ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753

ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

Low RCS Microstrip Patch Antenna Using

Complementary Split-Ring Resonators
Priyanka R Ravi 1,V A Libimol2, Sreelatha K K3, Nisamol T A3,Dr C K Aanandan 4
P.G Student, Department of Electronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India 1
Microwave Propagation Research Laboratory, Dept. of Electronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology,
Kerala, India 2
P.G Student, Department of Electronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India 3
Professor, Department of Electronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kerala, India 4

ABSTRACT: Amicrostrip antenna with low RCS is proposed in this paper. RCS reduction is accomplished by
employing complementary split ring resonator in the ground plane of the proposed antenna. A conventional antenna is
designed and simulated for a frequency of 11.5GHz.As compared to the conventional microstrip antenna, the
monostatic RCS can be reduced as much as 15dBwhile preserving almost the same radiation characteristics.
Measured results acceptably agree with the simulated results.

KEYWORDS: Complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR), microstrip patch antenna, radar cross section (RCS)
reduction.

I. INTRODUCTION

The radar cross-section (RCS) is an important constraint for the design of modern aircrafts, missiles, helicopters,
ground military vehicles, launchers, and other important strategic installations. The accomplishment with which a radar
system can detect a target depends primarily on how much of electromagnetic energy illuminating a target is reflected
back to the radar [1]. In strategic applications it is crucial to reduce the RCS of air targets to preserve the low
observable nature. Meanwhile the onboard antennas cause a substantial contribution to the overall RCS of airborne
vehicle, the designing of antennas have to be done judiciously to meet low RCS requirement. The study of techniques
allow reducing the RCS of antenna is therefore of great practical interest.

The RCS reduction technique for antenna system proposed in this paper is based on the loading of Complementary
split-ring resonator (CSRR)to the antenna. The idea which is trying to implement here, is to replace the ground plane of
antenna with suitable CSRR element. The complementary split-ring resonators are spatial filters of electromagnetic
waves, which can be used to improve the antenna performance and reduce the RCS effectively. Thus, it is possible to
make the antenna operational for a particular resonant frequency and remains inactive for all other frequencies.

Different types of RCS reduction techniques exist at present.RCS reduction by shaping is one of the methodsthat has
been using from the beginning of stealth technology. Since the metallic parts of aircraft are reflecting in nature, by
coating those with radar absorbing material [2] RCS can be reduced. Different radar absorbing coatings are available
for applying on the outer metallic parts of the aircraft. Active cancellation techniques are also employed in which train
of coherent waves are generated to cancel the scattering echo signals. Practically, generating cancellation signal having
same amplitude, frequency and phase of that of the echo is a difficult task. All these methods reduce the overall RCS of
the aircraft system. The main contributor of RCS is planar antennas used in the aircraft. This paper focuses on the RCS
reduction of planar antenna.

Using frequency selective surfaces (FSS) for RCS reduction came into the world of science after 2000.Depending on
structure, FSS can act as band pass or band stop which will transmit or reflect the EM wave at their resonance
frequency [3].Furthermore, electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures are widely employed to reduce RCS.

Copyright to IJIRSET www.ijirset.com 40

 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

Mushroom-like electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures are incorporated to attain out-of-band RCS reduction [4],
[5]. Even though the backward RCS of the patch array antenna with EBG can be reduced, its directivity is 2 dB
inferior. Besides, using fractal structure [6], modifying the antenna structure [7, 8], and using bionics principle [9] the
RCS of antennas can be reduced.

Using the SRR and CSRR structure low pass filter [10], high pass filter [11], and so on can be implemented. In this
paper, the in-band RCS reduction of micro stripe antenna is realized by the use of a new compact CSRR structure.

II. COMPLEMENTARY SPLIT-RING RESONATOR

In modern years CSRR metamaterial element along with patch antenna is used for antenna miniaturization, RCS
reduction and much more. Complementary split rings resonators (CSRRs) are proposed by Pendry [12].Negative-
effective permittivity can be anticipated for any CSRR-based medium. By etching the rings or loops in the ground
plane, just beneath the conductor strip CSRR can be realized. It is equivalent to a parallel LC resonant tank circuit with
a resonant frequency given by
f=1/ (2πLeqCeq)
where Leq and Ceq are the equivalent inductance and capacitance of the CSRR.

In order to realize the effect of RCS reduction, the traditional CSRR needs to be minimized. For a resonant frequency
of 11GHz, the compact CSRR is designed and simulated.

Table 1.The parameters of the CSRR unit cell.

Parameters D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6
Value (mm) 5.95 7 3.25 1 1.1 2.15
Parameters D7 D8 D9 D10 D11
Value (mm) .7 1.3 .3 3.15 .7

The incident wave within the CSRR’s stop-band will be reflected while the incident wave outside of the CSRR’s stop-
band will transmit through the CSRR without any hindrance. This can be useful for RCS reduction. The geometry of
CSRR unit cell is shown in Fig.1. In Fig.2, it is clearly found that CSRR presents a stop-band characteristic of in the
vicinity of 10.8GHz.To validate the performance of the proposed stop band characteristic, a four-period prototype
device has been designed, simulated and measured.

In order to investigate the influence of CSRR on radiation characteristics and RCS of microstrip antenna, a variety of
simulations have done. As the CSRR has an opening end, the structure is asymmetric. Depending upon the orientation
of the opening end, the antenna performance is possibly affected, that can be verified by simulations.

Fig. 3 shows the reference antenna with a central frequency of 11.5 GHz. The proposed antenna is designed on an
inexpensive FR4 dielectric substrate with permittivity of 4.4, a loss tangent of 0.024 and is fed by coaxial probe. The
structure has been simulated using the time domain solver based Computer Simulation Technology microwave studio
(CST MWS). The proposed antenna has the parameters of Lp= 5.1 mm, Wp = 4.9 mm, Ls =19.2 mm, Ws = 20.5 mm
and feed is located at Wp/4.36 as shown in Fig.3(a).On the ground plane, a CSRR structure is etched. The dimensions
of the patch have a significant effect on the resonance frequency and the radiation patterns.

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 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

Fig 1.Geometry of each CSRR unit cell. Fig 2.S-parameters of the CSRR cell.

In Fig. 3, on both sides of the line AB and CD two CSRRs are etched. In Figs. 3(b), (c), the orientation of the opening
end is along x axis and y axis, respectively. In Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the simulated S11 and radiation patterns are shown
respectively under three different conditions. From the current distribution as shown in Fig.6, it is definite that the
orientation of the opening end should be parallel to the y axis.

Fig3. (a) Geometry of the microstrip antenna. (b) The orientation of the opening end along x-axis.
(c) The orientation of the opening end along y-axis.

Fig 4. Comparisons of the simulated S11 of antennas with CSRRs with different orientations of theopening end.

Fig. 6 shows thecurrent distribution of the antenna with and without CSRR. From Fig. 6, it is seen that CSRRs have
nearly no effect on current distribution when the orientation of the opening end is parallel to the x-axis.

Copyright to IJIRSET www.ijirset.com 42

 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

Fig 5. Comparisons of the simulated radiation patterns of antennas with CSRRs with different orientations of the
opening end.

Fig6.Current distribution on the ground of the antenna at 5 GHz, (a) without CSRRs, (b) the orientation of the opening
end along y-axis, (c) the orientation of the opening end along x-axis

An external electric field can excite the CSRR. As shown in Fig.6 the electric field is parallel to y-axis. CSRR can
radiate when it is excited by electric filed. The radiation principle of CSRR is identical to the slot antennas radiation
principle. Besides, it holds its own resonance frequency and radiation patterns. The antenna's resonance frequency and
radiation patterns are affected by excited CSRR.

Copyright to IJIRSET www.ijirset.com 43

 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

Fig 7. Geometry of microstrip antenna with CSRRs etched on the ground.

With a center frequency of 11.5 GHz, a low RCS microstrip antenna with CSRRs is shown in Fig. 7.The parameter
G1=3.9mm.In order to simulate the unit cell the boundary conditions are set as follows.
Xmin, Xmax=electric
Ymin, Ymax=magnetic
Zmin, Zmzx=open (add space)

(a) xoz plane b) yoz plane

Fig 8. Comparisons of the simulated radiation patterns of antennas with and CSRR

The gain of the antenna with and without CSRRs in the normal direction (z-axis) is 4.85 dB and 5.54 dB, respectively.
The gain loss is 0.69 dB at 11.5 GHz, which is less than 1 dB. The gain loss is due to the energy leakage occurs
whilechanging the ground with the CSRR structure. Fig. 8 gives the radiation patterns of two antennas. From the Fig.
8it is concluded that the main lobes of two radiation patterns are in fine agreement both inxoz-plane and yoz-plane.

III. FABRICATION OF THE ANTENNA AND RESULT USING VECTOR NETWORK ANALYZER

In order to confirm the design strategies above, the prototypes of the reference and proposed antennas are manufactured
and tested. Figure 9 shows photographs of the proposed antenna.

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 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

(a) Top View (b)Bottom View

Fig 9. Photograph of the microstrip antennas with CSRRs etched on the ground.

The simulated and measured radiation characteristics are compared in this section. Figure 10 shows the S11 parameters
of the reference and proposed antennas. It is observed that the measured results are agreed with the simulated results.

Fig 10.Comparison of simulated and measured S11 of antennas with CSRR.

The resonant frequency of the patch antenna without CSRRs is 11.2 GHz. Fig.9 shows the measured reflection
coefficient and radiation characteristics of the patch antenna. It is seen from Fig. 10, that themeasured reflection
coefficient is −40dB.The measured radiation patterns are shown in Fig. 11. Once more, a better agreement between the
simulated and measured results is obtained. Alike, the minor difference between them is caused due to its fabrication
tolerance and measurement error.

(a) xoz plane (b) yoz plane

Fig 11. Comparison of simulated and measured S11 of antennas with and without CSRRs.

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 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

To illustrate the variation of in-band RCS versus the theta angle, the low, central and high frequency points are chosen,
respectively. Figure 12(a) shows that in the normal direction the in-band RCS can be reduced as much as 15 dB at 11.5
GHz in the xoz plane. It is also shown that the RCSs have efficiently reduced within the angular ranges [−25◦, 25◦].
Moreover, due to the excitation of the slots, the in-band RCS of the proposed antenna increases within the angular
ranges [50◦, 100◦] and [−100◦, -50◦].

Figure 11(b) shows the in-band RCS for yoz plane. It is seen that in yoz plane also RCS gets reduced considerably as
15 dB at 11.5 GHz. It is also shown that the RCSs have efficiently reduced within the angular ranges [−25◦, 25◦].
Moreover, Figure 12 shows that due to the excitation of the slots the in-band RCS of the proposed antenna increases
within the angular ranges [40◦, 100◦] and [−100◦, 40◦].
The CSRRs are resonating at the resonance frequency of patch antenna, which leads to the current to be rearranged. But
due to the larger current on the ground plane, the antenna has larger back lobes. The RCS of the antenna greatly depend
on the numbers of the CSRRs unit cells and the distance between the antenna and the CSRR unit cells.

(a) xoz plane (b) yoz plane

Fig 12. Comparisons of monostatic RCS between the reference antenna andthe proposed antenna

The reason for two large RCS peaks is the discontinuous structure. So when the theta angle exceeds a specific value,
the slots cannot work and will result in two large RCS peaks.

Fig 13. Comparison of monostatic RCS between the reference antenna and the proposed antenna

Fig. 13 is the graph plotted between the RCS versus the frequency for a normal incident plane wave. There is a
significant RCS reduction for the frequency 11.5GHz.Because of these outstanding features, the proposed antenna

Copyright to IJIRSET www.ijirset.com 46

 ISSN (Online) : 2319 - 8753
ISSN (Print) : 2347 - 6710

International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology

An ISO 3297: 2007 Certified Organization Volume 6, Special Issue 6, March 2017
2ND National Conference on Future Technologies in Power, Control and Communication Systems (NFTPCOS-17)

23rd - 24th March 2017

Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, College of Engineering Perumon, Kollam, Kerala – 691601, India

can be employed in low-RCS platforms.

IV. CONCLUSION

A novel microstrip patch antenna is considered as the test case to confirm the strategy for RCS reduction. A microstrip
antenna with four CSRR’s etched on the ground plane is presented. Antenna with and without CSRR is simulated and
fabricated. The results show that it is promising to attain RCS reduction at the resonant frequency of the reference
antenna.

REFERENCES

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[2] G. Simone, F. Costa, and A. Monorchio, “Low-profile array with reduced radar cross section by using hybrid frequency selective surfaces,”
IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 60, no. 5, pp. 2327–2335,May 2012.
[3] P. K. Panda and D. Ghosh, “Mushroom-like EBG structures for reducing RCS of patch antenna arrays,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Microw.Photon.,
Dec. 2013, pp. 1–4.
[4] H. K. Jang, J. H. Shin, and C. G. Kim, “Low RCS patch array antenna with electromagnetic bandgap using a conducting polymer,” in Proc.Int.
Conf. Environ. Eng. Appl., Sep. 2010, pp. 140–143.
[5] Liu, Y., S.-X. Gong, and H.-B. Zhang, A novel fractal slot microstrip antenna with low RCS,"
IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 2006.
[6] Jia, Y., Y. Liu, S.-X. Gong, T. Hong, and D. Yu, Printed UWB end-¯re Vivaldi antenna with low
[7] RCS," Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters, Vol. 37, 11, 2013.
[8] Hong, T., S.-X. Gong, W. Jiang, Y.-X. Xu, and X. Wang, A novel ultra-wide band antenna with
reduced radar cross section," Progress In Electromagnetics Research, Vol. 96, 299-308, 2009.
[9] Jiang, W., Y. Liu, S.-X. Gong, and T. Hong,Application of bionics in antenna radar cross section
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[10] V.S. Khushwah, G.S.Tomar, S.S.Bhadauria, “Designing stepped impedance microstrip low pass filter using artificial neural network at 1.8 GHz
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[11] Pang Chunhui, Li Qiliang, Liu Jin Xian” A novel highpass filter based on complementary split ring resonators “2015 IEEE 12th International
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[12] Pendry, J., Magnetism from conductors and enhanced nonlinear phenomena," IEEE Transactions
on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 47, No. 11, 2075-2084, 1999.

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