Md. M. ISLAM et al.: PRINTED MICROSTRIP LINE-FED PATCH ANTENNA ON A HIGH-DIELECTRIC MATERIAL ...
307–310
PRINTED MICROSTRIP LINE-FED PATCH ANTENNA ON A
HIGH-DIELECTRIC MATERIAL FOR C-BAND APPLICATIONS
TISKANA MIKROTRAKASTA LINIJSKO NAPAJANA KRPASTA
ANTENA NA VISOKO DIELEKTRI^NEM MATERIALU ZA
UPORABO V C-PASU
Md. Moinul Islam1, Mohammad Rashed Iqbal Faruque1, Mohd Fais Mansor2,
Mohammad Tariqul Islam2
1Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Complex Penyelidikan Building, Centre for Space Science Angkasa, 43600 UKM,
Bangi, Selangor D. E., Malaysia
2Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Deparment of Electrical, Electronic & Systems Engineering, 43600 UKM,
Bangi, Selangor D. E., Malaysia
mmoiislam@yahoo.com
Prejem rokopisa – received: 2014-08-15; sprejem za objavo – accepted for publication: 2015-03-11
doi:10.17222/mit.2014.199
A printed microstrip line-fed patch antenna for C-band applications is presented, using a high-dielectric material. The proposed
antenna dimensions are 0.53  × 0.53  × 0.02  and it is fed by a microstrip line. The antenna outline and electromagnetic
analysis were done with the help of a commercially available computer-aided EM simulator. This antenna initiates three
resonances at 4.64 GHz, 5.52 GHz, and 6.34 GHz with the average gains of 2.68 dBi, 6.02 dBi and 4.83 dBi, respectively,
covering the entire frequency bands. The overall performance analysis and a nearly omnidirectional radiation pattern prove that
the proposed antenna is promising for C-band applications.
Keywords: C-band, dielectric material, microstrip line feeding
Predstavljena je tiskana mikrotrakasta, linijsko napajana, krpasta antena za uporabo v C-pasu, z uporabo visoko dielektri~nega
materiala. Predlagana dimenzija antene je 0,53  × 0,53  × 0,02 , ki je napajana z linijo mikrotraku. Oris antene in
elektromagnetska analiza sta bili izvr{eni s pomo~jo komercialno razpolo`ljivega in ra~unalni{ko podprtega EM simulatorja. Ta
antena spro`i tri resonance pri 4,64 GHz, 5,52 GHz in 6,34 GHz, s povpre~no sposobnostjo 2,68 dBi, 6,02 dBi in 4,83 dBi pri
pokrivanju vseh frekven~nih pasov. Analiza zmogljivosti in skoraj vsesmerna slika sevanja ka`eta, da predlagana antena obeta
dobro uporabo v C-pasu.
Klju~ne besede: C-pas, dielektri~ni material, linijsko napajanje z mikrotrakom
1 INTRODUCTION
Currently, the microstrip patch antenna is a milestone
in the wireless communication system and it continues to
fulfill the changing requirements of the new-generation
antenna technology. Microstrip patch antennas are
widely utilized in the present wireless communication
system because of their low profile, light weight, confor-
mal design, low cost, and because they are easy to fabri-
cate and integrate. Advances in wireless communications
have initiated remarkable demands. Antennas are used
for a wide range of cellular mobile phones in the current
society, causing concerns about their harmful radi-
ation.1–5 Many researches were done, covering the entire
C-band and many techniques and methods are stated in
the reference literature.
A hexagonal scrimp-horn antenna with different
aperture sizes was proposed for operating in C-band
applications.6 A modified dual-band CPW-fed antenna
was proposed for a WLAN-band application on a thin
substrate.7 A broadband planar monopulse antenna was
presented to increase the impedance bandwidth for
C-band applications, where a monopulse comparator was
used as the sum-difference feed network.8 A rectangular
slot antenna with a U-shaped strip was proposed for a
dual broadband operation in WLAN applications.9 A
compact broadband slot antenna with a circular polari-
zation was proposed for C-band applications, where two
rectangular stubs are embedded to excite two orthogonal
E vectors in the feedline structure.10
In this paper, a printed microstrip line-fed patch an-
tenna with a high-dielectric material that attains a com-
pact triple-resonant profile due to a nearly omnidirec-
tional radiation, high gain and a reasonable current
distribution is proposed. This line-fed antenna is made of
circular radiating patches with a partial ground plane
generating three resonances for C-band applications. The
antenna is smooth, with a simple design and comfortable
fabrication. The proposed line-fed antenna generates
three resonances to cover C-band applications. The
results are impedance bandwidth values of (160, 100 and
160) MHz at three resonances on the C-band. Due to a
double -shaped radiating patch with a partial ground,
nearly omnidirectional radiation properties are realized
over the entire operating bands with a reasonable gain.
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 50 (2016) 3, 307–310 307
UDK 621.396.67:621.315.61 ISSN 1580-2949
Original scientific article/Izvirni znanstveni ~lanek MTAEC9, 50(3)307(2016)
This line-fed antenna with a high-dielectric material is
very effective for C-band applications.
2 ANTENNA STRUCTURES
The design of the proposed antenna is indicated in
Figure 1. The antenna comprises of a double -shaped
patch and a partial ground. The design procedure begins
with a radiating patch with a substrate, a ground plane
and a feed line. It is printed on a ceramic-filled bio-
plastic substrate with a relative permittivity of 15 and a
relative permeability of 1. The overall antenna dimen-
sions are 40 mm × 40 mm × 1.2 mm. An SMA (Sub-
Miniature version A) connector is used for providing a
50  impedance and it is attached at the end of the
antenna feeding.
Figure 2 exhibits the structure of the substrate
material. This sandwich-structured substrate material
was generated using ceramic powder and bioplastic. The
selected ceramic powder was sintered with a polymeric
binder using the polymeric sponge method. A 9.8 ml
(0.25) bioplastic sheet was included. This bioplastic
sheet was obtained from organic biomass sources, such
as cornstarch, vegetable oil and palm oil, and used as the
ceramic cover. The three-layer bioplastic-ceramic-bio-
plastic sandwich structure was laminated using 35 μm of
copper foil. The characteristics of this substrate material
are low cost, ease of fabrication, design flexibility and
availability. For this reason, a high-dielectric material is
preferred for the antenna design.
Two -shaped circular slots were cut from the
copper patch with a partial ground. In this way, the
proposed line-fed patch antenna was achieved. Three
resonant frequencies of (4.64, 5.52 and 6.34) GHz were
obtained, continuously adjusting the length, the width
and the slots of the proposed antenna. Here, the
microstrip line is used to provide the feeding to the
proposed antenna. The length and width of the patch
antenna can be calculated from Equations (1) and (2).11 L
and W are the length and width of the patch, c is the
velocity of light, r is the dielectric constant of the sub-
strate, f0 is the target center frequency, and e is the
effective dielectric constant:
W =
c
f2
1
20
 r +
(1)
L =
c
f
l
2
2
0  r
− Δ (2)
Finally, the optimum dimensions were determined as
follows: L = 40 mm, W = 40 mm, P = 20 mm, Mw = 2.5
mm, Ws = 8 mm, and Lg = 19 mm.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The simulated return loss of the proposed antenna is
illustrated in Figure 3. Return losses of –20.21 dB,
–19.58 dB and –16.70 dB were acquired at three reso-
nant frequencies of (4.64, 5.52 and 6.34) GHz, respec-
tively.
We obtained the 160 MHz bandwidth with the 1st
resonant frequency, 100 GHz with the 2nd and 1.60 MHz
with the 3rd frequency. The mutual coupling effect was
increased with the lower frequency; as a result, the
bandwidth was small with the 1st and 2nd resonances. On
the other hand, the bandwidth was broadened due to the
suppressed mutual coupling effect. These bandwidths
Md. M. ISLAM et al.: PRINTED MICROSTRIP LINE-FED PATCH ANTENNA ON A HIGH-DIELECTRIC MATERIAL ...
308 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 50 (2016) 3, 307–310
Figure 1: Proposed C-band antenna: a) front view, b) back view
Slika 1: Predlagana antena za C-pas: a) pogled spredaj, b) pogled
zadaj
Figure 3: Proposed C-band antenna return loss
Slika 3: Povratne izgube, predlagane antene za C-pas
Figure 2: Structure of the substrate material12
Slika 2: Struktura materiala podlage12
were generated at the operating frequencies throughout
the entire C-band application.
The average gain of the proposed antenna is shown in
Figure 4. The average gains of (2.68, 6.02 and 4.83) dBi
are achieved in the operating frequency bands of (4.64,
5.52 and 6.34) GHz, respectively. The used dielectric
substrate material controls the mutual coupling effect
and, as a result, the antenna gain is widened. It can be
observed that the antenna gain was considerably
increased with the incorporation of this high-dielectric
material in the lower and upper bands, compared to the
existing antennas.
The voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of the
proposed antenna is plotted in Figure 5. The value of the
VSWR is less than 2, as clearly seen on the graph. It is
the desired value.
Figure 6 exhibits the result of the radiation efficiency
of the proposed patch antenna. The radiation efficiency
is 94 % with the 1st resonance, 90.06 % with the 2nd reso-
nance and 94.08% with the 3rd resonance. This efficiency
is broadly appropriate for C-band applications. It is
considerable in comparison with the existing ones. It is
obtained using a high-dielectric material for the pro-
posed antenna and this antenna is perfect for C-band
applications.
The surface-current distribution of the proposed
patch antenna is demonstrated in Figure 7. The arrow
sign is applied to denote the flow of the current distri-
bution. From the graph, it can be easily observed that the
current flow is maximum at the microstrip line and the
lower -shaped slot, at 4.64 GHz. At 5.52 GHz, the
upper -shaped slot and the microstrip line show the
maximum current. At 6.34 GHz, the parts of the intersec-
tion between double -shaped slots control the maxi-
mum current flow. Due to the high-dielectric substrate
material, the overall surface-current distribution is
smooth and sharp. As a result, the mutual coupling effect
is under consideration and it is controlled in the case of
the proposed patch antenna.
Md. M. ISLAM et al.: PRINTED MICROSTRIP LINE-FED PATCH ANTENNA ON A HIGH-DIELECTRIC MATERIAL ...
Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 50 (2016) 3, 307–310 309
Figure 6: Proposed C-band antenna efficiency
Slika 6: U~inkovitost predlagane antene za C-pas
Figure 4: Proposed C-band antenna gain
Slika 4: Sposobnost predlagane antene za C-pas
Figure 7: Surface current of the proposed C-band antenna at: a) 4.64
GHz, b) 5.52 GHz and c) 6.34 GHz
Slika 7: Tok na povr{ini predlagane antene za C-pas pri: a) 4,64 GHz,
b) 5,52 GHz in c) 6,34 GHz
Figure 5: Proposed C-band antenna VSWR
Slika 5: VSWR predlagane antene za C-pas
The radiation patterns of the proposed antenna on the
E-plane and H-plane, at resonant frequencies of (4.64,
5.52 and 6.34) GHz are shown in Figure 8. It is shown
from the results that significant, nearly omnidirectional
radiation patterns are acquired along the H-plane and
E-plane, respectively. The cross-polarization is low on
the E-plane at all the resonances; on the other hand, the
cross-polarization is high on the H-plane. The cross-po-
larization is lower than the co-polarization at all the
resonances, leading to omnidirectional or nearly omni-
directional radiation characteristics. As a result, the
radiation pattern of the proposed patch antenna is almost
durable for C-band applications.
4 CONCLUSION
The article presents a printed line-fed patch antenna
with a high-dielectric material appropriate for C-band
applications. It uses a double -shaped patch instead of
a conventional patch with a view to obtaining a triple
band operation. The microstrip line-fed antenna with a
high-dielectric material was designed and simulated
using the HFSS software, while the current-distribution
plots were made to verify the proposed track. The simu-
lation results indicate good characteristics. Conse-
quently, the proposed microstrip line-fed antenna with a
high-dielectric material can be appropriate for C-band
applications.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the Ministry of Educa-
tion (MOE) under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme
Top Down, Code: FRGS TOP DOWN/2014/TK03/
UKM/01/1.
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Md. M. ISLAM et al.: PRINTED MICROSTRIP LINE-FED PATCH ANTENNA ON A HIGH-DIELECTRIC MATERIAL ...
310 Materiali in tehnologije / Materials and technology 50 (2016) 3, 307–310
Figure 8: Radiation patterns: a) E-plane at 4.64 GHz, b) H-plane at
4.64 GHz, c) E-plane at 5.52 GHz, d) H-plane at 5.52 GHz, e) E-plane
at 6.34 GHz and f) H-plane at 6.34 GHz
Slika 8: Sevalni diagrami: a) E-ravnina pri 4,64 GHz, b) H-ravnina pri
4,64 GHz, c) E-ravnina pri 5,52 GHz, d) H-ravnina pri 5,52 GHz, e)
E-ravnina pri 6,34 GHz in f) H-ravnina pri 6,34 GHz