Chapter 2

Revisited the design techniques of Dielectric Resonator

Antenna

2.1 Objective
The objective of this chapter is consolidation of the literature on dielectric resonator antennas
(DRAs) and fractal antennas that we have surveyed during the course of this work. It includes
over the last three decades of work on DRA. Major research activities in each decade are
highlighted. Over a decade has passed since incorporation of fractal geometry in design of
compact, wideband, ultra-wideband, multiband antennas. A number of designs reported by
various researchers are summarized in this chapter. One of the advantages of this exercise is
that the information provided in the following sections will help antenna designers to get
better understanding of their potential and perhaps consider them as alternatives to
conventional low-gain elements when undertaking new designs. It can also serve as reference
for dielectric resonator antenna, providing a summary of the current achievements and listing
benchmarks against which performance of new dielectric resonator antenna designs can be
compared. This chapter covers the achieved frequency ranges of dielectric resonator antenna
prototypes, low profile, compact designs and wideband dielectric resonator antennas
available in literature.

2.2 Introduction
Keeping with the market demand, the requirements for the antenna design are
changing continuously. Today’s consumer market demands electronic systems of high
efficiency, wide bandwidth and reduced equipment size. Meeting these demands in the RF
and wireless domain is a major challenge since it involves design of an antenna to be
embedded into wireless products. Over the last two decades two classes of antennas i.e., the
microstrip antenna and the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) have been under investigation
for modem wireless applications. Being high Q antennas, the microstrip antennas, possess
narrow bandwidth. To increase the bandwidth, one of the early proposals was to increase the
electrical thickness of the substrate. It had two major disadvantages: increasing the surface
waves & Ohmic losses and thereby reducing radiation efficiency.
8
 While research on microstrip antenna was picking up around the globe, in early part
of eighties, Stuart Long developed the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) [1]. The DRA is a
resonant antenna, fabricated from a high-permittivity (from about 6 to100) dielectric material
mounted on a ground plane and fed by a coaxial probe, slot coupling or a microstrip line in
the ground plane, though some low values are being recently explored as antennas [2].
Theoretical and experimental investigations have been carried out with various shapes such
as cylindrical, rectangular and hemispherical structure allowing for flexibility in design. The
impedance bandwidth for a DRA is a function of material permittivity and aspect ratio
(length-to-height ratio) [3]. Higher permittivity can result in size reduction, whereas lower
permittivity can broaden the bandwidth. Most of the previous work focused on characterizing
the basic properties of DRA for varieties of simple shapes and feed configurations. Also
much effort has been put into investigations on linearly polarized wideband DRAs [4].
At mm-wave, the DRA offers advantages like smaller size than conventional antennas
by a factor of square root of the dielectric constant of the material (εr), high radiation
efficiency (>95%) due to absence of conductor or surface wave losses, increased bandwidth,
low cost and compatibility to planar antenna feeding techniques. Compared to the microstrip
antenna, the DRA has wider impedance bandwidth. For a simple rectangular DRA, a
bandwidth of 10% can be achieved for a dielectric constant of 10 or less [1]. The microstrip
antenna radiates through two narrow edges of the patch whereas the DRA radiates through its
entire surface except the grounded portion. Surface waves are absent in the DRA in contrast
to the microstrip antenna [4] improving the efficiency and reducing distortions in the
radiation pattern.
It is an off-shoot of the work of Ritchtmyer in which he showed in 1939 [5] that a
block of dielectric material, with very high dielectric constant, resonates in free space and
such a resonator exhibits radiation damping. Dielectric resonators have been used as high Q
element in microwave circuit applications following the development of low-loss ceramics in
the late 1960s. The initial work on determining resonant frequencies of dielectric resonators
greatly facilitated advancements in design of antennas using such resonators as antenna [6,
7]. Many disadvantages of microstrip antenna do not appear in Dielectric Resonator Antennas
(DRA), even at millimeter wave frequencies. The impact of DRA in the field of antenna is
evident from over 800 reported papers, which include three major review articles. Unlike
these previous reviews, this article focuses primarily on broad banding techniques for DRA.
Since the start of this new millennium, many more researchers have begun investigating
dielectric resonator antennas. Work has continued in various areas like compact designs,
9
miniaturization techniques, low-profile designs, wideband designs etc. New areas of research
include enhanced gain techniques, finite ground plane effects, multiband and ultra-wideband
designs. Most of these works involve study of new dielectric resonator antenna shapes
including conical, tetrahedral, hexagonal, pyramidal, elliptical and stair-stepped shapes or
hybrid antenna designs using dielectric resonator antennas in combination with microstrip
patches, monopoles or slots. A significant number of the more-recent publications focus on
designing dielectric resonator antennas for specific applications like Wi-max, WLAN
applications, UWB applications, RFID and all dielectric wireless receivers. In the next
section 2.3, this paper briefly outlines the frequency range and some basics shapes of DRA
geometry in use. It is followed by a summarized discussion on some design techniques in
areas of wideband DRA, ultra wideband DRA and multi band DRA. Some examples with
advantages, disadvantages and configurations for various applications are given in the section
2.4. The concept of fractal antenna is given in penultimate section. In the concluding section
2.6 the review is summarized.

2.3 Frequency range and DRA geometry

Various factors determine the practical range of operating frequencies over which an
antenna can operate. At lower frequencies, the physical properties of the antenna (size and
weight) are often the limiting factors, while at higher frequencies; it is mechanical tolerances
and electrical losses that often dominate antenna designs. One characteristic of dielectric
resonator antennas is that their maximum dimensions (D) is related to the free-space resonant
0.5
wavelength (λ0) by the approximate relation D  0 r , where  r is the relative permittivity

of the dielectric resonator antenna. Since the radiation efficiency of a dielectric resonator
antenna is not significantly affected by its dielectric constant, a wide range of values can be
used. However, the bandwidth of the DRA is inversely related to the dielectric constant, and
may limit the choice of values for a given application. By using a material with a high
dielectric constant, the size of the DRA can be significantly reduced, making it viable for low
frequency operations. There are many published designs of DRAs operating at frequencies
from 1 to 40 GHz, with dimensions ranging from a few centimeters to few millimeters and
dielectric constants approximately ranging from 8   r  100 .
Dielectric resonators of any geometric shape can be used for antenna design though
rectangular, cylindrical, hemispherical, circular cross-sections are predominant. The design
10
parameters such as permittivity, resonant frequency, input impedance, radiation pattern and
coupling mechanisms vary for different shapes and hence the analytical model for analyzing
each geometrical configuration is different.
Simplified analysis and mechanical fabrication play important role in selection of
shape for antenna. In order to compare the geometries of the DRAs, the dimensional degrees
of freedom are considered [4]. For a DRA with rectangular cross section, two of the three
dimensions (length, width and height) can be varied for a given resonant frequency and for a
fixed dielectric constant. Hence, it has two degrees of freedom. The cylindrical DRA has one
degree of freedom. Different values of radius height pairs give different values of bandwidth,
directivity and volume occupations [4]. For hemispherical geometry, the radius determines
the resonant frequency. The hemispherical DRA has zero degrees of freedom. Therefore, the
bandwidth remains fixed and is difficult to optimize for particular requirements and hence the
hemispherical DRAs are less frequently used [4]. The rectangular DRA offers practical
advantages over the spherical and cylindrical shapes, due to the flexibility in choosing the
aspect ratios.

2.4 Recent advances in broad banding technology in DRA

The DRAs can be used in different configurations to provide significant improvement
in parameters such as bandwidth and size. This section includes some of the current broad
banding design techniques for wideband DRA, ultra wide band DRA and multi band DRA.
Results from several examples are also presented addressing their advantages and
disadvantages.

2.4.1 Wideband Dielectric Resonator Antennas

With the development of modern communication applications, there is an increasing

need for antennas that provide both wide bandwidth and miniaturization. The need for
increasing the information transfer also demands bandwidth enhancement, without sacrificing
performance. Dielectric resonator antennas are versatile elements that can be adapted to
numerous applications by properly choosing the design parameters such as the permittivity of
the material, Q-factor and the dimensions. The Q-factor of the dielectric resonator is
proportional to the permittivity  r of the material. High permittivity of the material increases
the Q-factor, which results in narrow bandwidth. The high permittivity DRAs tend to have a
single resonant frequency with a well-defined internal field structure and hence do not have

11
the bandwidth required for modern communication systems. Several investigations have been
carried out in order to achieve bandwidth enhancements for DRAs. Some of the techniques
are summarized in the following sections.

2.4.1.1 Mono DRA

Here, a Mono DRA means a single DRA realized out of a single dielectric material
without any restriction on its shapes. Almost for all regular geometries, an approach for
broad-banding is to remove portions from DRA [6]. Another approach is to modify geometry
so as to obtain various shapes, such as a tetrahedron and triangular [8], truncated tetrahedron
[9], spilt cylinder [10], conical DRA [11]. These approaches have advantages like keeping the
DRA in a single volume and thereby maintaining compact size. Also, the modified
geometries have more design parameters, so better performance can be obtained by
optimizing these parameters. However, since the excited modes are very sensitive to the
dimensions of the DRA, more design parameters may also increase difficulty in designs. In
addition, due to the hardness of DRA materials, re-shaping geometry of a DRA is not easy in
fabrication. In a recently reported work, a simple cylindrical DR provides broadband
operation by merging two different modes in a mode family [12], it has a simple shape and a
single volume but it needs very precise dimensions that lead to dual modes in a mode family,
which increases significantly the difficulty in simulations and fabrications.
Simple rectangular DRA investigated in the literature can offer impedance
bandwidths of up to 10% [6]. To obtain wider bandwidths, a slot-fed rectangular DRA with
its central portion removed to provide a notch as shown in Fig 2.1., has been shown to offer
bandwidths up to 28% [6]. Removing the notch causes a decrease in the effective dielectric
constant of the DRA, which lowers the radiation Q-factor, thus increasing the bandwidth. By
varying the relative dimensions of the notch, the DRA can be used for broadband or dual
band operation. This method of bandwidth enhancement is very convenient, as it does not
require additional matching network [6]. Coulibaly et al.[13] achieved broad banding using
microstrip-fed DRA for X-band. This antenna suffers from periodic mismatch, particularly at
high-frequency end. A list of several mono DRA designs is provided in Table 2.1.

12
 Table 2.1: Mono DRA designs
(εr is the dielectric constant of the DRA; BW is the -10 dB S11 bandwidth)

S.N. DRA geometry εr Feed mechanism BW Ref.

(-10 dB)
1. Flipped staired pyramid 12 Slot ~ 62 % [14]
2. Strip-fed Rectangular 9.8 Conducting strip ~ 43 % [15]
DRA
3. Inverted L-shaped DRA 9.2 Probe ~ 38 % [16]
4. Cylindrical DRA 12 Probe ~ 30 % [17]
5. Half-hemispherical DRA 10 Probe ~ 35 % [18]
6. Cylindrical cup DRA 10.2 L-shaped probe ~ 32 % [19]
12 slot (square cross- ~ 54.3 %
Two step Stair shaped section)
7. DRA 10.2 probe (circular cross- ~ 40 % [20]
section)
8. Rectangular DRA with 20 Slot ~ 18 % [21]
an offset well
9. U-shaped DRA 9.8 Elliptical patch ~ 72 % [22]
10. Rectangular DRA with a 20 Slot ~ 20 % [23]
tunnel
11. H- shaped DRA 9.8 trapezoidal patch ~ 62 % [24]

12. L-shaped DRA 9.8 Conformal inverted- ~ 71.4 % [25]

trapezoidal patch
13. High aspect ratio (5.2:1) 25 Micro strip line ~ 16 % [26]
rectangular DRA

14. Rectangular DRA with a 20 Slot ~ 33 % [27]

moat
15. Cylindrical DRA 10 Conformal metallic ~ 66 % [28]
strip connected to
SMA probe
16. Rectangular DRA placed 9.8 probe ~ 55 % [29]
on a concave ground
plane
17. Trapezoidal DRA 10 Probe ~ 55 % [30]

18. Cylindrical DRA 10.2 Dual coaxial probe ~ 68 % [31]

19. Bowtie DRA 9.8 Probe ~ 49.4 % [32]

13
 Fig.2.1. Notched Rectangular DRA with
Fig. 2.2. Configuration of Strip-fed
Aperture Slot Coupling [6].
Rectangular DRA [15].

Fig. 2.3. Probe fed Trapezoidal DRA [30].

Fig. 2.4. Broadband Bowtie DRA [32].

2.4.1.2 Poly Dielectric Resonators

Poly DRA is defined as a combination of multiple units consisting of same or
different dielectric materials, which may or may not load each other. The excited modes in
the resonators may or may not be the same. For the same modes, the corresponding radiation
performances have a good agreement. For different modes, similar patterns can also be
obtained by adjusting suitable parameters.
In this category, an early design is a pair of slot coupled-DRAs [33]. It consists of two
rectangular dielectric resonators that are displaced near the two edges of a single slot on a
ground plane shown in fig. 2.5. Since, the two DRAs have the same shape and material but
the different sizes, it may be possible to get the same resonance modes at the different
resonance frequencies. The advantage of this approach is that each resonator can be tuned
more or less-independently, allowing for a great deal of design flexibility, reducing the
complexity in trial designs. The disadvantage lies in the additional space requirement, which
increases the size of antenna and may preclude some of these configurations from being used

14
in an array environment. There is also one alternative approach proposed for combining two
dielectric resonators together as if one resonator is loading the other one. For example, a
dielectric resonator is stacked on the top of the other [34-37], or a smaller dielectric resonator
is inserted into another lager dielectric resonator [38], [39]. In this approach, the combination
of two dielectric resonators can operate either in the same mode or at different modes.
For efficient coupling, a DRA with high permittivity is required since the Q-factor of
the resonator is proportional to permittivity of the dielectric material. Hence the bandwidth is
narrow due to high Q-factor. Keefe and Kingsley [40] reported RF range liquid DRA that
uses water as dielectric which adds a new range of dielectric antenna research. Lai et al. [41]
revisited the radiation efficiency of DRA and using Wheeler cap method confirmed that
radiation efficiency of DRA is much higher than microstrip antenna in millimeter wave
frequencies. Moreover, the problem of poor radiation efficiency can be overcome by using an
array of DRAs over the microstrip line, each DRA radiating small amounts of power.
However, to make an efficient array, many DRAs are required to maximize the radiated
power. In addition, the amount of energy coupled between the DRAs and the microstrip line
is small. To overcome these disadvantages, a multi segment DRA was investigated by Kishk
et al. [42]. It consists of a rectangular DRA of relatively low permittivity, under which one or
more thin segments of higher permittivity are inserted as shown in the Fig 2.6. The segments
help in matching the impedance of the DRA to the microstrip line which helps in improving
the coupling performance. The permittivity and the thickness of the inserts affect the resonant
frequency, impedance bandwidth and the coupling level. Stacking the dielectric elements
provides good bandwidth but the design is not compact and not feasible for microwave
integrated circuits. However, by limiting the number of segments, the MSDRA can be easily
integrated with microwave printed circuits. Besides, a DRA of multiple layers can be used to
enhance the bandwidth [43], so also loaded dielectric resonators [44]. A list of several poly-
dielectric DRA designs is provided in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2: Poly-Dielectric DRA designs

S.N. DRA geometry Feed BW Ref.

mechanism (-10 dB)

1. Four-elements Cylindrical DRA Probe 29 % [45]

2. Stacked and Embedded Probe 68.1 % [46]
Cylindrical DRAs
3. Multi-layered cylindrical DRA Probe 66 % [47]
(MCDRA)
4. DRA with metal coating CPW 47 % [48]
15
 5. Two-layer hemispherical DRA Slot 55 % [49]
6. Dual segment rectangular DRA probe 50.25 % [50]

Fig. 2.6. Multisegment DRA.

Fig. 2.5. (a) Side and (b) top views of a DR element

coupled by a slot in the ground plane of a microstrip
line. (c) Top view of two DR elements coupled by a
single slot [33].

Fig. 2.7.Geometry of ground plane backed,

coaxial probe fed, stacked DRA [34].

Fig. 2.8. Four elements Cylindrical DRA

fed by a central coaxial probe [45].

Fig. 2. 9. Stacked and embedded cylindrical

DRA [46].

2.4.1.3 Hybrid DRA

This is a technique adopted from aperture coupled microstrip antennas [51, 52] for
broad-banding. It uses a combination of a DRA with other resonator or antenna, such as a
16
microstrip patch or a slot radiator etc. Each individual radiator in the hybrid structure is
designed to radiate in its own separated band. If the two bands are close to each other, a
hybrid resonator can offer broadband operation. A disadvantage evident in a dielectric-
resonator-on-patch antenna [53] is the power coupling from the microstrip line to the two
radiators, which requires two layered substrates, increasing the size and the complexity of the
antenna. Other alternative designs had also been investigated by using the combination of a
dielectric resonator with a strip or a slot radiator. The advantage of such designs is that these
structures use only one substrate layer. For instance, a CPW feed T-shaped strip is used to
feed a pair of rectangular DRAs [54] or a microstrip fed rectangular slot is employed to feed
a rectangular slot [55]. In a cavity backed DRA [56] tuning over a broad bandwidth has been
realized. But it shows high front-to-back ratio and asymmetry in the E- plane radiation
patterns from both the DR and the slot. Further improvements may be obtained by designing
the slot to resonate at the upper frequency band and exciting both the DR & the slot at their
centers.
Hybrid resonator antennas have advantages in terms of low profile and compact size.
The disadvantage usually comes from the interactions among resonators, which makes it
difficult to tune resonance frequencies for individual component. A list of several hybrid
DRA designs is provided in Table 2.3.
Table 2.3: Hybrid DRA designs
S.N. DRA geometry Feed mechanism BW Ref.
(-10
dB)
1. Cylindrical DRA where Circular aperture coupled 40 % [56]
backing cavity is placed by a microstrip feed line
beneath the stub. with a microstrip fork-like
tuning stub.
2. Cylindrical DRA Modified microstrip line 26 % [57]
3. Rectangular DR and a CPW slot 28.9 % [58]
inductive slot
4. Rectangular DR and a probe 23.5 % [59]
conductor-backed coplanar
waveguide (CB-CPW) slot
etched on a small ground
plane.

17
 5. Cylindrical DRA utilizing a Quadruple strip feed 34.5 % [60]
pair of 90 0 hybrid couplers.
6. Rectangular DRA integrated slot 25 % [61]
with a surface mounted short
horn.
7. Rectangular DRA Two vertical strips 32.8 % [62]
quadrature in phase
8. Cylindrical DRA Conformal lines 50 % [63]
9. Hollow Rectangular DRA Conducting Strips 33.8 % [64]

2.4.1.4. Variants of Circular Cylindrical DRA

An annular DRA, a consequence of dielectric ring resonators of very high

permittivity, is realized by removing a portion from the central section to form an annular
ring and feeding it with a probe placed at the center (Fig.2.10). Following, notched
rectangular DRA, Shum and Luk [65] proposed a modified annular DRA in which the air gap
between the DRA and the ground plane is used to enhance the bandwidth. Y. X. Guo et al.
proposed stacked double annular-ring DRA [66] which offers an impedance bandwidth of ~
42 % in reference to -10 dB of S11. R. Chair et al. presented a wideband perforated DRA
(PDRA) [67], where the effective permittivity of the dielectric resonator is altered by drilling
holes into a circular ring lattice inside the DRA. The PDRA is equivalent to an annular ring
with lower permittivity outside the cylindrical disk which is capable of impedance bandwidth
enhancement. The measured bandwidth of a prototype PDRA with relative permittivity 10.2
is 26.7% (S11 < - 10 dB). A novel feeding technique for dielectric ring resonator antennas,
with 2:1 VSWR bandwidth greater than 25% at 5.5 GHz, covering the WLAN upper band is
reported by W. Chang and Z. Feng [68].

Fig. 2. 10. Probe Fed Annular DRA Fig.2.11. Proposed stacked double
annular-ring DRA [66]

18
2.4.1.5. Parasitic DRA
Simons and Lee [69] have shown that wide bandwidth can also be achieved with
parasitic DRAs (Fig.2.12). The central DRA is slot coupled to a microstrip feed line, while
the outer DRAs are electromagnetically coupled to the center DRA. The three DRAs can be
tuned to different frequencies for either wide band or multi frequency response. They have
then improvised the configuration to a compact one using a cylindrical DRA that is
embedded in a concentric ring (Fig.2.13). This antenna is fed with a single probe. Each of
these two DRAs is individually tuned for wideband response. The air gap between the DRAs
and the ground plane is used to improve the bandwidth. Leung et al. have explored use of
parasitic elements for broad-banding & circular polarization. In [70] they use a single
parasitic patch for circular polarization (CP) excitation of the DRA. In [71] they have
undertaken a rigorous study of aperture-coupled hemispherical DRA with a parasitic patch.
Using Green’s function they have formulated integral equations for the unknown patch and
slot currents and solved them using the method of moments. For the wide-band CP antenna,
they were able to obtain a maximum bandwidth of 22%, which is much wider than the
previous bandwidth of 7.5 % with no parasitic patch.

Fig.2.12. Slot Fed Rectangular DRA Fig.2.13. Probe-Fed Annular DRA with
with two Parasitic Elements [69]. Embedded Parasitic Cylindrical DRA [69].

2.4.2. Ultra-Wideband Dielectric Resonator Antennas

Ultra wideband (UWB) DRA was first conceived and studied by a Canadian research
group. Many new designs showing improved bandwidth and radiation characteristics have
been reported in the mean time. Various designs of UWB DRAs available are discussed and
physical insights into achieving wide impedance bandwidth have been indicated. This
comprehensive review indicates some areas, which are not adequately addressed so far. This
study may be listed as monopole geometries, composite DRAs using composite shapes and/or
19
composite materials, modified ground plane shapes and use of defected ground structure to
modify or shaping of radiated beams.

2.4.2.1. Monopole geometry

The first candidate, examined in [72]-[74] used a single annular-shaped dielectric ring

resonator (DRR) placed on ground plane surrounding a vertical monopole. The monopole
4
is actually extended form of the coaxial feed used in earlier designs [75] - [79] and thus it
appears to be the simplest form amongst the UWB DRA family. The subsequent
developments show the changes in both monopole and DRA shapes. The main aim has been
in enhancing the impedance bandwidth maintaining the design simplicity and cost. A list of
monopole UWB DRA geometries are provided in Table 2.4.
Table 2.4: Monopole UWB DRA geometries
S.N. Geometry εr Operating BW Ref.
freq. (GHz)
1. Annular ring DRA centrally 10 6.0-18.0 3:1 [73]
excited by λ/4 monopole
2. Similar as above studied to 10 6.0-18.0 3:1 [80]
develop design guideline
3. Eye-shaped monopole DRA 10 3.0-20.0 6:1 [81]
excited by coaxial probe
connected to SMA connector
4. Annular DRR excited by T-shaped 10 4.5-16.0 3.5:1 [82]
monopole 112 %
5. Pawn-shaped DRR excited by λ/4 10 5.5-22.0 4:1 [83]
monopole
6. Inverted truncated annular conical 9.8 3.4-5.0 [84]
DRA excited by monopole
7. Conical DRR excited by λ/4 10 5.7-23 4:1 [85]
monopole
8. Hemispherical DRR excited by λ/4 10 5.7-23 4:1 [85]
monopole
9. Stepped radius annular DRR 10 3.0-10.3 110 % [86]
excited by λ/4 monopole

20
 Fig.2.14. Cross section of the hybrid Fig.2.15. Top and cross-sectional views of
Monopole-DRA [73]. a monopole-DRA proposed in [80].

2.4.2.2. Composite DRA

Composite DRAs are defined as those DRAs which are formed using composite shapes
and/or composite materials, having different sizes with the same or different dielectric
materials; they may be loaded or separated from each other. A list of composite UWB DRA
is provided in the Table 2.5.
Table 2.5: Composite UWB DRA

S.N Geometry Operating BW Ref.

freq. (GHz)
1. Dielectric rod antenna consists of 2.0-8.0 4:1 [87]
two concentric dielectric cylinders.
2. Rectangular dielectric resonator, a 2.6-11.0 4.2:1 [88]
bevel feeding patch connected to a 120 %
SMA connector and an air gap
between the DR and ground plane
3. Sector DRA excited by a coaxial 0.466-0.935 2:1 [89]
probe connected to a SMA
connector
4. Z-shaped dielectric resonator, a 2.5-10.3 4.1:1 [90]
bevel feeding patch and an air gap 120 %
between the DR and ground plane
5. Inserted DRA excited by CPW 3.07-11.5 3.7:1 [91]
6. Rectangular DRA with a side wall 3.1-10.6 3.4:1 [92]
conductor and a thin low- 109.5
permittivity insert (LPI) between a %
higher permittivity dielectric
volume and a ground plane fed by
a coaxial probe.
7. Rectangular dielectric resonator is 3.1-10.6 3:1 [93]
excited by a bevel-shaped patch 109.5
connected to a CPW feeding line. %

21
 Fig.2.17. Geometry of the proposed
Fig.2.16. Geometry of Z-shaped inserted UWB DRA excited by CPW
UWB DRA [90]. feeding [91].

2.4.2.3. Modified ground plane shape and use of defected ground structure
For many applications, such as ground penetrating radars, high data rate short range wireless
local area networks, ultra wideband (UWB) short pulse radars and UWB channel sounding,
UWB directional or omni-directional antenna is required. To have the main radiating beam
position frequency independent over the band and achieve higher gain without increasing
VSWR ground shaping will be introduced [81]. Use of a new ground shaping technique
increases the directivity and makes the antenna main beam position almost frequency
independent. In the letter [94], three different methods of impedance matching, dielectric and
ground plane shaping procedures are applied to considerably enhance the antenna bandwidth.
In this design, a skirt monopole antenna is used to excite an inverted conical-ring-shape
dielectric resonator. The lower part of the input impedance bandwidth can be adjusted using
ground plane shaping and matching method at the feed point of the monopole antenna. The
proposed structure can be used for high power ultra wideband applications that require an
omni directional dipole-shape radiation pattern. K.S. Ryu and A. A. Kishk [95] proposed the
rectangular DRA mounted on a vertical ground plane edge shown in Fig. 2.19. Mounting the
DR in this way reduces the total volume of the antenna as compared to the planar ground
plane. The proposed structure provides much wider impedance matching bandwidth.
Generally using the ground plane edge resulted in a conceptual 75% volume reduction as
compared to a perpendicular ground plane and in a lighter antenna weight. In this section of
UWB DRA, shape of ground plane has been changed and observed the effect of impedance
bandwidth. Such type of UWB DRA has been listed in the following Table 2.6.

22
 Table 2.6: Modified ground plane UWB DRA

S.N. Geometry εr Operating BW Ref.

freq. (GHz)
1. Modified eye-antenna placed over a 10 3.0-20.0 6.5:1 [81]
shaped ground which is a surface of
incomplete conical shape.
2. Inverted conical DRR fed by a 10 2.0-7.0 3.5: 1 [94]
monopole with a skirt-shaped ground
plane
3. A-shaped DRA mounted on a vertical 10.2 3.53-9.675 93 % [95]
ground plane edge excited by a strip
feed.

Fig.2.19. A-shaped DRA mounted on a

Fig.2.18. Configuration of inverted vertical ground plane edge [95].
conical DRR with a skirt-shaped
ground plane [94].

2.4.3. Multiband Dielectric Resonator Antennas

In the last decade, the huge demand for mobile and portable communication systems has led
to an increased need for more compact antenna designs. This aspect is even more critical
when several wireless technologies have to be integrated on the same mobile wireless
communicator. All the new services and the increased user density are driving the antenna
design toward multiband operation. A dielectric resonator indeed supports more than one
resonant mode at two close frequencies, which allows them to meet the requirements of
different applications with a unique device. DRAs present a major advantage for multi-
standard devices when compared to other kinds of antennas. Recently, many studies have
been devoted to multiband antennas [96]–[98], some of them dealing with DRAs [99]–[101].
Here some of the multi-bands DRAs are listed in Table 2.7.

23
 Table 2.7: Multiband DRAs

S.N. DRA Geometry Feed Mechanism Number of Ref.

Freq. Band
1. Rectangular DRA Coaxial probe Dual band [102]
2. Rectangular DRA slot Dual band [103]
3. Cone shaped DRA Pair of eccentric dual-ring Dual band [104]
slot
4. Splitted Rectilinear DRA slot Dual band [105]
5. Circular Disk DR CPW inductive slot Dual band [106]
6. Circular Disk DR C-shaped slot Dual band [107]
7. Rectangular DRA slot Dual band [108]
8. Cylindrical DRA Printed microstrip feeding Dual band [99]
network and coaxial probe
coupling
9. Planar inverted L Microstrip line Multiband [109]
antenna using a ceramic
dielectric disk
10. Cylindrical DRA Micro strip feeding Triple band [110]
network and coaxial probe
coupling
11. Bridge shaped DRA Aperture coupling Dual band [111]
12. Rectangular DRA CPW feed Dual band [112]
13. Rectangular DRA Printed line Multiband [113]
14. Rectangular DRA slot Dual band [114]

Fig.2.20. Dual-band DRA [107].

Fig. 2. 21. Side view of the triple
mode DRA [111].

Traditional approaches to the analysis and design of antenna systems have their foundation in
Euclidean geometry. There has been a considerable amount of recent interest with the
possibility of developing new types of antennas that employ fractal rather than Euclidean
geometric concepts in their design. This new and rapidly growing field of research has been
referred as fractal antenna engineering. Because fractal geometry is an extension of classical
geometry, its recent introduction provides engineers with the unprecedented opportunity to

24
explore a virtually limitless number of previously unavailable configurations for possible use
in the development of new and innovative antenna designs.

2.5. Fractal Dielectric Resonator Antennas

Wireless applications, requiring multi-frequency operations, put new demands on antennas
pertaining to size, gain, efficiency, bandwidth, etc. One promising approach in this regard is
to use fractal geometries to find the best distribution of currents within a volume to meet a
particular design goal.
The term “fractal”, which stems from the Latin term ‘fractus’, means broken or irregular
fragments. It was coined by Benoit Mandelbrot (1983) a French mathematician, who
introduced the term about 20 years ago in his book “The fractal geometry of Nature” [115], to
describe a family of complex shapes that possess an inherent self-similarity or self-affinity in
their geometrical structure.
Recent progress in the study of fractal antennas suggests some attractive solutions for using a
single small antenna operating in several frequency bands. The self-similar properties of
certain fractals result in a multiband behavior of the antennas while, the highly convoluted
shape of these fractals makes possible the reduction in size, and consequently in mass and
volume, of certain antennas which has been investigated by Puente et al. [116]. These
reductions makes it possible to combine multimedia, communication and tele-detection
functionalities in a reduced space like a handy phone, a wristwatch or a credit card e.g. a
fractal antenna can provide GPS (Global Positioning System) services within a conventional
mobile cellular phone. In the last few years, the fast growing development of mobile
communication brought the need for devices that require their components to be ever smaller
and lighter, capable of adjusting its frequency of operation and to operate in a multiband
mode. Some recent results by Puente [117] and Puente [118] showed that fractal antennas
have excellent multiband properties and low resonant frequencies. An overview of the early
work on these antennas is summarized by Werner [119]. Radiation efficiency and impedance
bandwidth decrease with the size of the antenna, making small antennas inefficient by nature,
for these effects are accompanied by high currents in the conductors, high ohmic losses and
large values of energy stored in the antenna near field. Hence in order to meet the following
attributes for antenna designs, i.e. the compact size, low profile, conformal and multiband or
broadband, a number of approaches for designing multi-band antennas have been
summarized by Maci [120]. Recently, the possibility of developing antenna designs that

25
exploit in some way the properties of fractals to achieve these goals, at least in part, has
attracted a lot of attention.
There are primarily two active areas of research in fractal antenna engineering. These include
the study of fractal-shaped antenna elements and the use of fractals in the design of antenna
arrays. Fractals are space-filling contours, meaning electrically large features can be
efficiently packed into small areas. Since the electrical lengths play an important role in
antenna design, this efficient packing can be used as a viable miniaturization technique. Since
these antennas are becoming increasingly popular, it is important to careful study of electrical
performance versus technological complexity trade-offs to provide answers about the
potential interest of fractal antennas.
Fractal antenna theory uses a modern (fractal) geometry that is a natural extension of
Euclidian geometry. A fractal can fill the space occupied by the antenna in a more effective
manner than the traditional Euclidean antenna. This can lead to more effective coupling of
energy from feeding transmission lines to free space in less volume. Therefore, Fractals can
be used in two ways to enhance antenna designs. The first method is in the design of
miniaturized antenna elements. These can lead to antenna elements which are more discrete
for the end user. The second method is to use the self similarity in the geometry to blueprint
antennas which are multiband or resonant over several frequency bands. This would allow the
operator to incorporate several aspects of their system into one antenna.
A fractal element antenna, or FEA, is one that has been shaped in a fractal fashion, either
through bending or shaping a volume, or introducing holes. They are based on fractal shapes
such as the Sierpinski triangle, Mandelbrot tree, Koch curve, and Koch island. The advantage
of FEAs, when compared to conventional antenna designs, center around size and bandwidth.
Fractals come in two major variations [121]:
1. Deterministic fractal
2. Random fractal
The first category consists of those fractals that are composed of several scaled down and
rotated copies of itself, such as Koch curve, they are called Geometric fractals. Julia set also
falls in same category. The whole set can be obtained by applying a non-linear iterated map
to all arbitrary small section of it. Thus the structure of Julia set is already contained in any
small fraction. They are called algebraic fractals. Hence both algebraic and geometric fractals
are termed deterministic fractals. Since the generation requires use of a particular mapping or
rule which is repeated recursively over and over again, they exhibit the property of strict self
similarity. The second category (Random Fractals) includes those fractals which have an
26
additional element of randomness allowing for simulation of natural phenomenon, so they
exhibit property of statistical self similarity.
To define a fractal dimension, Mandelbrot gives a suggestive example. Take an arbitrary unit
of length x, and see how many times you are using this unit to cover the entire length of the
fractured line. Let us say you used it N times, so the total length of your fractal is N*x. In this
case the fractal dimension according to Mandelbrot is:

log( N )
D= lim
x0 log( x)

The fractal dimension D is called also the “the crippling factor” of a Fractal and can be
written in a more simple form like

ln( N )
D
 ln( )
where N is the number of the non-overlapping copies of the whole and γ is the scaling factor
of these copies.
The triangle in Fig. 2.22, called the Sierpinski triangle, is a common self-similar geometrical
figure. One starts with the black equilateral shape and takes afterwards, in different steps, the
middle of the sides and generates respectively 3, 9, 27, 81, triangles which are self similar
and exactly scaled down versions of the initiating shape.

Zero iteration First iteration Second iteration

Fig.2.22. Three iteration of Sirepinski gasket.

27
Different iteration of Carpet and variation of area and circumference is shown in the
following figure 2.23.

Zero iteration First iteration Second iteration

Fig. 2.23. A three iteration of Sirepinski Carpet.

It has been observed that the higher the order of iteration of a fractal, the lower its resonant
frequency. This observation may help overcome some of the fundamental limitations of
antenna engineering, since fractals do not obey Euclidian geometry.
Following the introduction of fractals in antenna engineering, Hajihshemi and Abiri
investigated DRAs with fractal shape and reported that with increase in fractal iteration the
ratio of surface to volume in dielectric resonator increases and thereby reduce the Q-factor
which tends to increase in antenna impedance bandwidth [122]. Based on above concept a
Sierpinski carpet fractal patterned plugged rectangular DRA is presented [123] for the first
time that exhibits improvement in impedance bandwidth. An improvement of 6.5 % in
impedance bandwidth is observed when a Sierpinski carpet fractal pattern is plugged on to
rectangular DRA. The design is tuned for Wi-Max and WLAN Application. Fractal DRA for
wireless application is also reported by Gangwar et al. in [124]. Fractal rectangular curve
shaped DRA is investigated in [125]. Fractal rectangular curve is used to achieve wideband
performance covering Body Area Network and also the IEEE 802.11a frequencies. It also
reveals miniaturization of 50 % of a rectangular DRA using a modified rectangular curve
along the cross-sectional boundary.

2. 6. Summary
This chapter briefly summarizes the review of broadband design techniques in dielectric
resonator antennas (DRAs). The attentions focus on a type of DRAs that can offer multi-
resonant frequencies and these frequencies can be merged into a broad band. These
bandwidth enhancement techniques are based on multi-frequency resonance and they are

28
classified into three categories according to their frequency range: wideband DRA, ultra-
wideband DRAs and multiband DRAs. Since broadband DRA designs have been being a
current topic, and a lot of interest has been reported through paper work from many
researchers, it is impossible to collect all these papers. However, based on our search
available techniques nowadays can be fell into the above three categories. Therefore, the
bandwidth enhancement techniques mentioned in this article can offer antenna designers
wide choice flexibility and design guidance for the implementation of broadband DRAs. A
comprehensive review emphasizing the physical insight in to the UWB design is also
presented. This comprehensive review indicates some areas, which are not adequately
addressed so far. This chapter features some of the recent advances in dielectric resonator
antenna technology at the Communications Research Centre. Several novel elements are
presented that offer significant enhancements to parameters such as impedance bandwidth,
circular-polarization bandwidth, gain, or coupling to various feed structures. The research has
focused on novel DRA elements to meet the continually increasing challenges posed by
emerging communications systems. The findings to date have been very encouraging,
although a significant amount of work is still required in areas such as long-term
environmental effects, as well as in the area of analysis and design. As DRA technology
matures, however, it should prove a viable alternative to the more-established antenna
candidates, offering the engineer more options to solve potentially challenging problems.
This article also presented a comprehensive overview of fractal antenna engineering. Fractal
antenna theory uses a modern (fractal) geometry that is a natural extension of Euclidian
geometry. Recent efforts by several researchers around the world to combine fractal
geometry with electromagnetic theory have led to an emergence of new and innovative
antenna designs. Unique properties of fractals have been exploited to develop a new class of
antenna-element designs that are multi-band and compact in size and have been shown to
possess several highly desirable properties, including multi-band performance, low side lobe
levels, and its ability to develop rapid beam forming algorithms based on the recursive nature
of fractals. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of the fractals and to provide
a study and implementation of rapidly growing field of fractal antenna engineering including
recent developments. Research in this area has recently yielded a rich class of new designs
for antenna elements as well as arrays. The field of fractal antenna engineering is still in the
relatively early stages of development, with the anticipation of much more innovative
advancement to come over the months and years ahead.

29
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