Enter your Frequency, Dielectric Constant (εr), and Substrate Height into the Microstrip Patch Antenna Calculator to get the optimal Patch Width (W) and Patch Length (L), along with the Effective Dielectric Constant (εreff) and actual Resonant Frequency for your antenna design.
Patch Width (W)
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Patch Length (L)
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Effective Dielectric Constant (εreff)
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Resonant Frequency
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A microstrip patch antenna is a type of radio antenna with a low profile that can be mounted on a flat surface. It consists of a flat rectangular sheet or patch of metal, mounted over a larger sheet of metal called a ground plane.
Higher dielectric constants result in smaller antenna dimensions. As the dielectric constant increases, the effective wavelength decreases, allowing for more compact antenna designs.
Common substrate heights range from 0.8mm to 3.2mm for most applications. Thinner substrates provide better efficiency but narrower bandwidth, while thicker substrates offer wider bandwidth but may have spurious radiation.
The width is calculated to optimize the radiation resistance and is typically larger than the length. The length is then adjusted based on fringing effects and the effective dielectric constant to achieve resonance at the desired frequency.
Common substrate materials include FR-4 (εr ≈ 4.4), Rogers RT/duroid (εr ≈ 2.2-10.2), and ceramic materials. The choice depends on frequency, loss requirements, and cost considerations.
The calculations provide good initial dimensions for design. However, factors like finite ground plane size, substrate losses, and manufacturing tolerances may require fine-tuning through simulation or measurement.
Microstrip patch antennas are commonly used from UHF to millimeter-wave frequencies (300 MHz to 300 GHz). They are particularly popular in mobile communications, WiFi, GPS, and radar applications.