Received: 22 November 2019 Revised: 28 June 2020 Accepted: 29 June 2020

DOI: 10.1002/eng2.12250

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Circularly polarized designs of modified isosceles triangular

microstrip antennas

Amit A. Deshmukh1 Kamla P. Ray2

1
Department of EXTC, SVKM’s DJSCE,
Mumbai, India Abstract
2
Department of Electronics, DIAT, Pune, The modified designs of different isosceles triangular microstrip antennas real-
India ized by overlapping two isosceles patches, are proposed for circularly polarized
response. An offset distance between the two overlapped patches yield opti-
Correspondence
Amit A. Deshmukh, Department of EXTC, mum spacing in between the orthogonal modes of the composite patch, to give
SVKM’s DJSCE, Mumbai 400056, India. circular polarization. Proposed configuration is investigated for angle increas-
Email: [email protected]
ing from 50◦ to 100◦ . An optimum response in terms of the bandwidth (BW) is
obtained in 50◦ modified isosceles patch. Here, input impedance and axial ratio
(AR) BW of 646 MHz (52%) and 76 MHz (6.12%), respectively, is obtained. As an
additional design feature, proposed configuration shows variation in the center
frequency of AR BW against increasing isosceles angle and the offset distance.
Proposed designs exhibit broadside radiation pattern with a gain of above 8 dBi,
with a good agreement between the simulated and measured results. A new
simpler design for circular polarized response supported with detailed design
methodology are the new technical contributions in the proposed work.

KEYWORDS
circular polarized microstrip antenna, modified isosceles triangular microstrip antenna, offset
distance, proximity feeding, resonant length formulation

1 I N T RO DU CT ION

In wireless communication systems, a signal loss is observed at the receiver. This happens because of the variations in
the direction of polarization of the incident wave. To overcome this problem, circular polarized (CP) antennas are used.1
To obtain CP response, antenna should excite equal amplitude orthogonal modes offering phase orthogonality.1 By intro-
ducing suitable modifications in the radiating patch or the feed, CP response is easily obtained in microstrip antenna
(MSA).2-4 For the radiating patch in MSAs, regular shapes like, rectangular, circular, equilateral triangular, and their vari-
ations have been used.2,3 The isosceles triangular MSA (ITMSA) is a variation of equilateral triangular MSA (ETMSA).2
Many designs to obtain CP response using ETMSA are reported. It is realized either by using offset position of the coaxial
feed or by embedding narrow slots along the patch side length, at its vertex point and inside the patch, or by placing the
open circuit stub on the patch edge or by employing Koch fractal geometry or by feeding the antenna using dual proxim-
ity strip.5-15 Many of these designs offer narrow band CP response with axial ratio (AR) bandwidth (BW) in the range of
1%-1.7%.5-15 Also the effects of slot or stub on the patch resonant modes and resonant length formulations at them is not

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.
© 2020 The Authors. Engineering Reports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Engineering Reports. 2020;2:e12250. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/eng2 1 of 16

https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12250
2 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

presented. Dual polarized wideband design using isosceles triangular slot is reported which yields 20% of the impedance
BW.16 High gain wide BW CP designs by loading the shorting post on the patch are reported.17-20 With the placement of
shorting post in MSA, a conventional half wavelength resonator is converted into a compact quarter wavelength resonator.
This eventually reduces the antenna gain. Therefore, in these configurations which of the shorted patch modes which
yields high gain and wide band CP response, is not clearly explained. Using the co-planar waveguide (CPW) feed along
with the modified patch shape and backed ground plane, wideband CP designs offering AR BW greater than 50% are
reported.21-24 By cutting a rectangular slot on the radiating edge of the MSA or by embedding fractal U-shape geometry
on the backed ground plane, a CP response has been obtained.25,26 A wideband CP response has been realized by using
gap-coupled configuration of the parasitic patches with the fed patch.27-29 While using modified patch shapes or slot, nei-
ther a detailed insight into the functioning of antenna in terms of patch modes that contributes to the time and space
orthogonally is provided nor any design methodology is put forward. Further, the use of parasitic patches increases the
antenna size. Thus in the reported papers, slot, stub, and modified feeds techniques have been extensively explored to
yield the CP response. But many of them lack in providing detailed theory behind the antenna functioning as well as the
subsequent design methodology.
In this article, a modified ITMSA design for different isosceles angle is presented for realizing the CP response. The
modified ITMSA is realized by overlapping two isosceles patches along the patch height. Against the increment in offset
distance between the two isosceles patches, an inter-spacing in between the TM10 and TM01 resonant modes of the com-
posite patch changes and an optimum spacing between them yields CP response. A detailed investigation is presented for
isosceles angle increasing from 50◦ to 100◦ . The variation in frequencies corresponding to the two orthogonal resonant
modes were determined for each angle and different offset positions. For the given isosceles angle, it has been noted that
CP response is obtained for two different offset positions, in which center frequency of the realized AR BW varies. For
lower offset position, the AR BW is obtained in lower frequency band and for higher offset position, AR BW is obtained
in higher frequency band. Thus, for given isosceles angle, variation in the offset position yields variation in the center
frequency of AR BW. Furthermore, in modified 50◦ ITMSA, AR BW is obtained in higher frequency band and in mod-
ified 100◦ ITMSA, AR BW is obtained in the lower frequency band. Thus, with variation in isosceles angle from 50◦ to
100◦ , modified ITMSA shows variation in the center frequency of the AR BW by 217 MHz (17%). In each of the modi-
fied ITMSA variations, Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and AR BW of more than 40% and 5%, respectively, has been
obtained. The proposed antennas offer broadside radiation pattern across the BW with peak gain of more than 8 dBi. As a
part of the design procedure, resonant length formulations at two orthogonal modes in modified ITMSAs are presented.
Frequencies calculated using these formulations match closely with the simulated frequencies. Using the proposed for-
mulations, varying center frequency CP response in modified ITMSA can be realized in different frequency range, as
explained further. In 40◦ and 110◦ modified ITMSAs, close spacing between the two orthogonal modes is not realized
against the changing offset distance. Hence, those two variations are not discussed in this article. A table of comparison
for the proposed design against the reported CP variations using triangular patch, shorting post, slot and modified patch
shapes, is presented. Comparing with those, proposed configuration does not require slot or stub or power divider for
orthogonal mode excitation and hence they are simpler to implement. Since it is optimized on air suspended substrate, it
offers higher AR BW and gain. The detailed theory for the antenna functioning in terms of patch modes is presented fol-
lowed by the design methodology, which mainly lacks in the reported papers. Also as additional design feature, against
the variation in offset distance, CP response is achieved in two nearby frequency bands. This feature is not available in
CP designs using other reported techniques.

2 PROX IMITY FED MODIFIED ITMSAS

Proximity fed ITMSA is shown in Figure 1A,B. The patch dimensions and frequencies referred in the paper are in “cm”
and “MHz,” respectively. Initially, ETMSA is considered (𝛼 = 60◦ ). The patch is fabricated on FR4 substrate (𝜀r ◦ =◦ 4.3,
h◦ =◦ 0.16 cm), which is suspended above the ground plane using an air gap of “ha ”◦ =◦ 2.4 cm. A coupling strip of length
“Ls ” is placed at height “hs ” below the patch. Thus, for total substrate thickness of 2.56 cm (∼0.1𝜆g ), patch side length
“S” is optimized using CST software for fundamental mode (f TM10 ) frequency of 1200 MHz.30 Furthermore, modified
ETMSA is realized by overlapping two similar ETMSAs along the patch height as shown in Figure 1C. Parametric vari-
ations are carried out to analyze the effect of offset distance “xoff ” as shown in Figure 1C, on the resonant modes of the
modified patch. The resonance curve plots and surface current distributions at observed resonant modes are shown in
Figures 1D and 2A–D.
DESHMUKH and RAY 3 of 16

FIGURE 1 (A) Top and (B) side views of

proximity fed ITMSA for angle “𝛼,” (C) modified
ITMSA for angle “𝛼” and (D) resonance curve
plots for increase in “xoff ” for 𝛼 = 60◦

For carrying out the modal identification, surface current distributions have been studied for number of offset distance,
but shown here for “xoff ” = 0 cm. For “xoff ” = 0 cm, two peaks in the resonance curve are observed. Surface currents at two
peaks show half wavelength variations across the patch length and width. Due to the similarity in current distributions to
that observed in fundamental orthogonal modes of rectangular MSA, two modes here are referred to as TM10 and TM01. 2-4
The “+” and “−” signs in the current plots indicate the field polarity. Against the increase in “xoff ,” TM10 mode frequency
increases, whereas TM01 mode frequency remains constant. For xoff > 1.5 cm, the spacing between two modes reduces
due to which two separate peaks are not observed. The modal identification for these closely spaced modes is carried out
by exciting the modified patch along the two co-ordinate axis separately and further by comparing their resonance curves
with the resonance curve at offset proximity feed location. For xoff > 4 cm, the TM10 mode frequency reduces and TM01
mode frequency increases. This leads to two separate peaks in the resonance curve plot. A detailed explanation for this
frequency variation at two resonant modes is presented in the resonant length formulation section, below.
The variations in TM10 and TM01 mode frequencies against the offset distance yield varying frequency ratio
(f TM01 /f TM10 ) from 1 to 1.2, as shown in Figure 3A. Similar study is carried for isosceles angle “𝛼” in the range of 50◦ to
100◦ . While realizing ITMSA for different angle, patch side length “S” is kept constant and accordingly its base length
“S1 ” and height “hi ” are varied. For each isosceles angle, modified ITMSA is studied against the increase in offset distance.
The plots of orthogonal mode frequencies and their ratio, for different “𝛼” are shown in Figure 3A–C. Similar variations
in two modal frequencies is observed at all the angles. For “𝛼” > 60◦ , effective patch width is larger than its length. Hence
in those angles, frequency corresponding to TM01 mode is lower than that of the TM10 mode. This yields frequency ratio
4 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

“f TM01 /f TM10 ” less than unity against the increment in offset distance. For each isosceles angle in modified ITMSA, an off-
set distance between two patches yields tuning in between the TM10 and TM01 mode frequencies. An optimum spacing
between them will lead to CP response.

3 RESONANT LENGTH FO RMULATIONS FOR PROX IMITY FED

MODIFIED ITMSAS

To formulate the resonant length equations, surface current distributions at orthogonal modes are studied extensively
for different isosceles angle and offset distance. Based upon the variations observed, formulation in resonant length at
modified TM10 and TM01 modes is realized as explained in Figure 4A,B. The frequency of TM10 mode increases initially
for a small range of offset distance. For higher values of the offset distance, TM10 mode frequency reduces. The modified
ITMSA is viewed as a bow-tie patch loaded with triangular shape stubs on the two opposite edges. In bow-tie patch,
resonant length follows the path along the length “L1 ” as shown in Figure 4A.2 With increase in offset distance, length
“L1 ” decreases, which increases the TM10 mode frequency. With further increase in offset distance, although length “L1 ”
reduces, but there is an increase in total patch length due to the higher value of offset distance. This results in reduction
in TM10 mode frequency. Based on this insight, resonant length at TM10 mode is formulated as given in Equation (1). The
effective dielectric constant (𝜀re ) for suspended dielectric substrate is calculated using Equation (2). The frequency as
calculated using Equation (3) for Li = L10 , matches closely with the simulated frequency for isosceles angle in the range
of 50◦ to 100◦ . The results for “𝛼” = 60◦ for the calculated and simulated frequencies and % error between them, are
shown in Figure 4C for reference. In the following equations, “ht ” = h + ha and “A” (constant) = 0.75 for 𝛼 < 70◦ and 0.65
for 𝛼 > 70◦ .
( )
L10 = 2L1 + 2Aht + 2xoff xoff∕ (1)
1.1hi

𝜀re = 𝜀r (h+ha )∕
𝜀r ha +h (2)

fi = 30∕2Li √𝜀re (3)

%Error = || fsimu −fcalc∕fsimu || × 100 (4)

At TM01 mode, average of the two lengths (W a ), first one along the patch center (W i ) and second one along the outer
patch width (W p ) is considered, as given in Equation (5). Further it was observed that for smaller “xoff ,” resonant length
is closer to the outer patch width and for larger “xoff ,” it is closer to the length along the patch center. This variation is
formulated in Equation (6). The frequency is calculated using Equations (2) and (3) for Li = L01 . The frequencies and
% error plots for 𝛼 = 60◦ at TM01 mode is shown in Figure 4D. For 𝛼 = 60◦ and for other values of the isosceles angle,
calculated frequency matches closely with the simulated frequency. The proposed equations will be used later in the
re-designing of modified ITMSAs for CP response in a given frequency band.

Wa = Wp +Wi∕ (5)
2
( )
L01 = ( Wa +Wp∕2) cos 𝜋xoff∕ + 2Aht (6)
4hi

4 CIRCULARLY POLARIZED VA RIATIONS O F MODIFIED ITMSAS

For the each isosceles angle in modified ITMSA design at 1200 MHz, CP response is realized by parametrically optimizing
the proximity feed parameters and the offset distance. In 50◦ and 60◦ modified ITMSAs, maximum AR BW is obtained for
the frequency ratio (f TM01 /f TM10 ) of around 1.18, whereas for angles above 60◦ , same is obtained for the ratio of around
0.9. As noted from Figure 3 that required frequency ratio to get CP response is realized at two offset distances for the
isosceles angle in the range of 50◦ -80◦ . Whereas for 90◦ and 100◦ , same is realized for a single offset distance. Each of the
modified ITMSA variation is optimized for VSWR and AR BW. The simulated and measured return loss (S11 ) plots for three
isosceles angles, AR BW plots for all the angles and at two offset distance for 𝛼 = 50◦ -80◦ , are shown in Figures 5 and 6A,
respectively. Results for all the ITMSA variations are tabulated in Table 1. Among all the modified ITMSA variations,
DESHMUKH and RAY 5 of 16

FIGURE 2 Surface current

distributions at (A) TM10 and (B) TM01
modes in bow-tie MSA, and (C, D)
resonance curve plots for increase in
“xoff ” for 𝛼 = 60◦

FIGURE 3 (A-C) Orthogonal

mode frequencies and their ratio plots
for modified ITMSAs for different “𝛼”
and against increase in “xoff ”
6 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

maximum VSWR BW is obtained in “𝛼” = 50◦ . Its simulated and measured impedance BWs are, 646 MHz (52%) and
653 MHz (54%), respectively. The AR BW for 50◦ design is observed from 1204 to 1280 MHz (76 MHz, 6.12%). In modified
100◦ ITMSA design, AR BW is obtained from 995 to 1055 MHz (60 MHz, 5.85%). Thus with increase in isosceles angle
from 50◦ to 100◦ , center frequency of the AR BW reduces from 1242 to 1025 MHz, that is, reduction by 217 MHz (17.5%).
The % frequency reduction is being calculated with reference to the AR BW observed at 𝛼 = 50◦ .
In the initial design above, ETMSA side length is selected for f TM10 = 1200 MHz. Thus around this frequency, spectrum
from 1280 to 995 MHz (285 MHz, 22.3%) is being scanned against the increment in angle “𝛼” using different patches. In
terms of receiving the CP signal over a wide range of angles away from the broadside direction, modified 100◦ ITMSA offers
better result in terms of higher AR beam width. Further, in modified ITMSAs for 𝛼 = 50◦ , 60◦ , and 80◦ , variation in “xoff ”
yields variation in the center frequency of the AR BW. In 50◦ modified ITMSA, for lower value of “xoff ,” AR BW is present
from 1123 to 1194 MHz, whereas for higher “xoff ,” AR BW is observed from 1204 to 1280 MHz. Thus variation in the offset
distance yields variation in the center frequency of AR BW by 88 MHz (7.1%). Similarly, in 60◦ and 80◦ modified ITMSAs,
realized % variation is by 6 and 10.6%, respectively. In the optimum results at each angle, AR BW lies completely inside
the VSWR BW. Gain variation across the BW in 50◦ , 70◦ , and 100◦ modified ITMSAs and radiation pattern and simulated
polarization plots at the center frequency of the AR BW in 50◦ and 100◦ modified ITMSAs, are shown in Figures 6B, 7,
and 8, respectively.
For the results shown and as observed in all the isosceles angles, broadside antenna gain is above 8 dBi over most of
the BW. An increase in aperture area with isosceles angle results in higher gain being observed in 70◦ and 100◦ modified

FIGURE 4 Resonant length

formulation at (A) TM10 and (B) TM01
modes for modified ITMSA, and
frequency and % error plots at (C) TM10
and (D) TM01 modes for 𝛼 = 60◦

T A B L E 1 Optimum results for modified ITMSA variations, S = 10.6, ha = 2.4, and hs = 2.2 cm
Simu. BW Meas. BW Simu. AR BW Meas. AR BW Simu. AR
𝜶 (MHz, %) (MHz, %) (MHz, %) (MHz, %) beam width x off (cm) Ls (cm) x f , yf (cm)

50◦ 646, 52 653, 54 76, 6.12 79, 6.4 76◦ 4.5 1.6 5.6, 2.0
60◦ 578, 47.5 590, 48.97 66, 5.96 63, 5.74 94◦ 5.5 1.6 4.3, 2.5
◦ ◦
70 516, 44 540, 46.75 67, 6 64, 5.81 110 2.5 2.2 5.7, 2.9
◦ ◦
80 536, 46.21 554, 48.3 64, 5.8 67, 6.12 120 4.0 1.6 4.5, 3.0
◦ ◦
90 530, 46.33 548, 48.23 58, 5.58 54, 5.4 125 5.5 2.2 4.0, 3.0
◦ ◦
100 500, 45.2 507, 44.92 60, 5.85 63, 6.18 130 6.0 1.8 3.6, 3.0
DESHMUKH and RAY 7 of 16

ITMSAs. In 50◦ and 100◦ modified ITMSAs and for all the other isosceles angles, radiation pattern is in the broadside
direction. It shows higher cross polarization levels, due to the CP response. In modified 50◦ ITMSA, as TM01 mode fre-
quency is greater than the TM10 mode frequency, a left hand CP (LHCP) response is observed (Eleft − Eright > 15 dB).
Simulated time varying surface current plots for 50◦ modified ITMSA are shown in Figure 9. For “t” = 0 to “3T/4”
(“T” is the time period at the center frequency of the AR BW), surface current vectors are showing clockwise rotation
with reference to the observer. Thus with reference to the antenna, radiating wave will show anti-clockwise or LHCP
response.
The 100◦ modified ITMSA shows right hand CP response as the TM10 mode frequency is greater than TM01 mode
frequency (Eright − Eleft > 15 dB). In general, 50◦ and 60◦ modified ITMSAs exhibit LHCP response, whereas for 𝛼 > 60◦ ,
Right hand circular polarization (RHCP) response is present. The fabricated prototypes of 50◦ , 100◦ , and 70◦ modified
ITMSAs are shown in Figure 10. The deviation in between the simulated and measured results in the impedance and AR
BW values is attributed to the inaccuracies in the fabrication, mainly the non-uniform air gap present below the substrate
and other experimental errors. In 40◦ and 110◦ modified ITMSAs, similar investigation has been carried out to observe
the variation in orthogonal mode frequencies against the increase in offset distance. For all the possible values of the
offset distance, close spacing between the orthogonal mode frequencies is not achieved. For these angles, additional stub
or slot is needed to tune the orthogonal mode frequencies to realize CP response. Hence these angle variations have not
been discussed in the present article.

FIGURE 5 (A) Return loss

plots for 50◦ , 70◦ , and 100◦
modified ITMSAs, (B) AR BW
plots for all the isosceles angles,
and their (C) center frequency of
the AR BW at each isosceles angle
8 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

5 DE S I G N MET H ODOLOGY FOR MODIFIED ITMSAS

Using the proposed formulations, design of modified ITMSA for CP response is presented in 2000 MHz frequency spec-
trum. For this frequency total substrate thickness (h + ha ) of 1.46 cm (∼0.1𝜆g ), is selected. Using Equations (7) and (8),
side length of ETMSA is calculated for f TM10 = 2000 MHz. Equation (7) is obtained by substituting “m” = 1, “n” = 0 and
“l” = 0, in the resonance frequency equation of ETMSA.2-4 The surface currents at TM10 mode vary along ETMSA’s side
length and the patch height. Hence while formulating effective side length “Se ,” average of the current paths along length
“L1 ” and “L2 ” as shown in Figure 11, is considered.
Due to the tapered width nature of the triangular geometry, fringing field extension length is not uniform across the
two opposite edges of ETMSA. Also the closed formed expressions for calculating the same on thicker substrates, are not
available. Therefore, in the present formulae, the term with “1.4 times the total substrate thickness” is being considered to
calculate the fringing field extension length, as mentioned in Equation (8). This term is calculated based on the parametric
study carried out at different frequencies and substrate thickness. The TM10 mode frequency as provided in Equation (7)
is in “GHz,” substrate thickness in “cm,” which gives “S” in “cm” using Equation (8).

Se = 20∕fTM10 √𝜀re (7)

S= Se −1.4(h+ha )∕ (8)
1.183

Using these equations, ETMSA side length for 2000 MHz is calculated to be 6.5 cm. This when simulated using CST
software gives frequency of 1945 MHz, which is closer to the desired frequency. For this side length, modified ITMSAs for
isosceles angles from 50◦ to 100◦ , are realized. For different isosceles angles and against increase in the offset distance,
plots of the TM10 and TM01 mode frequencies and their ratios are generated using Equations (9)-(14) and (3). The following
equations are realized by modifying Equations (1) and (6).

Lx = (hi −xoff )∕ (9)

2
( )
L10 = Lx∕cos( 𝛼∕2) + 2Aht + 2xoff xoff∕
1.1hi (10)

Ly = Lx tan ( 𝛼∕2) (11)

Wi = Wp − 2Ly (12)

Wa = Wp +Wi∕ (13)
2
( )
L01 = ( Wa +Wp∕2) cos 𝜋xoff∕ + 2Aht (14)
4hi

FIGURE 6 (A) AR BW plots for

variations in offset distance for given
“𝛼” and (B) gain variation over the
VSWR BW for proximity fed variations
of modified ITMSAs
DESHMUKH and RAY 9 of 16

FIGURE 7 (A, B) Radiation

pattern and (C) polarization plots for
proximity fed 50◦ modified ITMSA

Furthermore, for frequency ratio of around 1.18 (in 50◦ and 60◦ modified ITMSA) and 0.9 (for 70◦ to 100◦ modified
ITMSA), offset distance is noted from the frequency ratio plots as shown in Figure 12A,B. An optimum CP response in
each case depends upon the excitation of orthogonal modes which is also decided by the proximity strip length (Ls ) and
its position (xf , yf ) below the patch. With an increase in isosceles angle, the effective patch length and width changes,
consequently the field across the same varies. Therefore, to judge the initial values of “Ls ,” “xf ,” and “yf ” at 2000 MHz,
first these parameters are expressed in terms of their ratios with respect to the offset distance, optimized for the each
angle for the designs at 1200 MHz. Using these ratios at each angle and by noting the offset distance from the frequency
ratio plots at 2000 MHz, initial values for “Ls ,” “xf ,” and “yf ” are calculated for respective “𝛼.” With marginal parametric
optimization in these parameters further, optimum CP response is realized for the each isosceles angle. For the re-designed
modified ITMSAs at 2000 MHz, simulated and measured VSWR BW is in the range of 36%-42%, with a peak gain of
above 8 dBi. Since the nature of the impedance and gain plots are similar to that observed in 1200 MHz design, results
for the re-designed antennas are not shown again. But the impedance and AR BW values for all the angles are given in
Table 2. At 2000 MHz, plots of the AR BW and their respective center frequencies for different isosceles angles are shown
in Figure 12C,D.
In 50◦ modified ITMSA, AR BW is from 1863 to 1945 MHz, whereas, in 100◦ modified ITMSA, it is from 1580 to
1660 MHz. Thus, variation in angle yields decrease in the center frequency of the AR BW by 284 MHz (14.92%). The
fundamental mode (f 10 ) frequency of ETMSA is 2000 MHz. Around this frequency, spectrum from 1945 to 1580 MHz
(365 MHz, 18.8%) is being scanned for AR less than 3 dB, against the increment in angle “𝛼” using different patches.
As observed in the design at 1200 MHz, CP response is also obtained at two offset distances in 50◦ , 60◦ , and 80◦ patch,
where the frequency ratio is around 1.18 or 0.9. For the re-designed antennas at 2000 MHz, CP response is obtained for
the lower values of “xoff ” as well, as shown in Figure 12A,B. In 50◦ modified patch, it is realized for “xoff ” = 0.8 cm, and
the AR BW is from 1720 to 1795 MHz. With respect to higher value of “xoff ,” reduction in the center frequency of AR BW
10 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

FIGURE 8 (A, B)
Radiation pattern and (C)
polarization plots for proximity
fed 100◦ modified ITMSA

T A B L E 2 Antenna parameters for the modified ITMSAs at 2000 MHz, S = 6.5, ha = 1.3, and hs = 1.2 cm
𝜶 Simu. BW (MHz, %) Meas. BW (MHz, %) Simu AR BW (MHz, %) Meas AR BW (MHz, %) x off (cm) Ls (cm)

50◦ 856, 43.3 824, 42.4 82, 4.31 85, 4.5 2.5 0.9
60◦ 797, 42.7 810, 43.1 70, 4 72, 4.1 3.5 1.0
70◦ 769, 41.4 780, 42 85, 5 80, 4.87 1.8 1.2
80◦ 612, 35.1 632, 35.7 66, 3.89 62, 4 3.0 1.2
90◦ 653, 37.3 669, 38.2 78, 4.72 74, 4.4 3.3 1.3
100◦ 752, 43.12 768, 44 80, 4.94 82, 5 3.6 0.8

by 147 MHz (7.7%) is obtained. In 60◦ modified patch, reduction in the center frequency of AR BW is by 167 MHz (9.4%)
and for 80◦ patch, the same is only by 32 MHz (2%). Thus, proposed formulation and re-design procedure is helpful in
realizing similar CP response around the TM10 mode frequency of ETMSA.
In the present work, experimental validation for the proposed designs is carried out inside the Antenna Lab. The anten-
nas were fed using N-type connector and a finite square ground plane of side length 35 cm, is used. For the impedance,
pattern and gain measurements, high frequency instruments namely, ZVH-8, SMB 100A and FSC 6, have been used. Fur-
thermore, a comparison for the proposed designs against reported CP variations using triangular patch as well as the
wideband CP designs obtained using other modified patch shapes and feed, resonant slot cut MSAs, and using parasitic
DESHMUKH and RAY 11 of 16

FIGURE 9 (A-D) Time varying surface current distribution for 50◦ modified ITMSA

patches, is given in Table 3. For the comparison purpose, optimum results as obtained for modified 50◦ ITMSA, are
considered.
Many of the reported triangular patch designs use stub or slot to excite orthogonal modes. But in none of those
papers a detailed study explaining the functioning of antenna in terms patch modes is provided. Most of the reported CP
variations using triangular patches use thinner substrate and hence they offer narrow AR BW and gain. For the design
reported in Reference 15, gain of 7 dBi is obtained, but it uses array of triangular patches. Using the combinations of eight
shorting posts or sectoral slits and shorting posts, wideband CP designs offering higher gain on thinner substrate, are
reported.17,19,20 But those papers neither clearly describe the modes of the shorted patch that gives CP response under the
mixed boundary conditions, nor they put forward any design methodology for the re-designing purpose. Wide band CP
design offering higher AR BW by using the combination of modified patch shapes, CPW feed, and frequency selective
surface have been reported.22-24 But here detailed discussion to explain the effects of modifications made in the patch and
feed, to achieve time and space orthogonality over the various resonant modes is not explained. Design of wide band CP
MSAs reported in References 27,28 although offers higher AR BW and gain but they use additional parasitic patches that
increases the antenna size. The half E-shape MSA design as reported in Reference 25 offers comparable values of the AR
BW against the proposed design. But the detailed explanation about antenna functioning is missing as well as the design
guidelines. The fractal design reported in Reference 26 is complex in design and offers lower AR BW. By suitably modi-
fying the Ψ-shape MSA, wideband CP response is obtained.32 However the work presented in Reference 32 presents CP
response nearer to the patch higher order modes. Also the CP radiation is present in the direction away from the broadside.
In addition, for the re-designing purpose it does not put forward any design methodology using relevant formulations.
Using overlapped square patches, CP response is realized.33 But it offers AR BW less than 1%, since it is optimized on
thinner substrate. Using triangular patch and substrate integrated waveguide, CP response has been reported.34 But this
method is complex in implementation and cannot be used for air suspended thicker substrates for the frequencies below
3 GHz. The said method is mainly being used at frequencies above 10 GHz, where the complete system integration with
the antenna is needed.
Against the reported work, proposed design uses air suspended variation and thus offers higher gain and BW. For the
proposed designs, detailed study explaining the effects on patch resonant modes in achieving CP response and subsequent
design methodology using resonant length formulations is put forward. This largely lacks in the reported papers offering
12 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

F I G U R E 10 Fabricated prototypes of (A) 50◦ , (B) 100◦ , and (C, D) 70◦ modified ITMSAs

F I G U R E 11 Resonant length estimation for suspended ETMSA

DESHMUKH and RAY 13 of 16

F I G U R E 12 Dual
frequency ratio plots for 𝛼 = (A)
50◦ , 60◦ , 70◦ and (B) 80◦ , 90◦ ,
100◦ for proximity fed modified
ITMSA at 2000 MHz and their
(C) AR BW plots and (D) the
center frequencies of AR BW, for
all the isosceles angles

wide band CP response. In addition, variation in isosceles angle and the offset distance realizes variation in the center
frequency of AR BW. Here the article does not claim upon the frequency tuning being achieved since the patch needs to
be re-fabricated for the each angle. Nevertheless, detailed effects of the angle variation have been presented that gives this
frequency variation. This variation is not possible in slot or stub loaded MSAs as well as the modified patch shape designs.
In addition, using the proposed formulation, modified ITMSA can be re-designed in the desired frequency spectrum that
lies around the TM10 mode frequency of ETMSA.
Similar modified TMSA designs for angle “𝛼” = 58◦ have been studied earlier, wherein either single patch was consid-
ered to obtain CP response,35 or stacked patches were used to widen the AR BW,36 or multiple patches in the gap-coupled
and stacked configurations were used for obtaining multi-band CP response,37 or additional slot or stub was used for fre-
quency tuning and compactness.38,39 As against all these reported work, present article discusses the modified designs
of ITMSA for isosceles angle varying from 50◦ to 110◦ . It discusses the formulation and design methodology to realize
similar modified ITMSA design for 50◦ -100◦ angle variation which helps in to scan the frequency spectrum that lies
around the TM10 mode frequency of equivalent ETMSA. Thus as against the earlier reported work, present article pro-
vides an extensive study for the modified ITMSA designs for different isosceles angles. As compared with the triangular
patch design reported in Reference 40, proposed configuration offers higher AR BW. In addition, variation in the cen-
ter frequency of AR BW is obtained in proposed design which is not possible in the triangular patch design presented in
Reference 40.
The configuration of modified ITMSA studied here may appear to be similar to the design of rectangular MSA loaded
with triangular shape notch and triangular stubs. But for this design, an optimum spacing between TM10 and TM01
mode frequencies against notch and stub dimensions is not achieved to yield CP response, which is being obtained
here in the proposed modified ITMSA configuration. Thus, simpler novel design of modified ITMSA for CP response
supported with design formulation, is the new contribution in the proposed work against the reported literature on
CP antennas.
14 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

T A B L E 3 Comparison of modified ITMSA against reported CP designs

MSA reported in AR BW (MHz, %) Method used Peak gain (dBi) Substrate thickness

Proposed work (𝛼 = 50◦ ) 76, 6.12 Overlapped patches 8.5 0.106𝜆g

Reference 5 11, 0.6 Offset feed location — 0.017𝜆g
Reference 6 14, 0.87 Spur lines (half U-slot) — 0.01𝜆g
Reference 7 20, 1.2 Spur lines (half U-slot) with diode and 1.7 0.01𝜆g
capacitor
Reference 8 28, 1.4 Truncated vertex — 0.011𝜆g
Reference 9 25, 1.03 Narrow slit — 0.013𝜆g
Reference 10 18, 0.93 Rectangular slot — 0.01𝜆g
Reference 10 22, 1.15 Unequal plus shape slot — 0.01𝜆g
Reference 11 18, 0.86 Y-shape slot — 0.011𝜆g
Reference 12 18, 1.15 Stub — 0.0085𝜆g
Reference 13 6, 0.3 Stub — 0.01𝜆g
Reference 15 7.4, 0.58 Dual proximity strip 7 0.014𝜆g
Reference 22 170, 10.7 Modified patch shape 7.5 0.127𝜆g
Reference 23 2600, 46.4 Modified patch and feed 10 (FSS) 0.0365𝜆g
Reference 24 2360, 58.6 Modified patch and feed 3.5 0.0123𝜆g
Reference 27 260, 16 Parasitic strips 8 0.156𝜆g
Reference 28 1100, 27 Parasitic patches 12 0.12𝜆g
Reference 25 130, 5.3 Rectangular slot 9 0.09𝜆g
Reference 26 6, 0.4 Fractal U-shape slots (second iteration) 2.3 0.052𝜆g
Reference 31 53, 2.3 Four bend stubs 3.6 0.02𝜆g
Reference 32 1000, 19 Multiple slots 7.5 0.118𝜆g
Reference 33 8, 0.5 Overlapped square patches 3.9 0.023𝜆g

6 CO N C LUSION S

Novel designs of modified ITMSAs for different isosceles angle are proposed for realizing the CP response. A detailed
study is presented to explain the effects of modifications made in the patch, on to the resonant modes of the com-
posite structure. An offset distance between two overlap ITMSAs tunes the spacing in between the orthogonal modes
of the composite patch, to yield CP response. Proposed designs yield VSWR and AR BW of more than 42% and 5%,
respectively. Against the increase in angle, proposed configurations provide variation in the center frequency of AR
BW by 17%, at the designed frequency of 1200 MHz. In addition, for the given isosceles angle, changing the offset dis-
tance, yields the frequency variation in the AR BW, by 6%-10%. The resonant length formulations at orthogonal modes
are proposed. They are useful in the re-designing of similar configuration for different isosceles angle, around the
TM10 mode frequency of equivalent ETMSA. Proposed novel configurations are suitable for frequency and polariza-
tion agile applications, wherein the signal loss due to polarization variations as well as any kind of interference is to be
minimized.

PEER REVIEW INFORMATION

Engineering Reports thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare no potential conflict of interest.
DESHMUKH and RAY 15 of 16

ORCID
Amit A. Deshmukh https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8299-5758

REFERENCES
1. Balanis CA. Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2007.
2. Kumar G, Ray KP. Broadband Microstrip Antennas. Norwood, MA: Artech House; 2002.
3. Garg R, Bhartia P, Bahl I, Ittipiboon A. Microstrip Antenna Design Handbook. Norwood, MA: Artech House; 2001.
4. Wong KL. Compact and Broadband Microstrip Antennas. 1st ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 2002.
5. Suzuki Y, Miyano N, Chiba T. Circularly polarised radiation from singly fed Equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna. IEE Proc.
1987;134(2):194-198.
6. Lu J-H, Yu H-C, Wong K-L. Compact circular polarisation design for equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna with spur lines. Electr Lett.
1998;34(21):1989-1990.
7. Sung Y. An equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna with polarization diversity. Microw Opt Technol Lett. 2009;51(5):1372-1374.
8. Tang C-L, Lu J-H, Wong K-L. Circularly polarised equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna with truncated tip. Electr Lett.
1998;34(13):1277-1278.
9. Lu J-H, Tang C-L, Wong K-L. Circular polarisation design of a single-feed equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna. Electr Lett.
1998;34(4):319-320.
10. Jui-Han L, Tang C-L, Wong K-L. Single-feed slotted equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna for circular polarization. IEEE Trans Antenn
Propag. 1999;47(7):1174-1178.
11. Yang K-P, Wong K-L, Lu J-H. Compact circularly polarized triangular microstrip antenna with y-shaped slot. Microw Opt Technol Lett.
1999;20(1):31-34.
12. Jui-Han L, Wong K-L. Single-feed circularly polarized equilateral-triangular microstrip antenna with a tuning stub. IEEE Trans Antenn
Propag. 2000;48(12):1869-1872.
13. Irani R, Ghavidel A, Kashani FH. Simulation and design of single fed circularly polarized triangular microstrip antenna with wide band
tuning stub. Int J Electr Commun Eng. 2009;3(3):457-459.
14. Nageswara Rao P, S NV, Sarma N. Koch fractal boundary single feed circularly polarized microstrip antenna. J Microw Optoelectron
Electromag Appl. 2007;6(2):406-413.
15. Baharuddin M, Wissan V, Sumantyo JTS, Kuze H. Equilateral triangular microstrip antenna for circularly-polarized synthetic aperture
radar. Progress Electromag Res C. 2009;8:107-120.
16. Lee C-H, Chen S-Y, Hsu P. Isosceles triangular slot antenna for broadband dual polarization applications. IEEE Trans Antenn Propag.
2009;57(10):3347-3351.
17. Zhang X, Zhu L. High-Gain circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna with loading of shorting pins. IEEE Trans Antenn Propag.
2016;64(6):2172-2178.
18. Tran HH, Nguyen-Trong N, Park HC. A compact wideband omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna using TM01 mode with capacitive
feeding. IEEE Antenn Wirel Propag Lett. 2019;18(1):19-23.
19. Shi Y, Liu J. Wideband and low profile omni-directional circularly polarized antenna with slits and shorting vias. IEEE Antenn Wirel
Propag Lett. 2016;15:686-689.
20. Zhang X, Zhu L, Liu N-W. Pin-loaded Circularly-Polarized patch antennas with wide 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth. IEEE Trans Antenn
Propag. 2017;65(2):521-528.
21. Kunwar A, Gautam AK, Kr Kanaujia B, Rambabu K. Circularly polarized D-shape slot antenna for wireless application. Int J RF Microw
Comput Aid Eng. 2018;29(1):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1002/mmce.21498.
22. Deng J, Lixin G, Fan T, Wu Z, Hu Y, Yang J. Wideband circularly polarized suspended patch antenna with indented edge and gap-coupled
feed. Progress Electromag Res. 2013;135:151-159.
23. Ramkrishna RVS, Kumar R. A CPW-fed wideband circularly polarized slot antenna with FSS for enhanced gain. Microw Opt Technol Lett.
2015;57(5):1199-1204.
24. Li G, Zhai H, Li T, Li L, Liang C. CPW Fed S-shaped slot antenna for broadband circular polarization. IEEE Antenn Wirel Propag Lett.
2013;12:619-622.
25. Kovitz JM, Rajagopalan H, Rahmat-Samii Y. Circularly polarised half E-shaped patch antenna: a compact and fabrication-friendly design.
IET Microw Antenn Propag. 2016;10(9):932-938.
26. Wei K, Li JY, Wang L, Xu R, Xing JZ. A new technique to design circularly polarized microstrip antenna by fractal defected ground
structure. IEEE Trans Antenn Propag. 2017;65(7):3721-3725.
27. Shiqiang F, Kong Q, Fang S, Wang Z. Broadband circularly polarized microstrip antenna with coplanar parasitic ring slot patch for L-band
satellite system application. IEEE Antenn Wirel Propag Lett. 2014;13:943-946.
28. Nasimuddin C, Zhi N, Esselle KP. Wideband circularly polarized microstrip antenna array using a new single feed network. Microw Opt
Technol Lett. 2008;50(7):1784-1789.
29. Sim CYD, Chen CC, Cao R, Chen BS. A circular patch antenna with parasitic element for UHF RFID applications. Int J RF Microw Comput
Aid Eng. 2015;25(8):681-687.
30. CST Microwave Studio 2019
16 of 16 DESHMUKH and RAY

31. Sung Y. Axial ratio-tuned circularly polarized square patch antenna with long stubs. Int J Antenn Propag. 2018;7068560:2018. https://doi.
org/10.1155/2018/7068560.
32. Mondal T, Maity S, Ghatak R, Bhadra Chaudhuri SR. Design and analysis of a wideband circularly polarised perturbed psi-shaped antenna.
IET Microw Antenn Propag. 2018;12(9):1582-1586.
33. Shi Y, Liu J. A circularly polarized octagon-star-shaped microstrip patch antenna with conical radiation pattern. IEEE Trans Antenn
Propag. 2018;66(4):2073-2078.
34. Kumar K, Dwari S, Mandal MK. Broadband dual circularly polarized substrate integrated waveguide antenna. IEEE Antenn Wirel Propag
Lett. 2017;16:2971-2974.
35. Deshmukh AA, Doshi A, Kamble P, Issrani D, Ray KP. Modified triangular shape microstrip antenna for circular polarization. Paper
presented at:Proceedings of the ICACC – 2017; August 22nd – 24th, 2017; Kochi, India. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2017.09.082).
36. Deshmukh AA, Doshi A, Ray KP. Electromagnetically coupled circularly polarized modified triangular microstrip antenna. IETE J Res.
2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/03772063.2020.1755611.
37. Deshmukh AA, Doshi AV, Ray KP. Multi and wide-band circularly polarized gap-coupled stack modified triangular microstrip antennas.
Paper presented at: Proceedings of ICWiCOM 2019; October 11th – 12th, 2019; Mumbai.
38. Doshi AV, Deshmukh AA, Deshmukh SB, Ray KP. Slot cut modified triangular shape microstrip antenna for circular polarization. Paper
presented at: Proceedings of NCC 2019; February 20th – 23rd, 2019; IISc Bangalore, Bangalore, India, (https://doi.org/10.1109/NCC.2019.
8732180).
39. Deshmukh AA, Doshi AV. Open circuit stub loaded modified 400 triangular microstrip antenna for CP response. Paper presented at:
Proceedings of ICWiCOM 2019; October 11th – 12th; 2019; Mumbai, India.
40. Deshmukh AA, Patil R, Maurya R. Varying angle triangular microstrip antenna for circular polarized response. Paper presented at:
Proceedings of ICWiCOM; October 11th – 12th, 2019; Mumbai, India.

How to cite this article: Deshmukh AA, Ray KP. Circularly polarized designs of modified isosceles triangular
microstrip antennas. Engineering Reports. 2020;2:e12250. https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.12250