• It is seen that the characteristic impedance of the Stripline decreases as the strip

width W increases.
• The Propagation Delay (tpd) for a given length in a Stripline is only function of the
dielectric εr: tpd (nsec/ft) = 1.017

Microstrip Design

The Microstrip line it has become the best known and most widely used planar
transmission line for RF and Microwave circuits. This popularity and widespread use are
due to its planar nature, ease of fabrication using various processes, easy integration
with solid-state devices, good heat sinking, and good mechanical support.

• In simple terms, Microstrip is the printed circuit version of a wire over a ground
plane, and thus it tends to radiate as the spacing between the ground plane and
the strip increases. A substrate thickness of a few percent of a wavelength (or less)
minimizes radiation without forcing the strip width to be too narrow.
• In contrast to Stripline, the two-media nature (substrate discontinuity) of Microstrip
causes its dominant mode to be hybrid (Quasi-TEM) not TEM, with the result that
the phase velocity, characteristic impedance, and field variation in the guide cross
section all become mildly frequency dependent.
• The Microstrip line is dispersive. With increasing frequency, the effective dielectric
constant gradually climbs towards that of the substrate, so that the phase velocity
gradually decreases. This is true even with a non-dispersive substrate material (the
substrate dielectric constant will usually fall with increasing frequency).
• In Microstrip development a new concept of Effective Dielectric Constant εeff (or
Dkeff) was introduced, which takes into account that most of the electric fields are
constrained within the substrate, but a fraction of the total energy exists within the
air above the board.
• The Effective Dielectric Constant εeff varies with the free-space wavelength λ0.
The dispersion becomes more pronounced with the decreasing ratio of strip width
to substrate thickness, W/h. Dispersion is less pronounced as the strip width
 becomes relatively wider, and the Microstrip line physically starts to approach an
ideal parallel-plate capacitor. In this case we get: εr ~ εeff
• The Effective Dielectric Constant εeff is expected to be greater than the dielectric
constant of air (ε = 1) and less than that of the dielectric substrate.

In this expression shielding is assumed to be far enough from the Microstrip line.

Electric-E and Magnetic-H field lines for fundamental Quasi-TEM in Microstrip

• Effective Dielectric εeff can be obtained by static capacitance measurements.

- If the static capacitance per unit length is C with partial dielectric filing, and
Co with dielectric removed, we get εeff = C/Co.
• Guided Wavelength in Microstrips is given by:
λ0 / √ εeff where λ0 is the wavelength in free space
• The same as in Stripline case, in Microstrip fundamental mode the hot conductor is
equipotential (every point in it is at the same potential).
• A simple but accurate equation for Microstrip Charateristic Impedance is:

• The characteristic impedance of the Microstrip line changes slightly with frequency
(even with a non-dispersive substrate material).
The characteristic impedance of non-TEM modes is not uniquely defined, and
depending on the precise definition used, the impedance of Microstrip either rises,
falls, or falls then rises with increasing frequency.
The low-frequency limit of the characteristic impedance is referred to as the Quasi-
static Characteristic Impedance, and is the same for all definitions of
characteristic impedance.
• Microstrip frequency limitation is given mainly by the lowest order transverse
resonance, which occurs when width of the line (plus fringing field component)
approaches a half-wavelength in the dielectric. Have to avoid using wide lines.
• For very wide lines, the fields are almost all in the substrate, while narrower lines
will have proportionally more field energy in air.
 • Propagation Delay for a given length in a Microstrip line is only function of εr:

• Any practical Microstrip line has the following Sources of Attenuation, due to:
- Finite conductibility of the line conductors.
- Finite resistivity of the substrate and its dumping phenomena.
- Radiation effects.
- Magnetic loss plays a role only for magnetic substrates, such as ferrites.
• Waveguides and Striplines have no radiation losses, while in Microstrip case
(since the Microstrip is an open transmission line) radiation effects are present at
any discontinuity section.
• For Microstrip using high dielectric materials εr (Dk) and accurate conductor shape
and matching, conductor and dielectric losses are predominant in relation to the
radiation losses.
• In practice, it has been found that the Microstrip impedance with finite ground plane
width (Zo) is practically equal to the impedance value with infinite width ground
plane (Zi), if the ground width Wg is at least 3 times greater than width (Wg>3*W).

Microstrip’s primary advantages of low cost and compact size are offset by its tendency
to be more lossy than Coaxial Line, Waveguide, CPW, and Stripline.

• Microstrip transmission lines suffer from three types of losses: conductor, dielectric,
and radiation losses. The first two are fairly well understood, with Conductor Loss
dependent on the type of metal used for the transmission lines and the dimensions
of those lines (with loss increasing with length) and Dielectric Loss a function of
the type of printed-circuit-board (PCB) substrate material.
• Radiation Losses depend on the dielectric constant, substrate thickness, the
circuit geometry and also depends by frequency, increasing with increasing
frequency.
• Radiation loss can vary its magnitude due to the circuit configuration (microstrip,
stripline, or coplanar CPW).
• Radiation loss is not exclusive to microstrip lines, although its effects are more
noticeable in microstrip than in stripline or coplanar-waveguide circuits CPW.
• Stripline transmission lines, because they are enclosed by dielectric material,
exhibit almost no radiation loss.
• Coplanar-waveguide CPW circuits suffer minimal radiation losses, except at
transmission-line discontinuities, such as a junction or step.
• In certain microstrip circuits, such as filters and couplers, radiation loss can
significantly impact performance, resulting in increased insertion loss, changes in
signal phase, and shifts in resonant frequency.
• The lower the dielectric constant, the less the concentration of energy in the
substrate region, and, hence, the greater the radiation losses.
• Higher the thickness of the material, higher the radiation losses.
• Higher the frequency, higher the radiation losses.
• Circuit geometry could generate impedance transitions and discontinuities, which
increase the radiation losses.
• The real benefit in having a higher dielectric constant is not only reducing radiation
losses but also that the package size decreases by approximately the square root
of the dielectric constant.
• Dielectric substrates with low dielectric constants Dk (such as less than 5.0), have
often been used in microwave microstrip circuits because of their low cost and
versatility: they yield larger circuit geometries for a given frequency compared to
circuit materials with higher dielectric constants Dk, helping to simplify fabrication at
higher frequencies.
• With the lower dielectric constant, less of the conducted electromagnetic (EM)
energy is concentrated in the substrate and the microstrip metal conductor, leading
to losses as a result of radiation effects.
• Using a higher dielectric constant Dk will reduce radiation losses because a greater
part of the EM field is concentrated in the dielectric material between the ground
plane and the microstrip metal conductor.
• The increase in substrate dielectric constant will also miniaturize the dimensions of
the microstrip circuitry, roughly decreasing in size by a factor equal to the square
root of the dielectric constant. If making such choice of higher dielectric material,
attention should be paid to other material parameters, so as to not trade lower
radiation loss for higher dielectric loss.

• The thickness of a PCB material also impacts the amount of radiation loss exhibited
by a microstrip circuit at higher frequencies.
For lower dielectric constant circuits, radiation losses can be reduced by using a
thinner dielectric substrate.
Radiation losses can also be reduced with a thicker substrate material having a
higher dielectric constant, although a further reduction in radiation losses can also
be achieved by using a thinner material at that higher dielectric constant.
The shrinking of circuit dimensions that comes from using a substrate with higher
dielectric constant can be a concern at millimeter-wave circuits, where the circuit
dimensions and tolerances may become critical for some fabrication processes.
 • One way to lower the loss of Microstrip line is to suspend the substrate over the air:

The air between the bottom of the substrate and the ground plane contains the bulk of
the electromagnetic field. The insertion loss of the Microstrip is reduced because, air
essentially has no dielectric loss compared to standard circuit board substrates, and in
addition, the width of the Microstrip line increases because of the lower effective
dielectric constant. Wider lines have lower current density, and thus, lower ohmic loss.
• Suspending Microstrip means that the separation between the signal and ground
paths increases, and so does the Microstrip’s tendency to radiate, particularly at
discontinuities such as corners. From this reason, suspended Microstrip mostly is
used only up to a few GHz.
• In a Microstrip line, conductor losses increase with increasing characteristic
impedance due to the greater resistance of narrow strips. Conductor losses follow a
trend that is opposite to radiation loss with respect to W/h.
• Important to remember, a smaller strip width leads to higher losses.

• Very simple method for measuring the Dielectric Attenuation constant is based on
the Comparison Technique.
- Two Microstrip lines with identical electrical characteristics but different lengths
are used.
- Their insertion losses are measured.
- The difference between two values of insertion loss is used to evaluate the
dielectric attenuation constant.
- This procedure avoids the systematic errors caused by radiation and coaxial-to-
microstrip transitions.
- Dielectric loss can be reduced by using substrates with a low dielectric loss.
To minimize radiation loss, the number of discontinuities, such as bends and
T-junctions, should be made as small as possible.
- Radiation from a curved microstrip line is much smaller compared to radiation from
a right-angled bend.
- At very high frequencies, to reduce radiation loss in a feed network, the width of the
microstrip line should be less than λ/8.
- Conductor loss may be minimized by designing the feed network length per
wavelength as short as possible. By using a multilayer feed network design, the
feed network length per wavelength is minimized considerably.
- Thickness of the metal microstrip lines (using the same substrate) affect the
insertion loss.
- Thinner circuits are dominated by conductor loss.
- Thick circuits are dominated by dielectric loss.
Final plated finishes and copper roughness have an impact on conductor loss

• Microstrip, final plated finish impacts the conductor loss due to high current density
at the edge of the conductor.
• With the exception of silver, most metal finishes used in the PCB industry are less
conductive than copper (gold, nickel, aluminum, brass, solder, tin).
A lower conductivity will cause higher conductor losses, which increases insertion
loss. Silver is the exception and does not increase copper conductor loss.
• Gold plating is very thin (about 0.05um) but skin depth will not approach this
thickness until about 1 THz.
• Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG) is a common type of surface plating
used for PCBs. It consists of an electroless nickel plating covered with a thin layer
of immersion gold, which protects the nickel from oxidation.
• When skin depth is near the same dimension as copper surface roughness or less,
the surface roughness will significantly increase conductor loss and it will slow the
wave propagation.
• Some degree of copper roughness is always applied to promote adhesion to the
dielectric material, and improves peel strength of laminate.
• Electrical impact of conductor roughness increases with frequency, increase the
capacitance, increase the group delay, decrease the characteristic impedance over
a wide bandwidth, and apparently increase Dk to match the group delay vs
frequency characteristic.

Microstrip cross-sectional view, with exaggerated copper roughness

• The Power Handling capacity of a Microstrip is limited by heating caused because

of ohmic and dielectric losses and by dielectric breakdown.
An increase in temperature due to conductor and dielectric losses limits the
Average Power of the Microstrip line, while the breakdown between the strip
conductor and ground plane limits the Peak Power.

A metallic enclosure is normally required for most Microstrip circuit applications, such
as Microstrip Filters. The presence of conducting top and side walls will affect both, the
characteristic impedance Zc and the effective dielectric constant εeff (or Dkeff).
• In practice, a rule of thumb may be applied in the Microstrip Filter design to reduce
the effect of metallic enclosure: the height up to the cover should be more than
eight times the substrate thickness, and the distance to walls more than five times
the substrate thickness.