On the performance of microstrip antenna embedded in composite laminated substrates

Abstract

Fiber-reinforced composite structures can be tailored to desire mechanical properties and to embed microstrip antenna in aerospace applications. The electromagnetic characteristics of a microstrip antenna on isotropic and uniaxial substrates have been known, but that embedded in composite laminated substrates remain unavailable to date. This work aims at analyzing the performance of microstrip antenna embedded in composite laminated substrates by spectral domain analysis. Parameter studies are conducted to investigate the effects of the substrate's dielectric constants, the fiber directions (the orientation between the antenna and the laminate layers), and the stacking sequence on antenna's resonant frequency and radiation pattern. The antenna size when embedded in composite laminated substrates is larger than that when attached on isotropic substrates, or conversely, the resonant frequency will deviate lower if assuming the substrate as isotropic. The far-field pattern in composite laminated substrates is more 'directional' than that in isotropic substrates. The antenna gain in the substrates of symmetric stacking with ±45°fiber direction is 20 dB better than that in isotropic substrates in some elevations.

The Effect of Laminate Angles in Composite Substrates on the Performance of Rectangular Microstrip Antenna

“…The performance of a microstrip antenna attached on anisotropic layer is found to be strongly influenced by the substrate's dielectric properties [4] [5]. A solution technique in frequency domain for analyzing electromagnetic wave propagation was developed to study an antenna embedded in composite laminated substrates [6] and to investigate the effect of dielectric overlay [7]. Recent study on microstrip antenna arrays on honey comb sandwich substrate [8] and composite laminated substrate [9] also validated that the antenna performance was sensitive to the substrate's dielectric property-a function of the substrate's laminate angles.…”