Dual‐band LTCC chip antenna design using stacked meander patch for mobile handsets

Abstract

This paper presents design simulation, implementation, and measurement of a miniaturized GPS/K-PCS dual-band LTCC INTRODUCTIONAs mobile-communication handsets become smaller and lighter, less space is available to place the antenna and RF devices. Recently, multilayer low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology has been extensively used for miniaturization of RF passive components and antennas. Therefore, the size reduction of the patch antenna for integration of different radio modules into the same piece of equipment is required, and compact internal antennas with multiband operation have become a popular topic in antenna research and investigations. There are a number of effective ways to reduce the size of patch antennas: use high-permittivity substrates [1], introduce shorting pins for the shifting of the null-voltage point at the edge of the radiating patch [2], use the planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) for low-profile characteristic [3,4]; and a combination of these approaches. Also, the basic concept to reduce the size of a microstrip patch antenna at a given resonant frequency is to increase its electrical surface-current length by changing the radiating element's shape [5,6]. An effective method for increasing the effective surface-current path is to penetrate orthogonal slits into the boundary of the radiating patch. In this way, the excited surface-current paths are lengthened in the proposed designs, and the operating frequency is greatly lowered.In this paper, a miniaturized GPS/K-PCS dual-band LTCC chip antenna is proposed for mobile-communication handsets. The experimental results for dual-band operation, return loss, and radiation pattern are presented. PROPOSED ANTENNA DESIGNThe compact meander-type antenna for dual-band operation is realized in a multilayer printed LTCC-body structure. Figure 1 shows the geometry of the proposed stacked meander-type dualband antenna mounted FR4 substrate. The dimension of LTCC chip antenna is 9 ϫ 15 ϫ 1.2 mm and the dielectric constant of the LTCC-body ceramic for antenna implementation is 7.8. The meander-type radiating patch for dual-band operation is realized by using via holes with 0.3-mm height to connect the upper-and lower-layer antennas. The dimension of the FR-4 circuit board is 40 ϫ 80 ϫ 0.8 mm and the size of the ground plane is 60 ϫ 40 mm. A 50⍀ microstrip line is used to feed the compact chip antenna, and the ground plane on the other side of the substrate is cut at the end of the microstrip feed. After a thorough parametric study of the proposed model, the optimum design parameters for the dual-band chip antenna are selected. A description of the design parameters is given in the legend of Figure 1. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONIn the single-meander radiating structure, the electric fields on the each pair of the symmetrical segments in the x-direction are opposite; hence, they produce little radiation in the desired direction. On the other hand, the electric fields on the segments in the y-direction of the meander antenna ha...

Complex permeability dependence of commercial LTCC ferritic tape on ambient temperature

“…5. It can be noticed that obtained maximal value of permeability is consistent with manufacturer's data [8] (µ≥200 @ 100 kHz). 35th Int.…”

“…), or modulus like sensors, DC/DC converters, drug delivery systems, RF multilayer modules, transceivers, telecommunication modules etc. [1]- [8]. It is important to understand that knowing accurate properties of materials implemented for fabrication of these components is essential for their design and/or application, moreover if those properties vary due to influence of some parameters.…”

Multi-Band Chip Slot Antenna for Mobile Devices

“…이러한 기기 등에 적합한 안테나로써 세라믹 칩을 이용한 미엔더 형태의 안테나에 대한 연구가 주를 이루었다 [1], [2] . 그러나 세라믹 칩은 제작 비용이 고가이며, 접지면 환경에 따른 영향이 크다 는 단점이 있다.…”

Compact dual-band chip antenna using LTCC technology for mobile handsets

“…One way is the adoption of two separate radiation paths, and each path has different resonant frequency. Two radiation paths can be made as a staked meander line structure [2][3], coupled meander line structure [4] or combine meander line with parasitic patches [5][6]. Another way is that dual-frequency structure can be designed by using one solid helix with suitable resonance length or add branches on it [7][8].…”

“…In previous studies, meander type and helix type conductor lines play important roles in small antenna designs. Many different methods have been investigated to achieve dual-band operation [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. One way is the adoption of two separate radiation paths, and each path has different resonant frequency.…”