Tunable Patch Antenna with BST Capacitors

Abstract

Recently there is increasing interest in developing tunable circuits to implement multiband communication systems. These include tunable filters, tunable amplifiers and antennas. Tunable ferroelectric capacitor fabricated with thin film barium strontium titanate (BST) gives the opportunity to fabricate these tunable circuit modules. In this paper, we present the results of tunable patch antenna with tunable ferroelectric capacitors. The patch antenna in the frequency range of 2–3 GHz was fabricated on FR-4 substrate. The parallel plate ferroelectric capacitors were fabricated on sapphire substrates. The performance of the patch antenna was studied with ferroelectric capacitors attached to the coplanar wave guide as well as radiating edge. The performance of the antenna was simulated using ADS and compared with experimental results the radiation pattern of the antennas is studied in an anechoic chamber.

Keywords:

• Tunable Patch Antenna
• BST Capacitor
• Dielectric constant
• Tunability

Acknowledgment

Mr. Milad G.Hmeda is grateful to the Libyan Government for their scholarship support. The authors are grateful to Mr. Chin Hsu and Mr. Roger Perkins for their help in the characterization of radiation pattern of antennas.