Hindawi Publishing Corporation

International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

Volume 2012, Article ID 914201, 7 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/914201

Research Article
Dual-Band Dielectric Resonator Antenna for
C and X Band Application

Deepak Batra, Sanjay Sharma, and Amit Kumar Kohli

Department of ECE, Thapar University, Patiala, Punjab 147004, India

Correspondence should be addressed to Deepak Batra, [email protected]

Received 27 September 2011; Revised 15 December 2011; Accepted 20 December 2011

Academic Editor: Tayeb A. Denidni

Copyright © 2012 Deepak Batra et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The proposed technique combines a slot antenna and a dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) to effectively design a dual band
dielectric resonant antenna without compromising miniaturization or its efficiency. It is observed that the resonance of the slot
and that of the dielectric structure merged to achieve extremely wide bandwidth over which the antenna polarization and radiation
pattern are preserved. Here the effect of slot size on the radiation performance of the DRA is studied. The antenna structure is
simulated using two simulators (Ansoft HFSS and CST-Studio software). The simulated results are presented and compared with
the measured results. This DRA has a gain of 6 dBi and 5.5 dBi at 6.1 and 8.3 GHz, respectively, 10 dB return impedance bandwidth
of nearly 4% and 6% at two resonating frequencies and 98% efficiency has been achieved from the configuration. It is shown that
the size of the slot can significantly affect the radiation properties of the DRA, and there are good agreements between simulation
and measured results.

1. Introduction microstrip patch parallel with rapid progress in microwave

communication that demands miniaturization of microwave
Modern broadband communication systems and radars circuits. Dielectric antennas have proved themselves to be
require light weight compact antennas with high gain and ideal candidates for antenna applications by offering several
wide bandwidth. However, Patch antennas are a popular advantages, which include mechanical simplicity, very low
choice for microwave electronically scanned array applica- conductor loss, large impedance bandwidth [1], and simple
tions. They offer low-profile, light-weight, and low-cost solu- coupling schemes to all commonly used transmission lines
tions that can be readily integrated into microwave circuits. [2]. Very high radiation efficiency can be smaller than con-
But the disadvantage is narrow impedance bandwidth (BW)
ventional metal antennas and more resistant to proximity
where probe fed or proximity-coupled patch antennas are
detuning when placed close to another object. DRA can be
typically limited to ∼5% BW. By using aperture-coupled
easily varied by suitably choosing the dielectric constant of
patch antenna, bandwidth can be increased up to ∼15% with
moderate gain. Dielectric resonators have also received great the resonator material and its dimensions [3]. Dielectric res-
interest in recent years for their potential applications in onators (DRs) are preferred because they are easy to fabricate
microwave and millimeter wave communication systems. and offer a more degree of freedom to control the resonant
They have been widely used as a tuning component in frequency and quality factor. However, the high Q factor
shielded microwave circuits such as filters, oscillators, and restricts the bandwidth, which limits its usefulness as an
cavity resonators. With an appropriate feed arrangement, antenna [4]. Therefore, high permittivity DRs are preferred
they can also be used as antennas, and they offer efficient in the design of antenna. Some investigations have been
radiation [1]. Dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) in conducted to enhance gain of a DRA by employing offset
cylindrical, rectangular, and hemispherical shapes and other dual-disk DRs [5, 6] and stacking parasitic DRs with an air
geometries may be used. Recently, the dielectric resonator gap between the driven and parasitic DRs, and composite-
antenna has been proposed as an alternative to the popular layered high-permittivity DRs.
2 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

2. Design and Simulation

To increase the usable bandwidth of a DRA, a method is
demonstrated that manipulates the aspect ratio of the DRA DRA (ε1 )
to obtain dual-mode operation such that both modes have a
Inductive slot
VSWR less than 2.0 and similar radiation patterns.
In this work, we propose a dual band dielectric resonator Ground plane
antenna. By using closed form of design equations, we
design aperture-coupled dielectric resonator antenna on
3D simulator. Kumar et al. suggested various techniques Dielectric (ε2 )
for optimization of bandwidth and reduction of size by
proportional formulae [7, 8]. The proposed technique is
mechanically stable and easy to fabricate. Here, the main Microstrip feed line
concern is to obtain dual band by optimized shape and
compact size of slot on ground plane in DRA system.
The layered configuration of the DRA is shown in
Layered structure of DRA
Figure 1. The dielectric resonator, which has a dielectric con-
stant ε1 , is placed above a thin ground plane in which in- Figure 1: Layered structure of DRA.
ductive rectangular slot inserted for matching the coupled
power coming from feed line. Below ground plane is a
dielectric segment with a dielectric constant of ε2 . The DR confined within the guide and a further approximation can
has a higher permittivity than that of the dielectric segment. be made:
The DRA is excited by a feed line. This arrangement is called
aperture coupled dielectric resonator antenna. The DRAs mπ
kx = , (7)
investigated here have a rectangular shape. Similarly, the a
dielectric segment of lower permittivity has the same surface nπ
ky = , (8)
dimension as the ground plane. The design procedure is b
summarized as follows.   
kz d
Set ε1 > 8 > ε2 and estimate the initial values of the DR kz tan = (εr − 1)ko2 − kz2 . (9)
dimension using the dielectric waveguide model [1] 2
This approximation is equivalent to assuming that magnetic
walls exist at x = ±a/2 and y = ±b/2.
 
mπ 2 The value δ can be defined as the fraction of a half cycle of
kx = 1+  , (1) the field variation in the z-direction and is given by
a ako εr − 1
  kz
nπ

2 δ= , (10)
ky = 1+ , (2) π/d
b bko εr − 1
 where a, b, and d represent the width, length, and height
kz = εr ko2 − kx2 − k2y , (3) of the dielectric resonator, respectively, and the resonant
frequency fo is given by
1
α=  , (4) c 
(εr − 1)ko2 − kx2 fo = √ kx2 + k2y + kz2 . (11)
2π εr
1
γ=  , (5) The symbols kx , k y , and kz represent the wave numbers in the
(εr − 1)ko2 − k2y
x, y, and z directions, respectively. The resonance frequency
of the lowest mode of the DR is set close to the lower end
of the desired operating band as the starting point. Since
where εr is permittivity of material and ko is the free-space dielectric permittivity values are fixed, the parameters length,
wave number given by breadth, height of DR, and height of substrate are used to
determine the overall operating band of the DRA and the
parameters like length and width of slot can be used for fine-
tuning of operating band and/or to achieve good impedance
2π fo matching within a desired band. Following this method, a
ko = , (6)
C rectangular DRA was designed and optimized using CST-
EM STUDIO and ANSOFT HFSS software. Several com-
mercial software packages are available for analyzing three-
where c is the speed of light in free space and fo is the dimensional electromagnetic problems, which can be used to
operating frequency. For well-guided modes, the fields are predict the input impedance with a reasonably high degree of
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 3

accuracy. These software tools are better suited for analysis y

than design, since the computational time can be lengthy,
especially for high values of the dielectric constant. Although
there are no simple equations for designing the slot dimen-
sions of the various antenna parameters, the following guide-
lines can be used as a starting point for rectangular slots.
(1) The slot length ls is chosen large enough so that x
sufficient coupling exists between the DRA and the feed line
but small enough so that it does not resonate within the band a
of operation, which usually leads to a significant radiated
back lobe. A good starting value is 10 mm to 21 mm. By using b
the formula given below, we can predict the value of ls

0.4λ z
ls = √ 0 , (12)
εe (a)
cos(kx x(
where εe = (ε1 + ε2 )/2 and ε1 and ε2 are the dielectric Ey
constants of the DRA and substrate, respectively. e−x/α
(2) A fairly narrow slot width is usually chosen to avoid
a large backlobe component. A reasonable choice is Ws = x
y e− y/γ
0.2ls, where Ws and ls are width and length of the slot,
respectively. At high frequencies, Ws might result in a very cos(k y y)
narrow slot that may be difficult to fabricate due to etching b Ey
limitations. At these frequencies, a wider slot width can be
used. a
In the design, the materials considered for the DR and (b)
dielectric segment are GaAs and Gil GML 1034, which have
dielectric constants of 12.94 (ε1 ) and 3.38 (ε2 ), respectively. Figure 2: Dielectric waveguide. Adapted from [1] © 1969.
The dimensions of DR are 12.8 × 7.3 × 6.35 mm3 , and
dimensions of slot are Ws = 1.24 mm and ls = 6.4 mm.
Using the tuning and optimization functions of EM simu- y y
lator, a double-band DRA is obtained.

3. Model Analysis x
a
a x
This section examines the dielectric waveguide model, used d
b b
to estimate the resonant frequency and Q-factor for the
rectangular DRA. The dielectric waveguide model was first z z
proposed by Marcatili [9] to determine the guided wave-
length in dielectric guides with rectangular cross-section. (a) (b)
The dielectric guide is shown in Figure 2(a), having a y
rectangular cross-section of width a in the x-direction, height
θ
b in the y-direction, and the waves propagating in the z-
direction. The field modes in the guide can be divided into a x
TEy mn and TMy mn (where m and n denote the number h = b/2 d
of field in the x- and y-direction, resp., inside the guide).
φ
The fields within the guide are assumed to vary sinusoidally, z
while the fields outside the guide are assumed to decay (c)
exponentially. In order to simplify the analysis, the fields in
the shaded regions of Figure 2(b) are assumed to be zero. Figure 3: Waveguide modeled as a DRA.
By matching the fields at the boundary conditions, the wave
propagation numbers in the x-, y-, and z-directions (kx, k y,
and kz) (for |x| ≤ a/2 and | y | ≤ b/2) and the attenuation
constants in the x- and y-directions (α, γ) (for |x| ≥ a/2 and magnetic walls. This model can be used for an isolated DRA
| y | ≥ b/2) can be determined using (1) to (11). in free space (with dimensions a, b, and d) or as is used
This approximation is equivalent to assuming that magnetic in practice, for a DRA (with dimensions a, h = b/2, and
walls exist at x = ±a/2 and y = ±b/2. In the DRAs, to model d) mounted on a ground plane, as shown in Figure 3(c). In
the dielectric resonator antenna, the waveguide is truncated this latter case, image theory was used to remove the ground
along the z-direction at ±d/2, as shown in Figure 3(b) with plane and double the height of the DRA.
4 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

For a rectangular DRA with dimensions a, b > d,

the lowest-order mode will be TEz11δ. Using the dielectric
waveguide model, this leads to the following fields within the
DRA:
K yKz 
Hy = cos(kx x) sin k y y sin(kz z), (13)
jμoω
Kx2 + K y2 
Hz = cos(kx x) sin k y y sin(kz z), (14)
jμoω

Ex = K y cos(kx x) sin k y y sin(kz z), (15)

Ey = −Kx cos(kx x) sin k y y sin(kz z), (16)

Ez = 0, (17)
Figure 4: Fabricated model of aperture-coupled DRA.
where

kx2 + k2y + kz2 = εr ko2 , (18)

 
kz d
kz tan = (εr − 1)ko2 − kz2 , (19)
2
where (7) and (8) are used for kx and k y, respectively. To
solve for the resonant frequency of the DRA, (7), (8), and
(9) are first substituted into (10), and this transcendental
equation is solved for kz. The resonant frequency can then
be obtained by solving for ko in (6), or we can directly use
(11) for finding resonant frequencies for different modes.
The radiation Q-factor of the DRA is determined using
2ωWe
Q= , (20)
Prad
where We and Prad are the stored energy and radiated power,
respectively. These quantities are given by
 
abdεr ε0 sin(kz d)  2
We = 1+ kx + k2y , (21)
32 kz d Figure 5: Aperture feedline.


2
P rad = 10k04
pm
, (22)

where pm is the magnetic dipole moment of the DRA: The field distribution of the lowest-order mode of the
 
rectangular DRA, determined by the dielectric waveguide
− jω8εo (εr − 1) kz d model equations, is similar to that of a short magnetic
Pm = sin z. (23)
kx k y kz 2 dipole. The radiation patterns generated by the DRA can,
therefore, be approximated using the short magnetic dipole.
The impedance bandwidth (BW) of the DRA can be The equivalent model for a rectangular DRA was mounted
estimated from the radiation Q-factor using: on an infinite ground plane and excited in the TEz11δ mode.
This corresponds to a horizontal magnetic dipole aligned
S−1 along the z-axis. The resulting radiation patterns assume
BW = √ , (24)
Q S that the DRA is mounted on an infinite ground plane. For
practical applications, DRAs are mounted on finite ground
where S is the maximum acceptable voltage standing-wave
planes, which will have an effect on the radiation patterns
ratio (VSWR). The above equations can be used to generate
due to diffraction from the edges.
the graphs for Q factors for various values of dielectric
constant and various values of a/b. The normalized Q-factor
is defined as 4. Result and Observation
Q The authors observed the dual-band dielectric resonant
Qe = . (25)
εr 3/2 antenna with resonant frequency 6.0 GHz and 8.3 GHz,
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 5

0 10
8
−10
6
−20 4

Gain (dB)
S11 (dB)

2
−30 0
Return loss −180 −140 −100 −60 −20
−2 20 60 100 140 180
−40 −4
−6
−50 −8
−60 −10
−12
5 6 7 8 9 10
θ (deg)
Frequency (GHz)
HFSS HFSS
Measured
CST
CST
Measured

Figure 6: Frequency response of dual-mode DRA (near field Figure 8: Gain plot at 6.1 GHz.
measurement).
10
5
Magnitude of V/A matrix coefficients in Z
0

Gain (dB)
1400
1300 −180 −140 −100 −60 −20 20 60 100 140 180
1200 −5
1100
1000 −10
900 −15
800
700 −20
600
500 θ (deg)
400
300 Simulated
200 Measured
100
0 Figure 9: Gain plot at 8.33 GHz.
5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency (GHz)

z1, 1 7.1194642
7.1194641
Figure 7: Impedance plot. 7.119464
7.1194639
7.1194638
7.1194637
7.1194636
7.1194635
respectively. The bandwidth of each band is 280 MHz and 7.1194634
7.1194633
490 MHz, respectively. When we vary the dimension of −180 −140 −100 −60 −20 20 60 100 140 180
various parameter of Dielectric Resonator (DR) and slot for
optimization, we realize that the resonance frequency fo of Series1
DRA depends on the physical dimensions of the DR and slot. Figure 10: Gain plot at 6.1 GHz (phi/degree versus dB).
The physical structure of Antenna is shown in Figures 4 and
5.
In the given Figure 6, we can see the good agreement
of simulated result and measured result. At lower mode the Figures 14 and 15 shows the H field pattern at both
return loss in both the cases is approximately same but at frequencies, 6.1 GHz & 8.3 GHz.
higher frequency simulated return loss is more down then In Figure 16, we observed that the curve has two peaks at
measured (Figure 7). resonance frequency where antenna has maximum radiation
The input impedance of antenna at resonance frequen- performance.
cies is approximately 50.5 ohm (Figure 8). We can see here the flat stable gain response over entire
The measured gain is less with respect to simulated 6 GHz to 9 GHz as shown in Figure 17. It is an advantage of
which is clearly shown in Figure 9. Simulated results in both antenna in application band.
simulators are approximately the same. The deviation of
measured and simulated may be due to measurement setup. 5. Conclusion
The gain plot at both the frequencies is shown in the
Figures 10 and 11. Here we have successfully designed a simple structure
The E-field pattern at both the frequencies is shown in and compact size of dual-band low-loss aperture-coupled
Figures 12 and 13. dielectric resonator antenna, which has almost flat stable gain
6 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

Table 1: Result summary.

6.1 GHZ 8.3 GHz

Resonant Frequency
Simulated Measured Simulated Measured
Return Loss −30 dB −27 dB −40 dB −28 dB
Impedance Bandwidth 240 MHz (4%) 490 MHz (6%)
Gain 7.1 dBi 5.9 dBi 6.3 dBi 5.5 dBi
Polarization Linear Slant (−30 degree)
Beam Width 84 Degree 130 Degree
Quality Factor 2188 3345

Gain Abs (θ = 0) 14
0 12
30 −30
10

V (m)
8
60
−60 6
4
2
90 −90 0
29814940110099365015 −180 −140 −100 −60 −20 20 60 100 140 180
θ (deg)
120 −120 V (m) Frequency = 8.3
Main lobe magnitude = 11.6 V/m

150 −150 Figure 13: E-field pattern.

180 Frequency = 8.3
Farfield ( f = 8.3) Main lobe magnitude = 4.3 dB
φ (deg versus dB) Main lobe direction = 65 deg
0.035
Figure 11: Gain plot at 8.3 GHz (phi/degree versus dB). 0.03
0.025
A (m)

0.02
E-field (r = m) Abc (φ = 0) 0.015
0.01
14
12 0.005
10 0
−200 −100 0 100 200
V (m)

8
6 θ (deg)
4
A (m) Frequency = 6.1
2 Main lobe magnitude = 0.033 A/m
0
−180 −140 −100 −60 −20 20 60 100 140 180 Figure 14: H-field pattern.
θ (deg)
V (m) Frequency = 6.1
Main lobe magnitude = 12.4 V (m)
0.035
Figure 12: E-field pattern. 0.03
0.025
A (m)

0.02
0.015
of approximately 6 dB in 6 to 9 GHz range. The antenna has
0.01
high Q value as compared to conventional patch antenna
0.005
whose Q is very low. Table 1 shows the values of various
parameters at both the frequencies, 6.1 GHz & 8.3 GHz. 0
−200 −100 0 100 200
Hence our designed antenna has more power handling θ (deg)
capacity than patch antenna. This dual-band dielectric
Frequency = 8.3
resonator antenna can find applications in C- and X- A (m)
Main lobe magnitude = 0.037 A/m
band-based communication applications such as satellite
communication. Figure 15: H-field pattern.
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 7

Normalised Q factor [6] A. Abdel Rahman, A. K. Verma, and A. S. Omar, “High

40 gain wideband compact microstrip antenna with quasi-planner
Normalised Q factor

35 surface mount horn,” in Proceedings of the IEEE MTT-S

30 International Microwave Symposium Digest, vol. 1, pp. 571–574,
25
20 Philadelphia, Pa, USA, June 2003.
15 [7] P. Kumar, J. Kishor, and A. K. Shrivastav, “Formulation of
10
5 size reduction technique in microstrip circuits by using DGS
0 and DMS,” in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference
5 6 7 8 9 10
of Recent Advances in Microwave Theory and Applications
Frequency (GHz) (MICROWAVE ’08), pp. 861–864, New Delhi, India, November
Normalised Q factor 2008.
[8] P. Kumar, R. Mahmood, J. Kishor, and A. K. Shrivastav,
Figure 16: Computed normalized quality factor. “Designing of a compact microstrip antenna resonating at
4.8 GHz by using size reduction technique,” in Proceedings of
the International Conference on Emerging Trends in Electronic
Gain plot versus frequency and Photonic Devices and Systems (ELECTRO ’09), pp. 370–373,
9
8 December 2009.
7 [9] E. A. J. Marcatili, “Dielectric rectangular waveguide and
6
Gain (dB)

directional coupler for integrated optics,” Bell Systems Technical

5
4 Journal, vol. 48, no. 7, pp. 2071–2102, 1969.
3
2
1
0
5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency (GHz)

Series1

Figure 17: Plot of gain versus frequency.

Acknowledgments
The authors are very thankful to Dr. A. K. Shrivas-
tav, Program Director, SAMEER-CEM, Chennai, and Mr.
Pramod kumar, Associate Professor, IPEC, Ghaziabad, for
their support and guidance. They are also thankful to
Antenna Division, SAMEER-CEM Chennai, for their sup-
port in simulation and measurements.

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