. So antenna is an important source to communicate
so that information can be easily transmitted and received. Whether we are talking about wired
communication or wireless, land to land or land to space, antenna plays a vital role for transferring
information or data. Satellite which transmit information from the large distances consist of the
antenna. It is only by the help of antenna we can receive or transmit information from these
satellites. Mobile phones which are the need of the hour consists of an antenna by which the
communication is possible. Other devices in which antenna plays a significant role are wireless
communication, Radars, GPS devices, WIMAX, MIMO, laptops, transceivers, space vehicle
navigation, airplanes and many other devices.

Fig. 1.1 Antenna

1.1DEFINITION OF ANTENNA
An antenna is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “a usually metallic device (as a rod or wire) for
radiating or receiving radio waves.” The IEEE Standard Definitions of Terms for Antennas
defines the antenna or aerial as “a means for radiating or receiving radio waves.” It acts as a
1
transition device between free space and waveguide. In other words the antenna is the transitional
structure between free-space and a guiding device, as shown in Figure 1.2. The guiding device or
transmission line may take the form of a coaxial line or a hollow pipe (waveguide), and it is used
to transport electromagnetic energy from the transmitting source to the antenna, or from the
antenna to the receiver..
There are the different kinds of antennas present today such as Wire antennas, Aperture antennas,
Array antennas, Reflector antennas, Lens antennas, Horn antennas, Microstrip antennas and many
more antennas but out of them the most important antenna which is used in day today life is the
microstrip antenna.

Fig. 1.2 Antenna as a transition device

1.2 TYPES OF ANTENNA

Antenna is categorized into different types depending on their characteristics and their usage.
The following are the various types of antenna:
1.2.1 Wire Antenna
This is the most common type of antenna found almost everywhere in our day to day life ranging
from the most common devices like mobile phones, automobiles to sophisticated devices like
aircraft, spacecraft etc. Wire antenna's can vary in shape. These can be helical, circular,

2
rectangular, straight wire or loop shaped. Most of the times circular shape of antenna is preferred
due to its easy construction [1].
1.2.2 Aperture Antenna
Since with the advancements of technology there is demand for more sophisticated antenna's with
high frequency utilization, aperture antenna's have gained a high importance. These antennas are
widely used in applications related to aircraft and spacecraft due to their ability to be easily flush
mounted onto the surfaces of aircraft or spacecraft. These can easily be protected from undesirable
environmental conditions by coating them with dielectric material.
1.2.3 Microstrip Antenna
Microstrip antenna consist a patch of metal on a grounded substrate. The metallic patch of circular
and rectangular configuration is most common. These antenna provide certain characteristics like
low profile, inexpensive fabrication, robustness and exhibit versatility in terms of polarization,
impedance and resonant frequency. These antennas find great importance in aircraft, spacecraft for
providing high performance. Microstrip patch antennas are low profile, low weight antennas, easy to
manufacture. Due to their light weight and low manufacturing cost, PCB based design they become
attractive. They are widely used in the antenna arrays due to direct integration with the microwave circuitry.
Microstrip antennas are widely used and appropriate for the military and commercial devices, such as use
on aircraft or space antennas because they yield a wide variety of patterns and polarizations, depending on
the mode excited and the specific shape of the radiating element used. Due to their advantages of low back
radiation, ease of conformity and high gain they are in increasing demand for wireless communications as
compared to the wire antennas [1].
1.2.4 Array Antenna
Since single element in antenna is unable to achieve the desired radiation characteristics, so
number of elements are arranged electrically or geometrically to attain the required radiation
characteristics. This is known as array antenna. Elements in an array are arranged in such a manner
that each elements radiation either combine to give maximum radiation in particular direction or
oppose each other to suppress the radiation in particular direction.
1.2.5 Reflector Antenna
As there were advances made in the technology and communication devices were driving
importance, sophisticated antennas were required for long distance communication in order to
communicate over longer distances in miles. These are referred to as parabolic reflector antenna.
Since large distance needs to be covered so there is need of large diameter of about 305m. This

3
leads to increase in dimensions of the antenna which are in turn needed for high gain for longer
distance communication.
1.2.6 Lens Antenna
Basic purpose of a lens is to prevent the incident energy from spreading into undesired directions
and focusing it into a narrow beam. This concept is used in Lens Antenna, where by adjusting the
geometry and choosing a proper material of lens, incident energy can be converted into plane
waves. These antenna's are used mainly for high frequencies as at low frequencies they acquire
large dimensions and weight.

1.3 PARAMETERS OF ANTENNA

It is necessary to know certain characteristics of antenna to determine the performance of antenna
in order to be used for any specific application. These characteristics can either be related to each
other or independent
1.3.1 RADIATION PATTERN
Directivity, power flux density, polarization are some of the radiation properties of antenna. The
graphical or mathematical representation as a function of space coordinates of the radiation
properties of antenna is referred to as Radiation pattern. This can be represented in 2-D or 3-D.
Radiation can either be amplitude field pattern which plots the electric field at constant radius or it
can be amplitude power pattern where power density's variation with respect to radius is spatially
represented.
1.3.1a Radiation Pattern Lobes
A radiation lobe is defined as a part of radiation pattern of antenna which is bounded by regions of
relatively weak radiation intensity. These are classified into four parts:
Major lobe: It is the lobe which specifies the direction where radiation is maximum.
Minor lobe: The lobe is considered to be minor if it occupies any part except for the major lobe.
These produces radiation in directions where radiation is not desired.
Side lobe: It is a lobe which radiates in any direction except the main lobe.
Back lobe: This is lobe which makes 180 degree angle with the main beam of antenna. It is kind
of minor lobe which is opposite to the major lobe.
Side lobe level is defined as the ratio of power density in minor lobe to that of major lobe. It must
be low for some applications like radar to avoid false indications of target by minimizing side lobe

4
level. Less side lobe level results in radiation to be maximum at major lobe thereby increasing the
directivity of antenna.

Fig. 1.3 Radiation lobes[1]

1.3.1b Field Regions

EM waves exhibit different characteristics when generated by an antenna depending on the
distance from antenna [1]. So the area around the antenna is divided into different zones in order to
differentiate the properties exhibited by EM waves in different regions.
Reactive near field: In this region, electric and magnetic field are out of phase. This region is
nearest to antenna and surrounds it and is reactive in nature. Electromagnetic energy is completely
stored here.
1/2
𝐷3
𝑅1 = 0.62 ( )
𝜆
Radiating near field (Fresnel): This region lies between the reactive near field and far field. With
the increase in distance from antenna, electromagnetic field becomes less reactive, that is, some
part of EM energy gets converted into radiation. The shape of radiation may vary with distance
from antenna.
𝑅 2𝐷2
2=
𝜆

5
Far field (Fraunhofer) region: With further increase in distance from antenna EM field becomes
completely radiative and there is negligible reactive field. Unlike Fresnel field, shape of radiation
does not vary with distance. In this case electric and magnet field are in phase as well as
orthogonal to each other.

Fig. 1.4 Field regions

1.3.1c Radiation intensity

Electromagnetic power is generated by EM waves. This radiated power has variable magnitude
which depends upon the distance from antenna and observation's direction. Therefore a normalized
power density is required which is independent of distance from antenna in far field. This is
referred to as radiation intensity.
𝑈 = 𝑟 2 𝑊𝑟𝑎𝑑
It can also be defined as power radiated by an antenna per unit solid angle. It denotes a far field
parameter. It is given by the equation:
𝜋
𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑑 =∬0 𝑈 𝑆𝑖𝑛 𝜃𝑑𝜃𝑑ɸ

= ∫ 𝑈𝑜𝑑𝜔

=𝑈𝑜 ∬ 𝑑𝜔 = 4𝜋𝑈𝑜
1.3.2 BEAMWIDTH
The beamwidth of a radiation pattern is defined as angular separation between the same points on
opposite side of pattern maximum[1]. It is an important parameter which follows inverse relation
6
with the side lobe, that is, with increase in beamwidth, side lobes decreases. The important
beamwidths are:
Half power beamwidth (HPBW): It is defined as the angular separation between two opposite
points in the direction of maximum beam where radiation intensity is one half the value of the
beam.
First Null Beamwidth (FNBW): It is defined as the angle between the first nulls of radiation
pattern. The relation between the two beamwidths can given by the equation:
𝐹𝑁𝐵𝑊
𝐻𝑃𝐵𝑊 = 2

1.3.3 DIRECTIVITY
Directivity of antenna is defined as the ratio of radiation intensity in given direction to averaging of
radiation intensity over all the directions. Its mathematical expression can be given as:
4U
Directivity =
Prad

p rad = total radiated power (W)

1.3.4 EFFICIENCY
Efficiency related power delivered to antenna and radiated power. High value of efficiency mean
large amount of power is radiated away and low value of efficiency mean less amount power is
radiated because most of the power absorbed within in antenna as losses as a result of impedance
mismatching.
p rad
Efficiency =
pin

1.3.5 POLARIZATION
Polarization defines the orientation of electric field that is time varying direction and magnitude. It
is of three type linear polarization, circular polarization and elliptical polarization.
Linear polarization: In linear polarization, the magnitude of two waves are same and phase
difference is equal to zero.
Circular polarization: In Circular polarization, the magnitude of two waves are same but phase
difference is equal to 90° .

7
Elliptical polarization: In Elliptical polarization, the magnitude of two waves are also different and
phase difference is equal to 90° .

Fig. 1.5 Types of polarization

1.3.6 GAIN
Gain of antenna is defined as ratio of intensity in a given direction to radiation intensity that is
attained when power accepted by antenna were radiated isotropically. Gain is expressed as:

U  ,  
Gain = 4 (dimensionless)
p in lossless isotropic source

U = radiation intensity, p in = total input power (W),  = elevation angle,  = azimuth angle

1.3.7 INPUT IMPEDANCE

The input impedance of an antenna is defined as the ratio of the voltage to the current at the
terminals .Hence the impedance of the radiating elements can be written as given below.

Z in  Rin  jX in

Z in = antenna impedance, Rin = antenna resistance

X in = antenna reactance represents power stored in antenna

Rin is the resistance have two part radiation resistance and loss resistance.

8
Power radiated by antenna is associated with radiation resistance and power loss by antenna is
related to loss resistance. For an antenna to be efficient the impedance of antenna and transmission
line should be equal and standard value is 50Ω.

1.3.8 RETURN LOSS

It is the parameter of antenna which is defines the radiation characteristic of antenna. It is the ratio
of power radiated to the power incident. It describes how much power is dissipated because of
load. This parameter shows matching characteristic of antenna. Graph between S11 and frequency
is return loss and graph should show dip at operating frequency that its value should be highly
negative which show antenna radiate good amount of power deliver to it by source and very less
power is lost.

Pr
RL (dB) = 10 log10
Pi

Where,
Pr = reflected power,
Pi = incident power

S11
5
0
-5
Mag. [dB]

-10
-15
-20
-25
-30
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Frequency

Fig. 1.6 Return loss

1.3.9 VSWR
VSWR stands for Voltage Standing Wave Ratio which is the measure of total power reflected.
VSWR should be as low as possible which means that almost all the incident power is delivered to
antenna and there is no reflections or standing waves created

9
1.3.10 S PARAMETERS
For microwave frequencies, the waves are associated to power other than voltage and current and
microwave junctions are identify by S-parameters or scattering parameters. If input is apply to all
the ports, 16 combinations in the form matrix are obtained. It provides relation between power of
different ports in a microwave junction, through matrix known as scattering co-efficient or S-
parameters

Figure 1.7 Microwave junction

1.4 SATELLITE COMMUNICATION

In satellite communication, signal transferring between the sender and receiver is done with the
help of satellite. In this process, the signal which is basically a beam of modulated microwaves is
sent towards the satellite. Then the satellite amplifies the signal and sent it back to the receiver’s
antenna present on the earth’s surface. So, all the signal transferring is happening in space. Thus
this type of communication is known as space communication. For satellite communication,
various antennas are used such as Parabolic Reflectors, phase arrays, microstrip antennas, etc [7].

For better performance of the satellites communications one has to improve two aspects keys in the
systems of communications: the quality of the service (greater quality and bandwidth of the signal)

10
as well as the costs (smaller investment for the operation and maintenance), during the process of
improvement of these two aspects one of the ways concludes that to obtain it is to miniaturize the
communications components, this results in discovery of the technology microstrip [6]. The
dimensions of the microstrip antennas are chosen so that the structure dissipates the power in the
form of radiation. With the development of the satellite technologies and its consequent
miniaturization, appeared the antennas microstrip, giving the possibility of reducing costs, size,
and of maintaining or of improving the quality of the satellite links and terrestrial. With low cost
and size, it was possible to carry out the satellite technology to more people around the world, to
communicate between each human.
Some basic characteristics to take in consideration on microstrip antenna are: Polarization,
Antenna shape, Arrays Antennas, Bandwidth and so on. Dual polarization is used on a
communications satellite for the reusability of the frequencies, to cover two different coverage
areas with same frequency but with different polarization, this can be carried out using 2
transponders system, each one for each polarization, and these can be RHCP or LHCP. In satellite
Communications circularly polarized radiation patterns are required using an either a rectangular
or circular patch. A parabolic reflector antenna is generally employed for receiving direct
broadcast from a satellite. This antenna required a large area for installation, and can be replaced
by a flat antenna (Array Antenna) in the form of microstrip array. This antenna is the equivalent to
parabolic reflector. A phased-array antenna has a number of advantages over a lens or reflector
antenna, as see in [7]. This is due to the distribution of power amplification at the elementary
radiation level, higher aperture efficiency, no spillover loss, no aperture (feed) blockage, and better
reliability. Rectangular Patch Antenna, because was the first geometry to be investigated, the
second one is Circular and Annular Patch, the last one is Triangular Patch Antenna or other shapes.
The two firsts offer better performance than the last one or other shapes used in the common
applications on Satellite Communications. One of most important requirement is the gain, and for
this use a annular ring and apply the microstrip technology to feed the antenna to achieve the
required gain.

1.4.1 APPLICATIONS OF SATELLITES

Space technology has advanced rapidly in recent years. Satellite plays an important role in daily
life. Here are few important satellite technology applications as shown in Figure1.1

11
 Figure 1.8 satellite technology applications
People use all these satellite applications in day to day life and making use to satellite antenna in
many of applications. These satellite antenna works on different frequency bands like for defence
X band of satellite is required and NASA Scientists use to work on S band ( 2 to 4 GHz) Other
Applications of Satellite communication as listed below
 Weather
 Radio and TV Broadcast
 Military Satellites
 Navigation Satellites
 Global Telephone
 Connecting Remote Areas
 Global Mobile Communication

1.4.2 FREQUENCY BANDS USED FOR SATELLITE

Allocation of frequencies to satellite services s a complicated process which requires international

coordination and planning. This is done as per the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
To implement this frequency planning, the world is divided into three regions:

Region1: Europe, Africa and Mongolia

Region 2: North and South America and Greenland

12
Region 3: Asia (excluding region 1 areas), Australia and south-west Pacific.

Below are the frequencies allocated to these satellites:

[Link] Band Frequency (GHz)

1 VHF 0.1-0.3
2 UHF 0.3-1.0
3 L 1-2
4 S 2-4
5 C 4-8
6 X 8-12
7 Ku 12-18(Ku is under K band)
8 Ka 18-27(Ka is above K Band )
9 V 40-75
Table1. frequency bands for satellite communication
.
Within these regions, he frequency bands are allocated to various satellite services. Some of them
are listed below.
 Fixed satellite service: Provides Links for existing Telephone Networks Used for
transmitting television signals to cable companies
 Broadcasting satellite service: Provides Direct Broadcast to homes. E.g. Live Cricket
matches etc
 Mobile satellite services: This includes services for: Land Mobile, Maritime Mobile,
Aeronautical mobile
 Navigational satellite services : Include Global Positioning systems
 Meteorological satellite services: They are often used to perform Search and Rescue
service

1.4.3 SATELLITE ANTENNA TYPES

1. Parabolic Antenna

2. Horn Antenna
13
3. Phased Array

4. Helical Antenna

5. Microstrip Antenna

All above antennas are used in satellite applications depending upon the operating frequency of
Band. Most of the research by NASA these days is focused on S and C Band applications and the
satellites which works on these frequency bands are Cubesat and nanoSat.

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY

Microstrip Patch Antenna is widely used in nowadays communication system. As wireless

communication is the need of the hour and requires the antenna which can cover wide range of
application. All these requirements can be fulfill by microstrip antennas as they are providing
various features low profile, low-cost, compact size and wideband system designs. Single antenna
is sufficient to provide access to wide applications by using microstrip antenna.

Microstrip antenna have many advantages as discussed earlier, so it fits well for all application.
Past year’s study have shown that most of the work in antenna emphasized on making of compact
size antenna and better efficiency. Many techniques and designs have been proposed to build
compact size antennas to make it more reliable by reducing patch size or reducing thickness of
substrate so that antenna can be easily used in various devices by occupying little space

Microstrip antennas are possessing all these features of compact size low cost and low profile
antenna so these antenna are fulfilling the requirement of devices used in today’s era. Though
there are some limitations such as limited bandwidth but many techniques have been developed to
eliminate this limitation so that microstrip antenna can provide sufficient bandwidth for working of
various application. Many techniques and designs have been proposed to build compact size
antennas to make it more reliable by reducing patch size or reducing thickness of substrate so that
antenna can be easily used in various devices by occupying little space.

Satellite communication also required compact size antenna as they can be easily installed in
Nanosatellites, picosatellite. For high gain in satellite communication , an array of patch antenna is
14
used rather than a single antenna which provides more gain than a single patch antenna. It can be
easily manufacture as it includes two dimensional geometry. It supports both linear and circular
polarization. These are efficient radiators. To generate multiple beam, we require several antennas
but they take a lot of space on the satellite which is small, so by using array of microstrip antennas,
multiple beams can be generated results in compactness.

15
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY
Akio kuranoto et al. in 1988 describes mechanically steered tracking antenna for land mobile
communication [9]. Antenna for vehicle is key requirement so that communication is maintained
when vehicle is moving in beam coverage area. This antenna system consists of 8 element printed
spiral antenna array, here concept of single channel tracking controller and antenna driven
mechanism that is motor is used. The beam direction can be changed by switching or by phase
shifting of PIN diode . This mechanically steered antenna for land communication is designed for
tracking [Link] type of antenna is bulky and has high power consumption because of use of
the electric motors responsible for the mechanical steering. An alternative solution is a planar
phased array antenna which performs beam steering by electronic means.

M.E. Bialkowski et al. in 1996 describes an L-band electronically steered antenna for land
vehicle mobile satellite-communications system which is designed for the Australian continent
[10]. A 14-element cylindrical antenna array for use at the vehicle end. The array uses electronic
steering to maintain a communications channel to the satellite. Here phased array antenna performs
beam steering by electronic means. The power beam is steered by switching the RF power system.
The algorithm for the satellite-tracking system is based on a combination of closed- and open-loop
tracking for improved tracking performance and reliability. The developed algorithms were able to
recover the satellite’s direction even in those cases when the car was making a turn and at the same
time the signal was shadowed by a tree or a building. The overall design of the system has been
very cost effective due to the low cost of the antenna elements and switching system as well as
inexpensive tracking electronics. The measured return loss over a 1.6GHz bandwidth is better than
l0dB.

Usha Kiran K. et al. in 2006 describes novel compact broadband dual frequency microstrip
antenna [11]. The proposed design consists of a rectangular microstrip antenna and close to the
radiating edge of the patch pair of parallel slots are loaded and in antenna's ground plane three
meandering narrow slots are embedded. By varying length of meandering slots, various results has
been calculated. By using three meandering slots in the ground plane, resonant frequencies get
lowered significantly with enhancement of operational bandwidth in comparison to standard
16
rectangular microstrip antenna without slots. By introducing slots in the design, the proposed
antenna has size reduction of 50.6% and 30% for two resonant frequency and bandwidth
enhancement of 12.2% and 4.5% as compared to standard rectangular antenna without slots. So,
by this approach, compact size antenna with bandwidth enhanced has achieved.

Abdelaziz A. Abdelaziz et al. in 2007 describes the technique for reduction of size of antenna
[12]. Here shorting wall length technique is used to design compact size antenna which is
applicable for GPS communication. Here by reducing shorting wall length, it has been seen that
resonance frequency also get reduced ,so for keeping the resonsance frequency(1.575) same, the
length of patch get reduced. As the patch length reduces the axial ratio of antenna also get
degrade. To compensate this, we adjust the perturbation segment length ∆L .By this axial ratio get
improved. As patch length is reduced for keeping the resonance frequency same so it results in
reduction of size of antenna which is the need of the hour for nowadays required devices. In this
paper, the size reduction of 24.6 % is there as compared to conventional rectangular microstrip
patch antenna.

Ghulam Ahmed et al. in 2009 presented a paper to provide the overview of antenna design. It
provides different pararmeters which can effect the antenna design [8]. the papers reveals about
various satellite orbits, polarization selection, antenna design drivers, space environment, satellite
antenna coverage, softwares of antenna, contour beam implementation, satellite antenna analysis
techniques, satellite antenna design tools, satellite antenna tests, remotely configurable satellite
antenna. This papere provides us various consideration in designing of antenna which can effect
the performance.

Navdeep kaur et al. in 2010 describes a coxial feed Microstrip Patch Antenna operating at 4.6
GHz frequency, having four L shaped slots is presented [13]. Here conventional antenna is
compared with slotted patch antenna and it has been seen that there is decrease in size and and
bandwidth has also increased. Further when ground plane is also introduced with some defects and
it has been seen that it yields more better result than full ground plane as well as conventional
antenna. Antenna with full Ground Plane has return loss -17.91dB and gain 7.9dB is achieved but
by defecting the Ground Plane return loss and gain further improved to -21.23dB and [Link]
performance parameter is simulated using software HFSS. Here coxial feeding is used to reduce
spurious radiation and for better matching of Impedence. The proposed antenna with full ground

17
has bandwidth 222 MHz and the antenna with defected ground plane has bandwidth enhanced to
312 MHz. The proposed microstrip Patch antenna has compact size designed for C band downlink
frequency in satellite communication applications.

T. K. Sreeja et al. in 2012 proposed an antenna for Nanosatellite application [14]. The aim to
design an antenna with low weight, low profile with better gain and directivity. The antenna
consists of low profile, low weight patch antenna with 2 antenna elements of physical dimension
37*27*1.25𝑚𝑚3 . Each elements have 2 slots of U shaped and other of rectangular shape. U-
shaped slot for providing dual band application. This antenna provides better gain and directivity.

M. Samsuzzaman et al. in 2013 describes antenna with dual band, triple frequency X shaped
patch [15]. The proposed antenna in this paper is designed with five rectangular slots which
produces dual band operation for KU band and single for K band application. This antenna gives
desired results for KU/K band application and results in omni-directional and stable radiation
pattern with low cross polarization. This antenna is best suited for satellite communication,
Aircraft collision avoidance system.

Pristin K Mathew et al. in 2014 describes wideband triple frequency microstrip patch antenna for
wireless and communication is designed to construct compact and reduced size antenna [16]. Here
reduction in size is done by introducing slits in non radiating edge of the patch. The proposed
antenna consists of array of slits that enable to operate at ISM, WIMAX and Satellite
communication. In this design, six rectangular slits are etched and a pair of wider slits which
results in reduction of size, bandwidth enhancement. The feeding technique used is coxial probe
feeding. The patch is meandered by cutting six slits for dual band operation and a pair of slit for
satellite communication. The proposed antenna is simulated using software CADFEKO and
parameters such as bandwidth, return loss and VSWR is measured.. In comparison to conventional
microstrip patch antenna, the proposed antenna achieves more than 80% reduction in size and
reduction in resonant frequency by 45%. This antenna is well suited for wireless communication
system.

Sudeep Baudha et al. in 2014 describes an antenna with truncated corner broadband patch and
circular slost [17]. Due to circular slots and truncated corners, bandwidth enhancement and best
impedence matching has taken place. Due to circular slots, the antenna starts resonating at lower

18
frequencies and by corner truncating, the antenna starts resonating at higher frequencies, so
combine results in bandwidth enhancement. Band width enhancement of 123% as compared
simple patch has been seen here. This antenna supports the application such as satellite application,
RADAR communication

M. T. Islam et al. in 2014 proposed a circularly polarized compact microstrip antenna with low
axial ratio for small satellite [18]. The design based on V- shaped slits and parasitic element
introduced in patch. V-shaped slits are for circular polarization and rectangular strip is for wide
axial ratio bandwidth. The antenna is designed for satellite named HORYU-IV and by taking in
consideration the requirements of this satellite, antenna is designed. Simulated and measured 10-
dB return loss bandwidth are 2.74 % (2.2527- 2.3152 GHz) and 2.73% (2.2450-2.3075 GHz),
respectively. The measured 3-dB AR bandwidth is 17 MHz and simulated bandwidth is also near
about 13 MHz. The maximum gain is 7.29 dBi at 2.285 GHz. The overall dimension of the antenna
is 0.61λ×0.61λ×0.01λ at 2.285 GHz.

M. T. Islam et al. in 2015 proposed a compact single layer coxial- probe- fed high gain patch
antenna for HORYU-IV nanosatellite S-band communication [18]. The overall dimensions of the
antenna are 0.61λ×0.61λ×0.01λ at 2.285 GHz with the weight of 25 g. The simulated 3-dB AR
bandwidth is 0.56% (2.293–2.280 GHz), which is slightly less than the measured bandwidth of
0.74% (2.278–2.295 GHz). The impedance and AR bandwidth are sufficient to cover the HORYU-
IV S-band communication requirement. the antenna exhibits an effective bandwidth of 2.73% from
2.2450 to 2.3075 GHz, for 10-dB return loss. The measured gain of the antenna prototype is
around 7.29 dBi, and the 3-dB AR beamwidth is about 1560 at 2.285 GHz.

[Link] et al. in 2015 designed a circularly polarized antenna for s-band satellite communication
system [19].Here antenna consists of rectangular patch and full ground plane. In this design two
rectangular slots get etched from the patch so that size can be compact and for achieving circular
polarization. This antenna results in 3dB AR Bandwidth of 30 MHz with -10dB reflection
coefficient. This antenna can prove better for wireless application.

19
Pravin Ratilal Prajapati et al. in 2015 describes a compact circularly polarized (CP) microstrip
antenna for mobile satellite communication band of India (1.492– 1.518 GHz) is designed [20].
Two asymmetric length rectangular shape slots, perpendicular to each other are printed on the
circular patch so that circular polarization can be achieved. In order to improve the performance
parameters of patch antenna such as axial ratio (AR) bandwidth, return loss bandwidth, radiation
efficiency and many more a new technique of combination of fractal theory and defected ground
structure (DGS) is used. Defected ground structure (DGS) concept has also been used to improve
the planar antenna’s desired characteristics. Size reduction in patch size results as 44.74%,
enhancements of 62.73% in AR bandwidth, 70.74% in return loss bandwidth and 4.03% in
radiation efficiency is extracted as compared with conventional patch antenna, after incorporating
fractal DGS in the ground plane. In this, the use of fractal DGS in the design results in better
results than traditional antenna without DGS. Performance enhancement is been seen in terms of
compact radiating patch, better radiation efficiency, optimum gain, optimum return loss bandwidth
and AR bandwidth.

Yuktitath Chawanonphithaka et al. in 2016 proposed a miniaturized dual band V- shaped

monopole antenna fed by V- stub. Substrate used is Fr4. The total size of antenna is 18*26*1.6
𝑚𝑚3 . The antenna composed of V- shaped stubs. This antenna is applicable for WIMAX and
WLAN applications [21]. It is low profile, low cost antenna. The achieved gains of antenna at 3.5
GHz and 5.5 GHz are 1.51 dBi and 2.34 dBi and produce omnidirectional beam. Band width
achieved are 3.24 GHz - 3.71 GHz and 4.85 GHz – 5.87 GHz for less than -10 dB return loss.

Simon Mener et al. in 2016 proposed a novel Ka- band dual band dual circularly polarized
antenna array for satellite communication. Left hand circular polarization for downlink frequencies
and right hand circular polarization for uplink frequencies [22]. By applying sequencial rotation
techjnique, the 2× 2 subarray is designed for good radiation pattern and to achieve good
polarization purity. This antenna is applicable for satellite communication.

[Link] et al. in 2016 designed an antenna array with 12 elements which is suitable for Airborne
satellite communication applications [23]. The overall size of antenna makes it well suited for
airborne app alication. To generate dual circular polarization, antenna can be generated by
microstrip patch and a hybrid. This antenna produces radiation pattern with low cross polarisation
and results in bandwidth of 14% and measured gain of 13dbBi is achieved.

20
2.1 SURVEY ON MICROSTRIP ANTENNA

In applications where high performance is vital i-e where weight, cost, performance, size and ease
of installation are the bounds low profile antennas may be required [2]. To meet these requirements
the microstrip antennas can be used. They are low profile, economical, low weight antennas which
are conformable to planer and non-planer surfaces. They are one of the useful antennas at the
microwave frequencies i-e, frequencies above to 1 GHz (f > 1 GHz).
The simplest form of the microstrip antenna is shown in the Figure 3.1 and Figure 3.2 which
consists of a radiating patch on one side of the dielectric substrate and a ground plane on other
side.

Fig. 3.1 Patch on the substrate Fig. 3.2 Ground below substrate

The patch is commonly made of the gold, copper and many others i-e the materials with good
conductivity and can have any shape. The radiating patch and the lines which feed antenna are
commonly photo imprinted on the dielectric substrate

21
2.1.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF MICROSTRIP ANTENNA

Microstrip antenna consists of a metallic patch embedded on a ground plane. Designing of

microstrip antenna is chosen such as it provides maximum pattern in direction normal to the patch.
This can be achieved by choosing a proper method of excitation beneath the patch. Another
important characteristic which must be considered during design of antenna is dielectric constant
which is in the range of 2.2 to 12. Thick substrates provide better performance since they provide
better efficiency, large bandwidth, radiation into space is loosely bound. But this in turn increases
the size of element. So a lower valued substrate is chosen which results in small element size and
tightly bounded fields in order to reduce undesired radiation and coupling but have small
bandwidth and low efficiency.

2.1.2 MSA OPERATIONS

The patch acts almost as a resonant cavity, where the patch is on the top, the ground plane is on the
bottom. The patch edges act as open circuit boundary condition. In the cavity some modes are
allowed to exist at different resonant frequencies [1]. At resonant frequency, when the antenna is
excited, a strong field is generated inside the resonant cavity and strong current on the surface of
patch is produced which produces significant radiation from the fringing fields between the edges
of the patch and the ground plane.

Quality factor (Q) of microstrip antenna is very large. Q represents the loses associated with an
antenna. With increase in value of Q, efficiency decreases and bandwidth becomes narrow. Q can
be decreased by increasing thickness of substrate which leads to increase in size of antenna. Not
only this, increase in thickness of substrate leads to delivery of total power from source to surface
waves. This results in unwanted power loss as all this power is scattered at bends and leads to
degradation of characteristics of antenna. Now to calculate length and width of microstrip patch
the following equations are used:

𝐶
𝑊=
√𝜀𝑟 + 1
2𝑓ₒ 2

W= width of patch

22
 𝜖𝑟 + 1 𝜖𝑟 − 1 ℎ 1/2
𝜖𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑓=𝜖𝑟 + + (1 + 12 )
2 2 𝑤

𝜖𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑓=effective dielectric constant

𝑐
𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓 =
2𝑓0√𝜖𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑓

𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓 = length of patch

𝐿 = 𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓 − 2∆𝐿

L= actual length of patch

2.1.3 ADVANTAGES
Microstrip antenna are used for various embedded devices like hand held devices like mobile
phones owing to the low profile property they exhibit. Other advantages of microstrip antenna are:
 Low weight and volume
 Ease of fabrication and implementation
 Mechanically robust when mounted on rigid surfaces
 Provides polarization diversity
 Helps in easy integration with microwave integration circuits
Major advantages like high gain, ease of conformity and low back radiations made microstrip
antenna to be widely used in wireless communication as compared to wire antenna.

2.1.4 DISADVANTAGES
Like the two sides of a coin, despite of providing numerous advantages, there are even some
demerits which are produced by microstrip antenna. Following is the list of disadvantages due to
design of microstrip antenna:
 Low gain
 Narrow bandwidth
 Presence of conduction and dielectric loses results in relatively low efficiency
 Feeds and junctions provide extra radiations
23
  Excitation of surface waves
 Low power handling capacity
 Feeding structure in case of arrays results in large ohmic loses
 high cross-polarization radiations

2.1.5 APPLICATIONS OF MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS

Some system applications for which microstrip antennas have been developed are:

 Satellite communication.

 Doppler and other radars.

 Radio altimeters.

 Command and control systems.

 Missiles and telemetry (stick-on sensors and weapon focusing).

 Remote sensing and environmental instrumentation.

 Satellite navigation receivers.

 Mobile radio (pagers, telephones and man-pack systems

2.2 FEEDING TECHNIQUES

Various feeding techniques are used to feed the antenna elements. It can be categorized into
contacting and non-contacting methods [1]. Connecting element such as a microstrip line is used to
directly feed the radiating patch with RF power in case of contacting method. In the non contacting
method, process of electromagnetic coupling is used to deliver power to radiating patch of
microstrip antenna. Various important feeding techniques are microstrip line, coaxial probe,
aperture coupling and proximity coupling [4].

2.2.1 MICROSTRIP LINE

This is a contacting method to feed antenna element. A narrow strip is directly connected to edge
radiating patch of antenna. The width of the conducting strip is small as compared to microstrip.
This gives the advantage of attaining a planar structure as the strip can be etched on same surface
24
where patch is present. The inset cut is made to match the impedance of feed line to the microstrip
patch without the use of any additional matching circuit. So the position of inset cut be adjusted
accordingly.

ADVANTAGES
 Planar structure.
 No additional matching circuit required so its designing is simple.
 Ease of fabrication.

Fig. 3.4Microstrip line

DISADVANTAGE
 Increase in dielectric substrates thickness leads to increase in surface waves and spurious
feed radiations.
 Feed radiations leads to increased cross polarization.
 Bandwidth is hampered due to surface waves and feed radiations

2.2.2 COAXIAL PROBE

It is a form a contacting method as power delivered is via direct connection with microstrip patch.
It consists of two conductors, inner and outer conductor. Inner conductor of the coaxial connector

25
extends through the dielectric substrate and gets connected to radiating patch. Outer conductor on
the other side connects the ground plane
.
ADVANTAGES
 Coaxial conductor can be placed anywhere inside the microstrip patch so as to match the
impedance of patch.
 Easy fabrication.
 Low spurious radiations

DISADVANTAGES
 Modeling is difficult as a hole must be drilled inside the substrate and the connector
extends from the ground plane, thereby, making the structure non planar for thick
substrates a narrow bandwidth.
 In case of thicker substrates, matching problem takes place due to increase in length of
probe which makes input impedance more inductive.

 Fig. 3.5 coxial probe

26
2.2.3 PROXIMITY COUPLING
This is also known as electromagnetic coupling method and is a non contacting type. In this
method, two substrates are placed one above another where feed line is between them and the
upper substrates surface contain the radiating patch. Matching is obtained by controlling length of
feed line and width-to-line ratio.

ADVANTAGES
 High bandwidth.
 No spurious feed radiation due to increase in thickness of microstrip patch antenna.

DISADVANTAGES
 Increase in thickness of antenna.
 Since two dielectric substrates require proper alignment, fabrication is difficult.

Fig. 3.6 Proximity coupling

27
2.2.4 APERTURE COUPLING
This is a non-contacting method of feeding which involves the usage of two substrates which are
separated by ground plane. A slot or aperture is made in the ground plane in order to provide
coupling between patch and feed line. Shape, size and location of aperture decide the amount of
coupling between patch and the feed line. In order to get optimum radiations, low dielectric
material is used for top substrate and high dielectric material is used for the bottom surface.

ADVANTAGES
 Symmetry of configuration is acquired due to presence of coupling slot under the
microstrip patch which results in lower cross-polarization.
 Due to the presence of ground plane between the two substrates, spurious radiations are
reduced

DISADVANTAGES
 Multiple layers lead to increase in thickness.
 Fabrication is difficult and narrow bandwidth.

Fig. 3.7 Aperture coupling

28
 CHAPTER 3
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The major contribution of the work would be as follows:

1. Comparative analysis of various designs of antenna for satellite applications.
2. Designing and optimization of the proposed antenna for different antenna parameters.
3. Fabrication, testing and validation of the proposed antenna.
4. Comparative analysis of proposed antenna design with various existing antenna of satellite
application.

29
 CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the simulation tool High Frequency Simulation Software (HFSS) which is been
used for the designing and simulation of the antenna is described.
HFSS is an interactive software package for calculating the electromagnetic behavior of a structure
designed by Ansy. The software includes post-processing commands for analyzing this behavior in
detail.
Using HFSS, we can compute:
 Basic electromagnetic field quantities and, for open boundary problems, radiated near and
far fields.

 Characteristic port impedances and propagation constants.

 Generalized S-parameters and S-parameters renormalized to specific port impedances.

 Radiation pattern and Gain in Rectangular, 2D and Polar plots.

 The Eigen modes, or resonances, of a structure.

HFSS is the industry-standard simulation tool for 3D full wave electromagnetic field simulation.
HFSS provides E-Fields, H-Fields, currents, S- parameters and near and far field radiation field
results. These equation systems are linear if the underlying PDE is linear, and vice-versa.
Algebraic equations systems are then solved using numerical linear algebraic methods.

4.2 Procedure Overview

The procedure which is fallowed in the designing of the structures in HFSS is shown in the figure
4.1. The first step involved in the designing of the model in the HFSS is to draw the geometric
model of the structure that is to be analyzed. Then the objects that are being drawn are assigned the
materials of which they are made and various other properties like transparency, color etc. can also
be assigned at the same time. The next step is to define the boundaries for the structure such as
perfect electric or magnetic conductor. After defining the boundaries the structure is excited by the
port or the voltage source which needs to be excited. Once the boundaries and excitations are
30
defined the structure is completely modeled and the solution is set up for the structure. This
solution step requires the assignment of the frequency sweep at which adaptive mess requirement
takes place. After completion of the solution step the structure is simulated and after the
completion of simulation the solution data is post-processed which includes the graphs for the
various parameters such as S11 parameter, VSWR and far field plots.

Fig. 4.1 HFSS procedure overview

Following are the step to be taken for designing of antenna in HFSS software:

31
Step1) The first step in designing any type of the antenna is to select the type of substrate which
has appropriate thickness and loss tangent. It can be done by selecting box and providing
dimensions.

Fig. 4.2 design of substrate

Step2) Now we take rectangle for the formation of patch by providing the dimensions .

Fig. 4.3 showing patch on substrate

Step3) Now we need to form ground plane according to the dimensions required by taking
rectangle from the draw option on the top HFSS window. As we can clearly see ground plane
below substrate.

32
 Fig. 4.4 Ground plane below substrate

Step4) now we provide coxial feeding by selecting the cylinder from draw. For coxial feeding, we
take two cylinder having two radius inner and outer. For inner cylinder we take material Pec and
for outer radius, material is Teflon.

Fig. 4.5 Feeding(coxial)

.
STEP 5) After feeding is done, we need to apply boundaries to patch , ground plane, outer coax
and radiation box and excitation is applied to port.

33
 Fig. 4.6 showing assignment of boundaries and excitation

Step7) Analysis is done by adding sweep set up and assigning start and stop frequency. If whole
design is complete as shown below then start simulation and check results.

8
Fig. 4.7 showing completion of design

34
 Fig. 4.8 showing complete design of basic patch antenna.

By using HFSS we can implement any type of feeding technique. The above steps are shown for
coxial feeding.

35
 CHAPTER 5
IMPLEMENTATION OF DESIGN / WORK DONE
5.1 DESIGN -1
The antenna design-1, implemented by me on software HFSS was designed by Sudeep Baudha et
.al in 2014 . The proposed antenna is fabricated on 14 * 14 * 1.57 mmᶾ Rogers RT5870 substrate
(Er=52.33 ) and loss tangent of 0.0012). Bandwidth enhancement has been results due to cutting of
two circular slots and by truncating the corners of the square patch gives rise to better impedance
matching.. The antenna finds application in satellite communication, radar communication, and
other alleged wireless communication services.
In this paper, three design has been implemented. In first design, simple square patch antenna
shown in Figure 1(a) is implemented and results are analysed. In second design, corners are
truncated and better results are achieved. In third design further, the two circular slots are cut in the
square patch as shown in Figure 1(c) and more better results are achieved.

Fig. 5.1showing simple patch(a), truncated patch(b),patch with circular slots(c), side view(d)

36
Various steps has been taken for the implementation of the paper described above are as follow:
Step 1) Firstly we take box for the formation of substrate in the HFSS plane by giving its
dimension from the paper to be implemented as shown in fig

Fig. 5.2 showing substrate design in the xyz plane

Step2) Now we take rectangle for the formation of patch by providing the dimensions given in
paper to be implemented as shown below

37
 Fig. 5.3 showing patch design on substrate
Step3) now we need to form ground plane according to the dimensions provided by taking
rectangle from the draw option on the top HFSS window. As we can clearly see ground plane
below substrate.

Fig. 5.4 showing ground plane on the bottom of substrate

Step4) now we provide coxial feeding by selecting the cylinder from draw. For coxial feeding, we
take two cylinder having two radius inner and outer. For inner cylinder we take material Pec and
for outer radius, material is Teflon.

Fig. 5.5 showing coxial feeding

38
STEP 5) After feeding is done, we need to apply boundaries to patch , ground plane, outer coax
and radiation box and excitation is applied to port.

Fig. 5.6 showing assignment of boundaries and excitation

Step7) Analysis is done by adding sweep set up and assigning start and stop frequency. If whole
design is complete as shown below then start simulation and check results.

39
8
Fig. 5.7 showing completion of design

A simple patch antenna is modified for bandwidth enhancement shown in fig. 5.8. Initially, two
corners of the patch have been truncated for impedance matching as shown in fig. 5.9. Two
circular slots have been introduced in the square patch for further bandwidth enhancement shown
in fig. 5.10. Due to addition of circular slots, antenna starts resonating at lower frequencies
whereas due to truncation of the corners, antenna starts resonating at higher frequencies, the
combined effect of both gives rise to bandwidth enhancement.

Fig. 5.8 showing design of simple patch

40
 Fig. 5.9 showing design of patch with truncated corner

Fig. 5.10 showing design of patch with truncated corners and circular slots

41
 a b d m h

Simple patch 14 7 - - 1.57

antenna

Corner 14 7 1.5 - 1.57

truncated
antenna
Proposed 14 7 1.5 3 1.57
antenna

Table2. showing the dimensions of simple patch, corner truncated and circular slots.

By implementing the above designs, we can see the difference in the results which has been
discussed in results and discussion.

5.2 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The simulation of implemented antenna was carried out using HFSS software. First we simulate
simple design that is simple rectangular patch and we can see the results in fig. 9.1. It can been
seen from the return loss that after simulation of simple patch, the bandwidth is 1 GHz, with upper
band at 12.5 GHz and lower at 11.5 GHz. When antenna with truncated corner was implemented,
the upper band get shifted to 13.50 GHz and lower band shifted to 12.07 GHz. Further when two
circular slots get introduced in the design, the corresponding modes get split and the initial mode
covers the lower operating band and the second mode covers the higher operating bands. The
lower band has shifted to 10.8 GHz, showing an enhancement of 1.1 GHz whereas the upper band
has shifted from 13.5 to 13.2 GHz, showing deviation of 0.3 GHz. The fractional bandwidth of the
proposed antenna has increased from 12.9 to 19%, showing an enhancement of 47% as compared
to corner truncated patch antenna, so the overall fractional bandwidth of the proposed antenna has
enhanced from 8.5 to 19%, showing an enhancement of 123% as compared to simple patch
antenna. Final fractional bandwidth achieved by the proposed structure is 19% (10.8–13.2 GHz)

42
Fig. 5.11 showing return loss of simple patch.

Fig. 5.12 2-D Total Gain (simple patch)

Fig. 5.13 VSWR of simple patch design

43
Fig. 5.14 showing return loss of antenna design with truncated corners

Fig. 5.15 Total Gain (truncated corners)

Fig. 5.16 VSWR of truncated corners

44
Fig. 5.17 showing the return loss of antenna of final design with truncated as well as circular slots.

Fig. 5.18 VSWR

45
 Fig. 5.19 comparison between simple patch, truncated corner patch and with circular slots.

5.3 DESIGN-2

The antenna design-2, implemented by me on HFSS is proposed by M. Samsuzzaman et al. in

2013. Antenna with dual band, triple frequency X shaped patch is proposed in this paper. The
antenna in this paper is designed with five rectangular slots which produces dual band operation
for KU band and single for K band application. The antenna gives desired results for KU/K band
application and results in omni-directional and stable radiation pattern with low cross polarization.
This antenna is best suited for satellite communication, Aircraft collision avoidance system.

Various steps has been taken for the implementation of the paper described above are as follow:

Step 1) Firstly we take box for the formation of substrate in the HFSS plane by giving its
dimension from the paper to be implemented as shown in fig.

46
 Fig. 5.20 substrate on XYZ plane

Step2) Take rectangle for patch and from DRAW, use line option for slot cutting according to
dimensions

Fig. 5.21 showing patch design with five rectangular slots

Step3) Design ground plane by choosing rectangle according to dimensions provided.

Fig. 5.22 showing partial ground plane

Step4) Design port for providing feeding to the antenna.

47
 Fig.5.23 showing port for feeding

Step5) Assignment of boundaries to patch, ground plane air box and outer coax and excitation to
port.

fig. 5. 24 showing complete design

5.4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Return loss shows that this antenna is applicable for two bands of frequency. One is k band and
other is KU bands. As results are not exactly same as that the paper, but showing good agreement
with the proposed papers.

48
 XY Plot 1 HFSSDesign1 ANSOFT
0.00
Curve Info
dB(St(feeding_T1,feeding_T1))
-2.00 Setup1 : Sw eep

Name X Y
-4.00
m1 12.9749 -11.6297
dB(St(feeding_T1,feeding_T1))

m2 25.2764 -17.7429
-6.00 m3 24.2312 -11.5023

-8.00

-10.00
m1 m3

-12.00

-14.00

-16.00
m2
-18.00
10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00 22.00 24.00 26.00
Freq [GHz]

Fig. 5.25 return loss

Fig. 5.26 3-D Gain

49
 XY Plot 7 HFSSDesign1 ANSOFT
75.00
Curve Info
VSWRt(feeding_T1)
Setup1 : Sw eep

62.50

50.00
VSWRt(feeding_T1)

37.50

25.00

12.50

0.00
10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00 18.00 20.00 22.00 24.00 26.00
Freq [GHz]

Fig. 5.27 VSWR

VSWR obtained is also within desired range as we can see from the fig. vswr <2 .

50
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

6.1CONCLUSION

This implementation work on software HFSS helps to analysis the results and to differentiate
between various techniques as in this implementation two techniques results in optimium results.
The design gives optimum results and optimum gain of 6dB and good radiation pattern and helps
to knows the various approaches to get desired results. The design miniature the size of antenna
and results in better return loss, bandwidth. This antenna is well suited for satellite communication
and wireless application.

By introducing techniques like truncated corner, bandwidth get enhancement and result in better
reflection coefficient and by further introducing circular slots, antenna results in two resonating
frequency with sufficient bandwidth and better return loss. Various papers have been reviewed to
learn about techniques of making efficient antenna. This works helps to know about the software
HFSS used in implementation of the design and analysis the results.

6.2 FUTURE WORK

From the knowledge, I gained from work done and implementation, I would put my best efforts to
design an antenna which would produce better gain and bandwidth can be enhanced by using
various techniques, I have studied in my literature review and try to give better technology to the
world.

51
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