ABSTRACT

The cellular industry came into existence about 30 years ago and as of today, there are approximately 150 million subscribers worldwide. The cellular industry generates $30 billion in annual revenues and is one of the fastest growing industries. The cellular handsets being used in the 1980s were bulky and heavy. Advancements in VLSI technology have enabled size reduction for the various microprocessors and signal processing chips being used in cellular phones. Another method for reducing handset size is by using more compact antennas. The aim of this thesis is to design such a compact antenna for use in wireless/cellular devices. A Microstrip Patch Antenna consists of a dielectric substrate on one side of a patch, with a ground plane on the other side. Due to its advantages such as low weight and volume, low profile planar configuration, low fabrication costs and capability to integrate with microwave integrated circuits (MICs), the microstrip patch antenna is very well suited for applications such as cellular phones, pagers, missile systems, and satellite communications systems. A compact, multiband microstrip patch antenna is designed for use in a cellular phone at 1.8 GHz, 2.5GHz, and 6.3GHz. The results obtained provide a workable antenna design for incorporation in a cellular phone.

Key words: VLSI, MICs, Microstrip Patch Antenna, wireless/cellular devices