Graduation Year
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.E.E.
Degree Granting Department
Electrical Engineering
Major Professor
Ravi Sankar, Ph.D.
Co-Major Professor
Kenneth Buckle, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Paris H. Wiley, Ph.D.
Keywords
Beamwidth, Bandwidth, Modeling, Range, RADAR
Abstract
There have been many different technology advancements with the invention of solid state electronics, leading to the digital era which has changed the way users employ electronic circuits. Antennas are no different; however, they are still analog devices. With the advancements in technology, antennas are being fabricated on much higher frequencies and with greater bandwidths, all while trying to keep size and weight to a minimum. Centimeter and millimeter wave technologies have evolved for many different radio frequency (RF) applications. Microstrip patch antennas have been developed, as wire and tubular antenna elements are difficult to fabricate with the tolerances required at micro-wavelengths. Microstrip patch antennas are continuously being improved. These types of antennas are great for embedded or conformal applications where size and weight are of the essence and the ease of manufacturing elements to tight tolerances is important. One of the greatest benefits of patch antennas is the ease in creating an array. Many simulation programs have been created to assist in the design of patch antennas and arrays. However, there are still discrepancies between simulated results and actual measurements.
This research will focus on these differences. It begins with a literature research of patch antenna design, followed by an assessment of simulation programs used for patch antenna design. The resulting antenna design was realized by the fabrication of an antenna from the Genesys software. Laboratory measurements of the real-world antenna are then compared to the theoretical antenna characteristics. This process is used to
illustrate deficiencies in the software models and likely improvements that need to be made.
Scholar Commons Citation
Wallace, Matthew J., "Mutual Elements and Substrate Effect Analysis on Patch Antenna Arrays" (2010). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/3702
