Split Ground Plane Research Articles

Identification of dominant side-channel information leaking mechanism induced by split ground planes

Identification of dominant side-channel information leaking mechanism induced by split ground planes

Split-ground Compact Ultra-wide Band Patch Antenna for Wireless LTE/UMTS Operations

The lower band and mid band ‘5G’ are known to use the frequencies in the range of 600 MHz – 6 GHz worldwide, especially 3.5GHz to 4.2GHz. A new modified multi slot compact planar ultra-wideband Microstrip patch antenna with a split ground plane has been proposed in this paper. The size of the antenna occupies volume of 34x30x1.7 (1734 mm^3) which has been designed on a FR4 epoxy substrate with dielectric constant of 4.4. In order to provide dual wideband characteristics, a ‘T and G ’shaped slots with split ground plane using line feeding structure has been used. The effects on the return losses v/s frequency for the antenna using different substrates with varying dielectric constants for the same dimensions has been studied in this paper. The proposed antenna operates in dual band with first band being a narrow band ranging from 1.92GHz to 2.06GHz and the second band is an ultra-wide band which ranges from 3.40 GHz to 9.6 GHz. The split ground plane and slot size variations in the T and G slot geometry helps in retrieving the dual bands. The proposed antenna is covering applications from LTE band No 40, UMTS IMT-2000, Wimax (3.5/5.55GHz), ISM WLAN 5.2/5.8GHz and RFID etc. The direct line feeding method which uses a 50Ω line with width of W=3mm has been used for the micro-strip line. With split ground plane, coupling between the slots plays role for achieving the good bandwidth. The analysis of return loss (dB), bandwidth, VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) of patch antenna with different substrates and variation of the sizes of slots in shapes has been performed using HFSS tool [12] and results has been studied in this paper.

Polarization Reconfigurable Aperture-Fed Patch Antenna and Array

This paper presents a reconfigurable aperture-fed patch antenna array for ±45° polarizations. First, a new method to realize the reconfigurable ±45° polarizations is proposed. It introduces controllable RF switches on a cross-aperture to excite a square patch for two orthogonal polarizations. The RF switches are controlled by two sets of DC biases, which could select the polarization through the reconfigurable aperture. Second, two patch antennas based on cross-aperture excitation are discussed. The first structure uses a split ground plane with four switches, while the other one employs a united ground plane with eight switches. Both antennas operate well as the single element. However, only the antenna with a united ground is suitable for developing a reconfigurable dual-polarized antenna array, owning to its simple DC biasing lines and the reconfigurable-controlling network. Both simulation and experiment studies were examined to verify the proposed design. The measured 10-dB impedance bandwidth of the array is 9.3%, which can cover the 2.4-GHz WLAN band. The desired radiation patterns were observed with a maximum gain of 13.5 dBi. The proposed antenna array has low cross-polarization and stable gain across the entire operating bandwidth.

Crosstalk analysis model for traces crossing split ground plane and its reduction by stitching capacitor

AbstractCrosstalk and its reduction by using stitching capacitors for traces crossing split ground plane are investigated in this paper. While two traces cross the same slot in the ground plane, the crosstalk between them will be of very high level, even if they are far apart. By examining the measured S‐parameter and near‐magnetic field, we concluded that the crosstalk is due to magnetic or inductive coupling between the trace and the slot in the ground. We therefore developed an equivalent circuit model for characterizing the crosstalk. The validity of the equivalent circuit model is verified by comparison with measurement results. The reduction of crosstalk by stitching the split ground plane with capacitors is discussed on the basis of the developed equivalent circuit model. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 90(8): 26– 34, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjb.20338

Methods to reduce radiation from split ground planes in RF and mixed signal packaging structures

Split ground planes are sometimes used in RF and mixed signal packages in order to isolate the RF and analog circuits from the digital circuits. Undesired radiation in a packaging environment may occur when a signal trace is routed over a slot in the ground plane. This paper examines and investigates ways to eliminate signal coupling into split ground plane structures and assesses the impact of this reduced coupling on signal integrity in a packaging environment. Suggested methods to reduce coupling of energy into the slot are to alter the shape of the slot with RF chokes or corrugations.

Crossing the planes at high speed. Signal integrity issues at split ground and power planes

This article discusses a specific design situation that represents quite a broad class of problems in the study of signal integrity. The article focuses on the effects on high-speed signals that need to cross split ground planes and split power planes that act as signal references or partial references. Such configurations are frequently needed in the layout of printed circuit boards (PCBs), multichip modules (MCMs), and even single-chip modules. Examples of split ground and power planes are discussed first. The conventional effective inductance model is described briefly, and an accurate and efficient transmission line model is then discussed in detail. Examples of modeling and design trade-offs are also presented.