Tunable coplanar patch antenna using varactor

B.R. Holland, R. Ramadoss, S. Pandey and P. Agrawal

The operating frequency of a coplanar patch antenna is tuned using a varactor mounted at one of the radiating edges. The coplanar patch antenna is tunable from 4.92 GHz at 0 V to 5.40 GHz at 19.5 V with a return loss better than 14 dB in this frequency range. The antenna provides a return loss better than 32 dB in the tunable frequency range of 5.16 to 5.40 GHz.

Fig. 2 Transmission line model for coplanar patch antenna with varactor diode mounted at top radiating edge

Introduction: In recent years there has been considerable interest in the development of tunable antennas because of the increasing number of global wireless standards in close proximity to one another. A single tunable antenna would eliminate the need for multiple antennas operating in various frequency bands. In the past, several tunable antennas using varactor diodes have been reported [14]. In [2], the operating frequency of the microstrip patch antenna was tuned using a varactor diode at both radiating edges. In [3], an L-band tunable antenna with multiple varactors mounted at both radiating edges was reported. In [4], a dual-band stacked patch inverted-F antenna (PIFA) tuned using diode-switched shorting straps was reported. In this Letter, the operating frequency of a coplanar patch antenna (CPA) is tuned using a single varactor diode located at one of the radiating edges. CPAs are based on the concept of open-ended coplanar waveguide (CPW) resonators [5, 6]. A CPA, because of its uniplanar conguration, facilitates integration of shunt and series mounting of active and passive components. A CPA offers several advantages such as wider bandwidth and lower cross-polarisation radiation, compared to microstrip patch antennas [1, 6].

A CPA with L 21 mm, W 30 mm and S 2.2 mm has been designed and fabricated on a 30 mil-thick RT=Duroid 6002 substrate er 2.94 (available from Rogers Corporation) with 1=4 ounce copper metallisation. The dimensions of the 50 O CPW feed line are g 0.1 mm and w 1.642 mm. A varactor diode MA46H200 (available from MACOM) has been mounted at the top radiating edge of this antenna to obtain a tunable CPA. The experimental results of the tunable CPA are discussed in the following Section. Experimental results: Fig. 3 is a photograph of the fabricated antenna with the MA46H200 varactor diode. Reverse DC bias voltage was applied to the varactor using a bias tee connected to the input port of the antenna. Typical capacitance values for the MA46H200 varactor are 1.4 and 0.15 pF, corresponding to reverse bias voltages of 0.5 and 20 V, respectively. The return loss of the antenna was measured using an Agilent 8510C vector network analyser. It should be pointed out that the term operating frequency is used to refer to the frequency at which the return loss is at a maximum for a chosen bias voltage. The return loss results of the antenna for various reverse bias voltages (0 to 19.5 V) applied to the varactor diode are shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen that the operating frequency of the antenna increases from 4.92 GHz at 0 V with a return loss of 14 dB to 5.40 GHz at 19.5 V with a return loss of 56 dB. The return loss is better than 32 dB in the tunable frequency range of 5.16 to 5.40 GHz. A similar trend in the frequency shift was observed in the antennas resonant frequency with respect to the bias voltage.

Design concept: The schematic layout of the tunable CPA fed by a CPW feed line is shown in Fig. 1. The characteristic parameters of the CPA are: length L, width W and slot S. The electric eld distributions along the top and bottom slots (at the open-ends) that are oriented in the x-direction are in-phase and hence these slots are referred to as radiating edges (RE); whereas the electric eld distributions in the right and left slots that are oriented in the y-direction are out of phase and hence these slots are referred to as non-radiating edges (NRE). A varactor diode is mounted at the centre of the top radiating edge of the CPA to implement a tunable antenna. The CPA is fed at the bottom radiating edge by a 50 O CPW feed line.

varactor

CPW line SMA launch

Fig. 3 Photograph of fabricated coplanar patch antenna with varactor diode mounted at centre of top radiating edge

Fig. 1 Schematic layout of tunable coplanar patch antenna with varactor diode

A transmission line model of the tunable CPA with the varactor at the top radiating edge is shown in Fig. 2. As the capacitance C of the varactor is increased, the effective length Le of the antenna increases and thereby decreases the resonant frequency of the antenna. The term resonant frequency is used to refer to the frequency at which the imaginary part of the antennas input impedance is zero.

Fig. 4 Measured return loss results of coplanar patch antenna for various bias voltages applied to varactor diode

ELECTRONICS LETTERS 16th March 2006 Vol. 42 No. 6

Measured E-plane (Ey in yz-plane) and H-plane (Ef in xz-plane) radiation patterns of the coplanar patch antenna for various bias voltages are shown in Fig. 5. The radiation patterns for each bias voltage were measured at the operating frequency of the antenna. It can be observed that the antenna exhibits high gain for bias voltages that provide high return loss at the operating frequency. Owing to the capacitive loading effect introduced by the varactor at the top radiating edge, the phase of the elds radiated from the top radiating edge lags that of the bottom radiating edge. As a result, the E-plane patterns are slightly tilted towards the top radiating edge as seen in Fig. 5a. As the bias voltage is increased, the capacitance of the varactor decreases and hence the tilt angle decreases. However, as expected, the H-plane patterns do not exhibit signicant tilt from the varactor loading effect.

Conclusion: A varactor tuned coplanar patch antenna capable of operation in the frequency range of 4.92 to 5.4 GHz is presented. These types of tunable antennas will nd potential applications in next generation multi-standard wireless communication systems. # IEE 2006 Electronics Letters online no: 20063554 doi: 10.1049/el:20063554 7 October 2005

B.R. Holland, R. Ramadoss, S. Pandey and P. Agrawal (Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Auburn University, AL 36849, USA) E-mail: ramadra@eng.auburn.edu

References
1 2 3 4 5 Fig. 5 Measured radiation patterns of coplanar patch antenna for various bias voltages applied to varactor diode
a E-plane (Ey in yz-plane) b H-plane (Ef in xz-plane)

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ELECTRONICS LETTERS 16th March 2006

Vol. 42 No. 6