Design and Application of a Compact UWB

Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna

David S. Cabral, Leandro Manera Leonardo B. Zoccal
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Systems Engineering and Information Technology Institute
UNICAMP - State University of Campinas UNIFEI - Federal University of Itajubá
Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil Itajubá, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract— This paper presents the design of a compact An antenna prototype was built and its return loss was measured.
Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (AVA) with good performance for Additionally, the designed AVA is utilized to compose an X-
ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. The miniaturized AVA - 40 x band direction finding (DF) system based on the amplitude-
40 x 0.8 mm, its balanced feed structure and its mechanical ground comparison monopulse technique [12].
support are described in detail. The simulated results show that
the proposed AVA covers a bandwidth ranging from 4.73 to more The paper is organized as follows. Section II presents the
than 22 GHz with a peak gain above 5 dBi for the highest design equations and the resulting dimensions for the AVA. The
frequencies. A prototype was built and its return loss was simulation results are shown in Section III. Finally, Section IV
measured. The designed antenna is utilized in a direction finding describes the DF system which uses the designed AVA. The
(DF) system based on the amplitude-comparison monopulse calibration curves and the corresponding residual errors of the
technique. The calibration curves and the corresponding residual proposed system are derived in that section.
errors of the proposed system are derived. An RMS residual error
lower than 2.5° is obtained over a range of 40°. II. ANTIPODAL VIVALDI DESIGN
Keywords—Antipodal Vivaldi antenna; Amplitude comparison; The developed AVA is shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. The flare
Direction finding; curve on the top and bottom layers represents an exponential
profile defined by the following equation [7]:
I. INTRODUCTION
Currently ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas designs have
‫ ݕ‬ൌ ‫ܥ‬ଵ ‡ோ௫ ൅ ‫ܥ‬ଶ ǡ (1)
been researched for the use in satellite communications, remote
where
sensing, phased array radar, see-through-wall imaging radar,
radio telescope, high data rate communication systems, among
௬మ ି௬భ
others [1], [2]. In recent years, different ultra-wideband antenna ‫ܥ‬ଵ ൌ  ǡ (2)
ୣೃೣమ ିୣೃೣభ
structures have been published, including planar monopole and
antennas [3], printed antennas [4], etc. Among the reported
UWB radiators, the Vivaldi antenna is often preferred for its
௬భ ୣೃೣమ ି௬మ ୣೃೣభ
satisfactory radiation characteristics and its simple and low-cost ‫ܥ‬ଶ ൌ  , (3)
ୣೃೣమ ିୣೃೣభ
structure. Various forms of Vivaldi antennas have been
developed so far. However, the exponentially tapered slot
antenna (TSA) is the most popular solution. with ܴ the opening rate, (x1, y1) the start and (x2, y2) the end
point of the exponential line.
As originally proposed in [5], Vivaldi antenna is a type of The UWB antenna was printed on a Rogers RT/Duroid 5870
travelling wave antenna having a tapered exponential profile of laminate with 0.787 mm of thickness, relative permittivity İr of
radiating element which gives a wide operating bandwidth with 2.33 and loss tangent of 0.0012 (@ 10 GHz).
a stable gain over the operational frequency range. To avoid In this project, the width (W) and the length (L) of the
bandwidth limitations in the original design due to coupled feed, antenna have the same value, and the initial estimation was
Gazit [6] proposed a different version of this tapered antenna
obtained based on (4) [8].
that is known as Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (AVA) which can
be fed directly by a coaxial cable. The AVA has many desirable
performance factors including a good symmetry in the E-plane ௖ ଶ
and H-plane beam, a good directivity and high gain.
ܹ ൌ ‫ ܮ‬ൌ  ௙ ටఌ , (4)
భ ೝ ାଵ

In this paper, the design of a compact AVA for UWB

applications is shown. The balanced feed line and mechanical where݂ଵ is the lowest operating frequency and c = 3x108 m/s. In
ground structure are described in detail. The simulated reflection this antenna project was adopted that ݂ଵ ൌ ͷ
œ.
coefficient, radiation pattern and gain over frequency are shown.


ª
*&&&
 The microstrip line used to feed the Vivaldi antenna has a
50-Ω characteristic impedance and its width (Wf) was evaluated
by using [9]:

ௐ ଶ க౨ ିଵ ଴Ǥ଺ଵ
ൌ ቂ‫ ܤ‬െ ͳ െ Žሺʹ‫ ܤ‬െ ͳሻ ൅ ቄŽሺ‫ ܤ‬െ ͳሻ ‫Ͳ כ‬Ǥ͵ͻ െ ቅቃǡ (5)
௛ గ ଶக౨ க౨

where

ଷǤ଻଻గ
‫ܤ‬ൌ , (6)
ଶ௓బ ξఌೝ

in which ܼ଴ is the characteristic impedance and h is the substrate Fig. 2 AVA geometry - bottom view
thickness.
The AVA bottom dimensions are presented in Table II. To
guarantee an unbalanced termination was adopted that ܹ௚ ൌ
ͷܹ௙ .The simulation results of the optimized geometry are
addressed in the next section.

TABLE II. DIMENSIONS – BOTTOM LAYER

Parameter Wb Lp Rd Re Wg Dl Lg

Value (mm) 4 21 19 36 10 4 5

III. SIMULATION AND RESULTS

The AVA was fabricated using standard photographic
process with a surface finish of the type electroless nickel
immersion gold (ENIG), widely used in RF circuits.
Fig. 1 AVA geometry - top view Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 present the manufactured AVA.

A transition line (Fig. 2) was placed on the bottom plane to

convert the microstrip feed structure from unbalanced to
balanced line. The circle with the radius Re describes how the
microstrip grows until the dielectric substrate edge. Two holes
of Ø2 mm were made in the laminate to hold an aluminum
mechanical support which provides an excellent connection
between the Vivaldi antenna and the SMA connector, assuring a
good performance even for the highest frequencies (Fig. 4).
This structure was simulated by using a full-wave analysis Fig. 3 AVA geometry - top view.
tool, which employs the Finite Element Method (FEM), and its
dimensions – firstly estimated with the aid of (1), (4) and (5) –
were optimized to obtain a better performance over the analyzed
frequency band.
The AVA top dimensions are presented in Table I, where W,
L and ܹ௙ are optimized dimensions.

TABLE I. DIMENSIONS – TOP LAYER

Parameter W L La Wf Dh

Value (mm) 40 40 60.5 2 11 Fig. 4 Top (left) and bottom (right) of manufactured AVA with mechanical
structure, and SMA connector.
 Fig. 5 shows the simulation results for the reflection
coefficient magnitude of the proposed AVA with the mechanical
ground structure. It was observed an excellent return loss with
|s11| < –10 dB for frequencies in the range 4.73 GHz to 25 GHz.

0
Simulated

-5

-10
|s11| (dB)

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35
5 10 15 20
Frequency (GHz)

Fig. 5 Reflection coefficient.

Fig. 6 shows the measured prototype results. A good

agreement with the simulated model is observed. The prototype
is able to operate for all operational range since |s11| < –10 dB.
Note that for frequencies above 8 GHz, the measured result
slightly differs from the simulated one. Possibly it was caused
by the SMA connector, once it is a low cost solution and
presents a poor answer for the higher frequencies.

0
Measured

-5
Fig. 7 E-plane Co-polarization and Cross-polarization simulation.
-10
The gain over frequency simulated of AVA has been shown
in Fig. 8. The simulated peak gain is above 5 dBi for
|s11| (dB)

-15
frequencies greater than 11.7 GHz.
-20

8
-25

-30
6

-35
5 10 15 20
Gain (dBi)

Frequency (GHz) 4

Fig. 6 Measured reflection coefficient. 2

The simulated patterns of AVA in the E plane at different 0

frequencies are presented in Fig. 7. As seen, they remain

directive and the cross-polarization has a moderate level that can -2
Simulated

be compensated when the element is used to compose an array, 5 10 15 20 25

for example [11]. The cross-polarization simulated results Frequency (GHz)

exhibit levels better than -17 dB for frequencies lower than 15

GHz.
Fig. 8 Simulated AVA peak gain vs frequency
 IV. APPLICATION The amplitudes of the signals induced in Port 1 and Port 2
are compared to find the direction of the incoming wavefronts.
As presented in [10], tapered slot antennas have been used Therefore, the direct find function (DFF) [10] was determined to
to compose DF systems based on amplitude-comparison calibrate the system. The DFF represents the difference in dB
monopulse technique. The AVA can also be employed in those between the incoming power levels (dBm) delivered to the
systems and the feed approach proposed here is advantageous coupled loads in Ports 1 and 2 for each direction of incidence. In
mainly due to its easy assembly. order to obtain high accuracy results, the active radiation
For this application, an array of two AVAs with amplitude patterns, which include the mutual coupling effects between the
DF capability is proposed and analyzed from 8 to 12 GHz (X- AVAs, were considered. Those patterns were calculated in the
band). The array was implemented in H-plane with scan plan full-wave analysis software.
along azimuth. Therefore, a 120 x 60 x 2 mm aluminum reflector Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 present the simulated DFFs considering
was included in the simulation to hold the array elements. The d = 0.5Ȝ and d = 0.6Ȝ, respectively (Ȝ is the free space
spacing between elements was estimated considering the array wavelength at 10 GHz). The DF performance was analyzed in
factor [12] of a uniformly excited array with two elements: the –20° to 20° angular range.

ଵ
‫ ܨܣ‬ൌ …‘• ቀ ሺ݇݀…‘•ߠ ൅ ߚሻቁ, (7) 20
ଶ

15

in which ݇ denotes the free space propagation constant, 10

݀represents the distance between elements and ߚ the excitations
5
phase shift. Thus, before simulating the array of Vivaldis in the

Angle (°)
full-wave analysis tool, AF was used to estimate the system 0
performance – difference signal slope –, which gave some
-5
possible values for d. 8GHz
-10 9GHz
Fig. 9 shows the simulated AVA arrayed in H-plane with 10GHz
the metallic reflector. -15 11GHz
12GHz
-20
-25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25
DFF (dB)

Fig. 11 Simulated DFFs at 0.5Ȝ.

20

15

10

5
Angle (°)

-5
Fig. 9 DF block diagram system. 8GHz
-10 9GHz
The two AVAs are connected to a wideband 90° hybrid [13] 10GHz
-15 11GHz
for this application, as shown in 12GHz
-20
Fig. 10. Note that the bottom layers of the AVAs were positioned -20 -10 0 10 20
DFF (dB)
internally to obtain a symmetric radiation pattern to Port 1 and
Port 2, once a small squint was detected in the H plane pattern
Fig. 12. Simulated DFFs at 0.6Ȝ.
for the isolated AVA of Fig. 1.
As shown in Table III, the proposed system exhibits good
performance with better accuracy for 0.6Ȝ element spacing. The
direction finding functions (DFFs) have smooth slope and the
RMS error < 2.5° over the operational frequency range for both
simulated array spacing. The activities results present good
conformity with DF system [13-14].
Fig. 10 Simulated two AVA array.
 TABLE III. DFF RESULTS [9] D. Pozar. “Transmissions lines an waveguides,” in Microwave
Engineering, 3th ed. MA, 2005, pp 145.
[10] D. G. Lopez and D. S. Filipovic, "Flush mountable K/Ka band amplitude
Frequency Max. Error (Deg) RMS Error (Deg) Slope (Deg/dB) only direction finding system," 2016 IEEE International Symposium on
(GHz) Antennas and Propagation (APSURSI), Fajardo, 2016, pp. 507-508.
0.5 Ȝ 0.6 Ȝ 0.5 Ȝ 0.6 Ȝ 0.5 Ȝ 0.6 Ȝ
[11] C. Zhang, M. Kuhn, M. Mahfouz and A. E. Fathy, “Planar antipodal
8 2.44 1.89 1.49 1.23 2.393 1.92 Vivaldi antenna array configuration for low cross-polarization and
reduced mutual coupling performance,” IEEE Antennas and Propagation
9 1.91 1.55 0.96 0.89 1.399 1.48 Soc. Int. Symp., June 2007, pp.725-728.
[12] R. S. Andrews, "Antenna and other systematic effects on amplitude
10 3.12 1.78 1.09 0.58 2.872 2.14 comparison monopulse systems," in Electronic Circuits and Systems, IEE
Journal on, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 103-108, May 1979.
11 3.88 5.79 2.44 2.12 0.867 1.09
[13] M. Anselmi, M. Pingue, A. Manna, R. Flamini and L. Cosmi, "Design and
12 1.13 1.53 0.64 0.64 1.635 1.52 Realization of 3 dB hybrid stripline coupler in 0.5 – 18.0 GHz," 2014 44th
European Microwave Conference, Rome, 2014, pp. 464-467.
[14] L. G. Bullock, G. R. Oeh and J. J. Sparagna, "An Analysis of Wide-Band
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Microwave Monopulse Direction-Finding Techniques," in IEEE
The authors would like to thank Daniel Basso Ferreira for Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, vol. AES-7, no. 1, pp.
the valuable comments. 188-203, Jan. 1971

CONCLUSION
A simple Antipodal Vivaldi antenna based upon a two-part
exponential curve has been devised in a full scale parametric
geometry. The proposed AVA antenna having dimensions of
60.5 x 40 mm was simulated using a full-wave analysis tool
which employs the FEM. We have achieved satisfactory
performance results of the return loss, directivity/gain and
radiation patterns. This antenna operates in the frequency band
from 4.73 GHz to 25 GHz with an average gain of 4 dBi. These
results show that the structure could be applied to various UWB
applications, e.g., UWB radars. The DF application based on
two-AVA array presented good simulation results which
demonstrates AVA can also be part of an accurate direction
finding system. Further work is underway to enhance the
simulated peak gain in the beginning of the operational
frequency range and cross polarization improvement in all
operational range. Additionally, the DF system will be tested in
an anechoic chamber to validate the results.

REFERENCES
[1] P. J. Gibson, "The Vivaldi Aerial," 1979 9th European Microwave
Conference, Brighton, UK, 1979, pp. 101-105.
[2] Y. Wang, et al., "Ultra-wideband Vivaldi arrays for see-through-wall
imaging radar applications," 2009 IEEE Antennas and Propagation
Society International Symposium, Charleston, SC, 2009, pp. 1-4.
[3] Wang, J. J., Y. Z. Yin, and X. W. Dai, “A novel fractal triangular
monopole antenna with notched and truncated ground for UWB
application,” Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, Vol.
23, No. 10, 1313–1321, 2009.
[4] Bruni, S., A. Neto, and F. Marliani, “The ultrawideband leaky lens
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Conference, Brighton, UK, 1979, pp. 101-105.
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directive ultra wideband antipodal antenna. Microwave and Optical
Technology Letters, 2006, vol. 48, no. 12, p. 2448 to 2450.
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[8] Khalil H. Sayidmarie,Yasser A. Fadhel,” Design Aspects of UWB
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