Planar microstrip Yagi antenna array

• US 5,220,335 A
• Filed: 02/28/1991
• Issued: 06/15/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration
• Inventors: Huang, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Hille, Rolf
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, PETER T
• Application Number:
  US07/664,445
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 343/700 MS, 343/705, 343/708, 343/815-820, 343/833, 343/834
• US Class Current: 343/700.0MS
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/38 formed by a conductive layer on an insulating support patch antennas H01Q9/0407; microstrip dipole antennas H01Q9/065; microstrip slot antennas H01Q13/106; transmission line microstrip antennas H01Q13/206; manufacturing reflecting surfaces using insulating material for supporting the reflecting surface H01Q15/142
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/005 Patch antenna using one or more coplanar parasitic elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/30 the primary active element being centre-fed and substantially straight, e.g. Yagi antenna

Abstract

A directional microstrip antenna includes a driven patch surrounded by an isolated reflector and one or more coplanar directors, all separated from a groundplane on the order of 0.1 wavelength or less to provide endfire beam directivity without requiring power dividers or phase shifters. The antenna may be driven at a feed point a distance from the center of the driven patch in accordance with conventional microstrip antenna design practices for H-plane coupled or horizontally polarized signals. The feed point for E-plane coupled or vertically polarized signals is at a greater distance from the center than the first distance. This feed point is also used for one of the feed signals for circularly polarized signals. The phase shift between signals applied to feed points for circularly polarized signals must be greater than the conventionally required 90° and depends upon the antenna configuration.

Claims

1. A directional microstrip array antenna comprising:

a dielectric substrate having first and second surfaces;

a group plane on the first surface of the substrate;

a square driven patch on the second surface of the substrate connected to a source or receiver of power, the separation between said driven patch and said groundplane being 0.1 wavelength or less;

a square isolated reflector patch coplanar with the driven patch on one side thereof for mutual coupling there between, the center to center distance between the driven and reflector patches being 0.35 free space wavelength;

a square first isolated director patch coplanar with the driven patch on the side opposite said one side of said reflector patch, the center to center distance between the driven and director patches being 0.30 free wavelength;

first feed point means for applying a first signal along a midline of the driven patch transverse to an antenna array axis at a first distance from the center of the driven patch; and

second feed point means for applying a second signal along a midline of the driven patch parallel to the antenna array axis at a second distance from the center of the driven patch, said first and second distances being different and said second signal having a phase shift relative to said first signal in the range of 115°

so that the antenna is circularly polarized,

whereby the antenna beam is tilted toward the axis of the antenna array by the parasitic coupling across gaps between the driven and isolated patches.

2. The directional microstrip antenna claimed in claim 1, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance and selected so that the impedances of the driven patch at the points of signal application are equal.

3. The directional microstrip antenna claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

means for producing the second signal by applying a phase shift in the range of 115°

to the first signal.

4. The directional microstrip antenna claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

a second director patch coplanar with the first director patch, wherein the first and second director patch each have a size and the first director patch is separated from the driven patch by a first gap dimension and the second director patch is separated from the first director patch by a second gap dimension and the size of the second director patch is equal to the size of the first director patch and the first gap dimension is equal to the second gap dimension.

5. The directional microstrip antenna claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the ratio between the size of the reflector patch and the size of the driven patch is between 1.1;

1 and 1.3;

1.

6. The directional microstrip antenna claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the ratio between the size of the driven patch and the size of the director patch is between 1;

0.8 and 1;

0.95.

7. The directional microstrip antenna claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric substrate is in the range between 1.5 and 5.0.

8. A method of tilting the beam of a microstrip array antenna toward an axis of the array, comprising the steps of:

driving a square driven patch separated by a dielectric 0.1 free space wavelength or less from a groundplane;

parasitically coupling a larger square reflector patch to the driven patch, the center to center distances between the patches being 0.35 free space wavelength;

parasitically coupling a smaller square director patch to the driven patch on the side opposite the reflector patch, the center to center distances between the driven and director patches being 0.30 free space wavelength;

applying a first signal along a midline of the driven patch transverse to the antenna array axis at a first distance from the center of the driven patch; and

applying a second signal along a midline of the driven patch parallel to the antenna array axis at a second distance from the center of the driven patch, said first and second distances being different and said second signal having a phase shift relative to said first signal in the range of 115°

so that the antenna is circularly polarized.

9. The method of tilting the beam of a microstrip antenna claimed in claim 8, wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance and selected so that the impedances of the driven patch at the points of signal application are equal.