Chapter 4

Stacked Rectangular Dielectric

Resonator Antenna

As described in section 2.2, stacking of DRAs is the one of the methods for improvement
in the impedance bandwidth. In this method, two or more different samples of same or
different dimensions and dielectric materials are stacked vertical. It is possible to have
different combination of shapes, such as a dielectric disk, a rectangular DRA, and a tri-
angle DRA in the stacked antenna. This chapter presents a design of stacked rectangular
dielectric resonator antenna (RDRA) operating at 5.2 GHz with 13.56 % impedance band-
width. A 50 Ω microstrip line is used in the proposed antenna as a feeding mechanism.
The proposed stacked RDRA consists of two rectangular slabs which are made of two
microwave dielectric materials with dielectric constant of 10 and 32, respectively stacked
vertically to obtain improvement in bandwidth as compared to a conventional RDRA.
Physical parameters of the stacked RDRA have been optimized by extensive simulations
using Ansoft HFSS. The optimized parameters of the antenna are 17 × 7 × 4.56 mm3 with
a grounded substrate’s size: 80 × 50 mm2 . The prototype is fabricated. Measured and
simulated results are both in good agreement. The proposed antenna is a suitable for
wireless local area networks (WLAN) application in 5 GHz frequency band. This stacked
RDRA exceeds the bandwidth requirements for IEEE 802.11a WLAN applications.

95
4.1 Introduction 96

4.1 Introduction
As mentioned earlier, the rapid increase in the demand for wireless applications in the
GHz range has led the research community to focus their attention on highly efficient
antennas, which exhibit wide bandwidth and good radiation characteristics. The DRA
introduced by Long et al. in 1983 [1], could be used for such applications due to high radi-
ation efficiency, light weight, and versatility in their shapes and feeding mechanisms [2,3].
DRAs exhibit a wider impedance bandwidth and higher radiation efficiency, especially at
millimeter-wave frequencies where the conductor losses of the MPAs are considerable.

One of the most crucial issues of conventional DRAs is the dependence of their size and
impedance bandwidth on the dielectric constant of material used in antennas. A DRA
made from a low permittivity material would has a relatively larger volume. This is due
to the inverse proportionality between effective wavelength and the square root of the
permittivity. It would, however, exhibit a low radiation Q-factor and therefore a wide
impedance bandwidth. On the other side, a high permittivity DRA would be small in
size, but would exhibit a narrow bandwidth operation [3]. Choice of dielectric constant
of material used in the DRA is crucial important for wideband operation and compact
design of the DRAs.

Applications in the wireless and mobile communication area require the development of
radiating elements, which have as compact/low profile and wideband as possible. Hence,
a lot of research is directed towards the increase of the bandwidth of the DRAs while
keeping the size compact/low profile. Towards this goal, the technique of merging modes
has proven to be very beneficial [4–6]. The basic concept relies on the excitation of
multiple modes at nearby frequencies, so that an overall wide impedance bandwidth
is achieved. This is done in two ways. One way is to combine the DRA modes with
resonances of the feeding scheme. For instance, a simple cylindrical DRA (CDRA) is
described in [4], which is fed from a microstrip line through two parallel bowtie slots.
Here, the impedance bandwidth of around 33 % is obtained through the excitation of the
HEM11δ mode of the CDRA together with two modes from the resonant bowtie slots.
The second way to achieve the merging of modes is through the design of the appropri-
4.1 Introduction 97

ate DRA geometry that results in the excitation of higher-order DRA modes at nearby
frequencies. This technique is relatively simple conceptually, but it nevertheless comes
along with an important issue, which needs to be taken into account. Every mode has
different radiation characteristics (radiation patterns, polarization) and therefore, a not
well-controlled merging of modes technique would result in patterns of the DRA that
vary with frequency. Examples of well-operating DRAs are given in [5, 6], where the ex-
x x
citation of the fundamental T E111 and the higher-order T E113 modes of the rectangular
DRA (RDRA) or the HEM11δ and HEM11∆ of the CDRA result in wide impedance
bandwidth and stable broadside radiation patterns. The merging of the two modes of the
RDRA is achieved through the careful dimensioning of the DRA. So, if the height (h) of
x
the RDRA is chosen to be much larger than its length, (a) and its depth (d) the T E111
x
and T E113 modes are excited at nearby frequencies, which is in agreement with theory [6].

It was shown experimentally in [7–10] that stacking two DRAs on the top of each can
increase an impedance bandwidth. In section 2.2.2, various designs of stacked/embedded
DRAs are discussed. Two disk DRAs, triangle DRAs are stacked vertically and experi-
mentally reported impedance bandwidth around 25 % to 64 % using probe and aperture
feeding schemes. These desgins use materials of different dielectric constants. However,
in this method, the DRA’s volume is a significant problem which may fail to maintain
the major characteristic of low-profile. Fabrication is also not easy. There is a lack of
closed form relation for designing the antenna. Some special geometry of DRAs can also
enhance the impedance bandwidth [11–13] such as conical, biconical, notch, and triangle
shaped DRA designe for broadband applications. This chapter presents that the stacked
rectangular DRA offer wide bandwidth operation. Measured results are compared against
the simulated results. The proposed antenna has wide impedance bandwidth. The mea-
sured co-polarization and cross polarization of radiation patterns over the impedance
bandwidth (S11 < -6 dB) are also compared each other. The measured return loss is
presented and discussed.
4.2 Proposed Approach 98

4.2 Proposed Approach

Figure 4.1 shows the geometry of the proposed stacked rectangular DRA. A 50 Ω mi-
crostrip line (width of 4.45 mm) is printed on top of a grounded substrate with thickness
Hs of 1.56 mm, dielectric constant (s ) of 2.5 and loss tangent of 0.0017. Two DRA slabs
(slab 1 & 2) having equal cross sectional area (a × d), but with different permittivity
r1 and r2 and different heights h1 and h2 to form the stacked RDRA. The slab 1 is
placed above the microstrip line for coupling, and the slab 2 is placed on the top of the
slab 1 for electromagnetically coupling. The total height of stacked RDRA is h = h1 +
h2 . Dimensions of the ground substrate are L1 of 80 mm and W1 of 50 mm. The fields
equations of inside the simple rectangular DRA are as per the below (4.1 - 4.6) [2]. The
initial dimensions of the RDRA were determined using equations developed by dielectric
waveguide model (DWM) given in [3] as described in chapter 2.

Figure 4.1: Geometry of the proposed stacked antenna.

Ex = Aky cos(kx x)sin(ky y) cos(kz z) (4.1)

Ey = −Akx sin(kx x) cos(ky y) cos(kz z) (4.2)

4.2 Proposed Approach 99

Ez = 0 (4.3)
kx ky
Hx = A cos(kx x)sin(ky y)sin(kz z) (4.4)
jωµ0
(kx2 + ky2 )
Hy = Asin(kx x) cos(ky y)sin(kz z) (4.5)
jωµ0
q
kx tan(kx a/2) = (r1 − 1)k02 − kx2 (4.6)

where,
q
kx = r1 k02 − ky2 − ky2 (4.7)

π
kz = (4.8)
h1
π
ky = (4.9)
d
2πf0
k0 = (4.10)
c
To account for the effect of two different dielectric materials on resonant frequency of the
stacked RDRA, the DWM equations are modified by a replacing slab 1’s height (h1 ) with
an effective height (h) and dielectric constant of slab 1 (r1 ) with effective permittivity
(ef f ) [10]. The effective height of the stacked RDRA is a simple sum of slabs’ height

h = h1 + h2 (4.11)

The effective permittivity (ef f ) of the proposed stacked RDRA is obtained [10] as

h
ef f = h1 h2
(4.12)
r1
+ r2

4.2.1 Numerical Study

Based on extensive simulation studies, design parameters of the stacked RDRA have
been optimized. Slab 1 is made of a microwave material with dielectric constant of 32
and thickness, h1 , of 3 mm. Slab 2 is made of several layers of a microwave material with
dielectric constant of 10.2 and thickness of each layer is 0.78 mm. Cross sectional area
of slab 1 and slab 2 is a of 17 mm and d of 7 mm. Simulation studies are carried out for
4.2 Proposed Approach 100

different height, h2 , of the slab 2 on the slab 1 which has dimension of 17 × 7 × 3 mm3 , to
form a stacked RDRA. For all cases, an open ended microstrip line is optimized for the
return loss characteristic with reference to the centre of the stacked RDRA. Simulated

Figure 4.2: Simulated return loss for different height of slab 2.

Table 4.1: Effect of height (h2 ) of slab 2 on slab 1.

h2 h foc fos % of Return Loss % of

(mm) (mm) (GHz) (GHz) Error (dB) BW
0.00 3.00 5.341 5.68 6.36 -35.41 11.97
0.78 3.78 5.461 5.41 0.93 -30.42 12.75
1.56 4.56 5.311 5.21 1.90 -28.50 13.11
2.34 5.34 5.126 5.00 2.46 -35.52 14.00

return loss characteristics for different heights of slab 2 are shown in Figure 4.2. Table 4.1
lists calculated resonant frequency (foc ) and simulated resonant frequency (fos ), return
loss characteristics, and % of 6-dB impedance bandwidth. It is noticed that as height of
slab 2 is increased from 0 mm to 2.34 mm in the step of 0.78 mm, the resonant frequency
of the antenna is decreased, from 5.68 GHz to 5.00 GHz, whereas % of 6-dB impedance
bandwidth is increased from 11.97 % to 14.00 %. This shows that by stacking of the low
4.2 Proposed Approach 101

permittivity microwave material on the conventional dielectric resonator antenna made of

the high permittivity microwave material, decrease in the resonant frequency and increase
in the impedance bandwidth can be achieved. Also resonant frequencies of the stacked
RDRA are calculated based on equations (4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10) using equations (4.11) and
(4.12). Table 4.1 show that simulated resonant frequencies (fos ) and calculated resonant
frequencies (foc ) for different values of h2 . From Table 4.1, it is seen that percentage of
error is in the order of 1 to 2.5 between foc and fos . This show a good agreement between
the calculated and simulated resonant frequencies.

Table 4.2: Optimized parameters of the stacked antenna.

Particular Dielectric L W Height Loss

Constant (r ) (mm) (mm) (mm) Tangent
Slab1 32 17.00 7.00 3.00 0.0011
Slab2 10 17.00 7.00 1.56 0.0017

Figure 4.3: Simulated return loss characteristics of conventional RDRA and the proposed
stacked RDRA.

Based on these simulation results, physical design parameters: a of 17 mm, d of 7 mm,

and h of 4.56 mm have been chosen for the proposed antenna to excite at 5.2 GHz
resonant frequency. Table 4.2 lists the design parameters of the proposed stacked DRA.
Also simulation is carried out for the conventional rectangular DRA having length of
4.3 Experimental Results 102

Figure 4.4: Simulated radiation pattern at 5.2 GHz of the stacked antenna.

17 mm, depth of 7 mm, height of 4.56 mm and dielectric constant, r1 , of 32 as same
dimensions as the proposed stacked antenna has. Figure 4.3 shows simulated return
loss characteristics of the conventional RDRA and the proposed stacked RDRA. It is
observed that the conventional antenna is resonant at 4.41 GHz with 8.50 % of 6-dB
impedance bandwidth. This shows that by stacking of different microwave materials
with different permittivity, the wideband operation can be obtained. Figure 4.4 shows
simulated radiation patterns of the stacked antenna at 5.2 GHz. Radiation patterns are
linear and broadside.

4.3 Experimental Results

The proposed antenna is fabricated as per the pysical parameters given in Table 4.2.
Figure 4.5 shows a photograph of the fabricated antenna. Return loss characteristic of
the antenna is measured by N5230A PNA series network analyzer. The measured and
simulated return loss characteristics of the stacked RDRA are shown in Figure 4.6. Com-
parison of measured and simulated performances of the proposed antenna is listed in
Table 4.3. From Figure 4.6 and Table 4.3, it is noticed that measured results are in ex-
cellent agreement with simulated results. The antenna has a 6-dB return loss bandwidth
of 710 MHz (5.01 GHz to 5.72 GHz) at its resonant frequency of 5.23 GHz. The co- and
cross- radiation patterns of the antenna are measured in an anechoic chamber. The co-
4.3 Experimental Results 103

and cross- polarization patterns in the E- plane and H- plane of the antenna are presented
at resonant frequency of 5.23 GHz in Figure 4.7. There is good agreement between the
simulated and measured radiation patterns as shown in Figure 4.4 and Figure 4.7. It
shows that the antenna has broadside radiations. The proposed antenna has linear po-
larization over the said bandwidth. The proposed antenna shows the cross polarization
level better than -20 dB at the resonant frequency. Measured gain is 5.23 dBi at bore
site at the resonant frequency. It is in good agreement with simulated gain as listed in
Table 4.3.

Figure 4.5: A photograph of the fabricated proposed stacked design

Figure 4.6: Measured and simulated return loss characteristics of the fabricated stacked
antenna
4.3 Experimental Results 104

Table 4.3: Performance comparison of the proposed stacked antenna.

Particular Simulated Measured

Resonant Freq. (GHz) 5.21 5.23
Return Loss (dB) -28.51 -22.90
6-dB Bandwidth (MHz) 682 710
% of Bandwidth 13.11 13.57
Gain at boresite (dB) 5.25 5.23

Figure 4.7: Measured radiation patterns at 5.23 GHz.

Simulation is carried out for the conventional DRA with length of 17 mm, depth of 7 mm,
height of 3.44 mm, dielectric constant r1 of 32. These dimensions are calculated equations
based on DWM analysis as given in section 4.2. It has simulated resonant frequency of
5.2 GHz and 560 MHz bandwidth. As compared to the stacked RDRA, the conventional
RDRA has less volume and bandwidth at the same resonant frequency. Thus, at the cost
of volume of the antenna, the wideband operation is achieved by stacking the dielectric
resonator antennas. It is observed that stacking of low dielectric constant’s material on
the high permittivity material, the enhancement of bandwidth can be achieved. As the
height of stacking material is increased, the increased in bandwidth is obtained. So there
4.4 Conclusion 105

is trade off between the bandwidth and volume of DRA.

4.4 Conclusion
In this chapter, a simple microstrip fed stacked rectangular DRA operated at 5.2 GHz has
been proposed. It has 6-dB return loss bandwidth of 710 MHz with % BW of 13.57 with
good radiation patterns. Antenna is made from two different materials to achieve the
benefit of compact size and wider bandwidth operation. Due to absence of conductor loss,
the proposed antenna has high radiation efficiency. Due to these, the antenna is proposed
for WLAN applications, MIMO wireless system, WLAN, Wi-Fi, cellular phones, and GPS
systems.
References

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