Effect of surface impedance on the antenna properties in superconducting microstrip antenna

Abstract The complex surface impedance ( Z s ) of a superconductor is comprised of two unequal components, surface resistance ( R s ) and surface reactance ( X s ). We have investigated the effects of R s and X s on the YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− x (YBCO) superconducting microstrip antenna properties (resonant frequency, input impedance, and gain) by theoretical analysis and experimentation. The antennas were fabricated from YBCO thin films on (100) MgO single crystal substrate at 11.7 GHz. The investigation of the antenna properties reveals that the X s of the superconducting thin film mainly influences the antenna resonant frequency ( f r ) and has small influence on the antenna input impedance ( R in ). On the other hand, R s mainly affects the input impedance of the antenna. The antenna gain, and hence the efficiency, is found to be influenced by the film surface resistance. The antennas were characterized in the temperature range of 10–90 K. Possible influences of the substrate dielectric properties (permittivity, e r and loss tangent, tan δ ) on the antenna properties were also considered in the investigation.