Antenas de microfita dupla-faixa para aplicações em estações rádio-base de telefonia móvel celular

Abstract

In this work we present different techniques for achieving the dual-band feature for microstrip antennas aimed to be used in the mobile communication base stations of Brazil. The focused frequency range for lower and higher bands is in the 0.824-0.960 GHz and 1.710-2.165 GHz intervals, respectively. In addition to comply with the technical specifications, the solution is also supposed to meet the requirements of return loss, polarization, gain, beamwidth radiation and input impedance in the focused frequency range. Initially, in order to obtain microstrip antennas with dual-band characteristic, we describe the technique in which slots are placed in the irradiating elements. Three antenna topologies are analyzed in its operation principles, emphasizing the particularities of each geometry. The antennas are designed with support of Ansoft Designer ® , a commercial software that simulates electromagnetic features, in order to find out the electrical parameters through parametric studies and to better understand the behavior of each simulated structure. These studies considered the variation in the dimensions of antennas. The H-shaped microstrip antenna was the only one able to fulfill the requirements of bandwidth and irradiation diagrams for operation in mobile communication. However, this geometry originated an antenna of considerable physical dimensions, because it requires the use of multiple dielectric layers, resulting in a prototype of considerable volume and high production cost. Another technique studied was the stacking of irradiating elements. However it isn’t investigated in detail because of the production cost of the antenna, which is higher than the ones of coplanar topologies. After all that, we propose a technique based in annular-slot antennas and double feed. The antenna is designed considering two independent ports, one for each band of operation, making an antenna of two highly insulated accesses. Simulations by the HFSS TM software have shown that it’s possible to comply with the specifications for operation in base stations of the mobile communication. The biggest advantage of this structure over other topologies is that it may be made of only one microwave laminate, reducing the production cost. Prototypes were built and measured to validate the design in the electromagnetic simulator. It was noted the discrepancies between the simulated and measured results. After running parametric simulations, we found out that the building process of the prototype changed the geometry of the simulation model. We included these imperfections in the model and it was possible to estimate the necessary changes in the prototype. After inclusion of the adjustments, the measured results behaved just alike the theoretical prediction. Finally, we’ve done a feasibility study on the use of the dual-band annular slot antenna for making an array of antennas for base stations. The study aimed to verify the suitability of synthetizing squared-cosecant shaped pattern in both operation bands. We got excellent results for the lower band, although some limitations were found for the higher band.