Microstrip Antenna

Acknowledgments The Author would like to kindly thank Prof. Georg Splitt for his valuable advice and consenting to the use of the Mstrip40 program, Dr. Graham French for the inspiration and motivation behind the lab manual. Dedication This manual is dedicated to the staff who have taught, encouraged and guided me throughout my course at the University of Canberra. Foreword There is a need for a microstrip antenna design program in a teaching environment that does not require large sums of money to purchase. Mstrip40 addresses these needs and is a free microstrip antenna design program, which free to download and does not require a licence to use. At the author's current institution only one antenna design package was available, while it had many benefits only one licence was obtained so it was limited for use in a learning laboratory environment. Using approximate formulas in the analysis of microstrip antennas can lead to inaccuracies, therefore a full wave solution is required to model the antenna structure accurately. Mstip40 uses a method of moment so all effects such as coupling between layers, surface wave excitation and dielectric losses are taken into account. However students may find it difficult to use the software for microstrip antenna design. As a result, for an honours project, the author has designed a laboratory manual using Mstrip40 which can be used in a teaching environment. The aim of this manual is to promote student understanding and learning of microstrip antenna design. Target Audience The microstrip antenna design manual has been written for third year or four year students studying microwave communications to aid them in the basic learning and design of microstrip antennas. The author assumes that students already have a basic understanding of RF design and analysis methods such as interpreting smith charts, input reflection plots and basic antenna design theory. Learning Outcomes There are five experiments in this laboratory manual in addition to a introductory section on the use of Mstrip40. After completing the experiments thoroughly students will build on their knowledge of microstrip antennas and acquire the confidence to design microstrip antenna using various feed techniques. Advantages Mstrip40 is a free method of moments microstrip antenna design package which has a number of attractive features including: • Free to download and use no dongle necessary • Can analyse a microstrip antenna structure with up to 5 dielectric layers • Structures placed on four …