Improved approach using symmetric microstrip sensor for accurate measurement of complex permittivity

A novel symmetrical planar sensor based on splitter/combiner microstrip sections with a pair of interdigital capacitors (IDCs) and 2 complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs) structure is presented. A high sensitivity area to the dielectric property of surrounding materials has been established by locating IDC unit on the top‐plane while a rectangular CSRR structure etched out on the ground plane. The symmetrical circuit makes the sensitivity further improved to the introduction of sample to be tested because of the destruction of the symmetry. The complex permittivity of the dielectric samples has been evaluated from the actual experimental scattering parameters by using back propagation neural network techniques. The proposed methodology is validated by fabricating the sensor on Rogers5880 substrate and testing various standard dielectric samples viz. PVC, Glass epoxy, FR4, and Glass in C‐band. The measured complex permittivity of the test specimens is found to be in close agreement with their values available in literature with maximum error of <5%.     

Hybrid wideband dual‐cylindrical circularly polarized dielectric resonator antennas excited with S‐shaped microstrip feed for sub‐6 GHz frequency range

In this article, a hybrid microstrip fed dual‐cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (dual‐CDRA) has been proposed for the sub‐6 GHz band application with a wide circular polarization band. The proposed hybrid microstrip feed cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna utilizes an S‐shaped microstrip feed line to excite fundamental HE_11δ like mode and hybrid mode in dual‐CDRAs. The presented antenna structures are acting as monopole antenna separately with 48.75% (3.88‐6.38 GHz) bandwidth whereas both radiators called dual‐CDRAs enhances the bandwidth up to 93.06% (2.16‐5.92 GHz) in addition with an axial ratio bandwidth of 15.2% (3.52‐4.1 GHz). The proposed antenna is applicable for WiMAX (3.4‐3.69 GHz), and WLAN application of 802.11d and 8.02.11e IEEE standard. For validation of simulated results, an antenna prototype has been fabricated and experimentally verified. A good agreement between simulation and measured results are obtained. The simulation results have been carried out by using Ansys HFSS 14.0 version software.     

A compact filtering antenna using dielectric strip resonator and parallel microstrip feed line

A filtering antenna using dielectric strip resonator and parallel microstrip feed line is proposed to achieve compact dielectric size and filtering response without gain reduction. The compact dielectric size is contributed by the dielectric strip resonator with high permittivity operated in the TM_δ1 cavity mode, whose electric field distribution along the short side is far less than half‐wavelength distribution. Therefore, the size of the proposed dielectric strip resonator is smaller than the traditional dielectric patch resonator operated in the TM₁₁ cavity mode. Additionally, the parallel placed microstrip line not only can excite the dielectric strip resonator for filtering response without gain reduction, but also can provide one upper‐edge radiation null for frequency selectivity enhancement. Compared with the reported filtering dielectric antennas, the proposed design exhibits the features of compact dielectric size, simple structure and wide stopband. For demonstration, one prototype operating at 4.9 GHz is fabricated, achieves the dielectric size of 0.00078 λ3 0 (λ₀ is the wavelength in the free space at the center frequency), the measured peak gain of 7.1 dBi, the 10‐dB impedance matching bandwidth of 4%, the stopband (> 16 dB) up to 1.84 f₀, and the cross‐polarization level of 20 dB within 3‐dB beam range.     

Hybrid two segments ring dielectric resonator antenna for ultrawideband application

In this article, a hybrid two segments ring dielectric resonator antenna with partial ground plane, for ultrawideband application is described. The proposed antenna structure consists of annular shape microstrip line along with two ring dielectric resonators having different permittivity. By applying the combination of shifted annular shape microstrip line (used as a radiator as well as to convert TM_01δ mode to TE_01δ mode) and two segments ring dielectric resonator, ultra wide bandwidth has been achieved. Prototype of proposed structure has been fabricated and tested. Measured results show good agreement with the simulated ones. The proposed antenna structure operates over a frequency range of 3.45‐10.9 GHz with a fractional bandwidth of 103.83% and having better gain and radiation characteristics. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:47–53, 2016.     

Computer‐aided design of 3D microwave filter using quasi‐planar high Qu dielectric resonator

A dielectric resonator filter is proposed for high‐speed data communication systems and for multilayer filter applications. The structure is composed of a partially metallized dielectric plate enclosed in a parallelepipedic cavity. This topology allows high integration in a planar‐type environment. The proper excitation is ensured by coplanar lines directly integrated on the dielectric resonator. This structure, easily manufactured, is suitable for high frequency‐filtering and power applications. In order to realize two‐ and four‐pole filters without tuning, some new coupling and frequency compensation techniques are presented. To compensate for a parasitic effect, a direct optimization method is combined applying a global electromagnetic (EM) analysis to describe the four‐pole filter. Some experiments are performed to verify the theoretical design. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 10: 333–341, 2000.     

A novel method for crosstalk reduction in coupled pair microstrip lines

This article demonstrates novel ideas for mitigation of far‐end as well as near‐end crosstalk in coupled pair microstrip lines (CPMLs) by means of defected microstrip structure (DMS). Simple equations and models for analysis and design of a DMS are presented and extracted. Different configurations of DMS‐CPMLs are introduced, and their performances in crosstalk reduction are compared. Finally, the best configuration for far‐end crosstalk reduction is fabricated and tested. A maximum of 35 dB reduction in far‐end and 38 dB reduction in near‐end crosstalk are achieved. The signal integrity performance of the structure is also verified by eye‐diagrams. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2012.     

Performance analysis of a hybrid dielectric resonator antenna in frequency and time domains

This article presents a compact hybrid X‐band radiator, by combining the multiple resonances of two resonating and radiating structures, namely (a) a cylindrical dielectric resonator (CDR) and (b) a new type of slot geometry along with a U‐shaped microstrip feedline. Excitation of a few higher order modes in CDR structure is also observed and further investigated. The detailed performance analysis of the proposed geometry has been carried out both in frequency and time domains. Some design guidelines have been formulated which enable the design of the antenna for different bands. The proposed structure offers 46.3% (S₁₁ ≤ ?10 dB and Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) < 2) (measured) impedance bandwidth and about 4.5 dBi peak gain. The proposed antenna has the potential to be an ideal candidate for X‐band sensor applications.     

Analysis,modeling, and design of cascaded defected microstrip structure for planar circuits

In this article, two cascaded defected microstrip structures (CDMSs) are proposed to increase the effective inductance. So the cutoff frequencies of filters made by CDMSs can be controlled. The proposed CDMSs have wider stopband characteristic and sharper transition from passband to stopband than defected microstrip structure (DMS). To show the behavior variations of the effective inductance, the DMS and CDMSs have been analyzed, compared, and their design parameters are formulated. These parameters are necessary for a fast filter design procedure. Also, the models of DMS and CDMSs using the very simple lumped element forms are presented according to the physical parameters. The results of the proposed models have been compared with those obtained by full wave analysis. To verify the proposed DMS model, the comparison in response not only has been considered in amplitude but also in phase of all S‐parameters of proposed model and full wave analysis. It is obvious that the stopband is enhanced by periodically cascading the DMS. Surviving of EMC aspects between DMS, DGS, and CDMS is considered and compared. Finally, the theoretical results are validated by comparison with simulations of the structures and experimental results. The simulations from modeling results are found to be in good agreement with the full wave analysis and measurement results in the range of 0.5–35 GHz. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2010.     

Miniaturized planar ferrite junction circulator in the form of substrate‐integrated waveguide

The theoretical analysis and engineering implementation of the planar substrate‐integrated waveguide (SIW) ferrite junction circulator have been proposed in this article. The ferrite junction circulator is implemented in the form of SIW, taking the features of low profile, small volume and easy integration with other planar circuits. The design strategies of the device have been introduced, including the design consideration of the microstrip transition. One C‐band prototype of SIW ferrite junction circulator has been fabricated and measured. The experimental results indicate the bandwidth is about 33% at −15 dB isolation and the maximum isolation is near 40 dB. However, the insertion loss is a little big, owing to the imperfect dielectric material and fabrication inaccuracy. The SIW ferrite junction circulator and the microstrip transition are integrated into a same substrate, resulting in a very compact planar ferrite junction circulator and indicating potential applications in integrated communication and radar systems. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2008.     

Design,analysis, and measurement of a new dual‐band compact hybrid resonator antenna

A new dual‐band compact hybrid resonator antenna is proposed in this article. The analysis is based on electric‐field and magnetic‐field integral equations. In the proposed design, the structure uses a combination of a thin circular disk dielectric resonator (DR) and a microstrip‐fed dog‐bone slot. This dog‐bone slot works as a half‐wavelength radiator and as a feed circuit for the DR. By optimizing the structure's parameters, the hybrid structure allows not only the DR to resonate at one frequency band but also the dog‐bone slot to resonate at the other one with the required frequency separation. Based on the above design concept, an antenna prototype for wireless communication applications centered at 1.9 and 2.45 GHz is successfully designed, fabricated, and tested. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2006.     

On the effect of ground‐plane thickness on an aperture‐coupled dielectric resonator antenna

A hemispherical dielectric resonator antenna excited by a microstrip feedline through a narrow slot in a thick ground plane is studied theoretically and experimentally. A numerical method based on a combination of the spectral Green's function, modal Green's function, and the method of moment is used to investigate the input characteristics of the dielectric resonator antenna system. The effects of ground‐plane thickness on input resistance, resonant frequency, and impedance bandwidth of the dielectric resonator antenna are discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 10: 271–277, 2000.     

Circularly polarized rectangular dielectric resonator antenna fed by a cross aperture coupled spiral microstrip line

In this article, a circularly polarized rectangular dielectric resonator antenna fed by a cross‐aperture coupled spiral microstrip line is investigated. A quarter wavelength section of microstrip line is positioned between each arm of the cross slot in a spiral form to generate the circular polarization. The prototype of proposed antenna is fabricated and tested. The measured |S₁₁| and 3‐dB axial ratio frequency range is 31.74%, (2.65–3.65) GHz and 20%, (3.12–3.74) GHz, respectively and the measured total gain and left handed circularly polarized gain are 4.5 and 3.1 dB, respectively. The proposed antenna may be suitable for WiMAX applications.     

Closed form expressions for Green's functions of microstrip structures on a uniaxially anisotropic substrate

Closed form expressions for the Green's functions of a planar microstrip structure on an electrically thin uniaxially anisotropic substrate have been derived. The approach is to first obtain the quasi‐dynamic term and refine its accuracy with a correction term valid for higher frequencies. The quasi‐dynamic term conveys the influence of partial images and includes both transverse and vertical dielectric constants ε_rt and ε_rz. The correction term, on the other hand, results in an expression that includes ε_rz only. Results indicate excellent agreement with exact numerical solution over a significant band of frequencies and over a large range of spatial values. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 13: 161–168, 2003.     

Study of the Mach‐Zehnder interferometric technique for dielectric resonator tuning

The modulation of a microwave‐scale Mach‐Zehnder interferometer coupled to a dielectric resonator (DR) tunes the DR resonance frequency. We report on a theoretical study to develop an understanding of the intrinsic tuning properties of an Mach‐Zehnder interferometer ring‐DR‐microstrip line system and present an experimental verification. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 24:229–236, 2014.     

Dielectric resonator based two‐port dual band antenna for MIMO applications

This article investigates a dual band multiple input multiple output (MIMO) cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (cDRA) for WLAN and WiMAX applications. It consists of two symmetrical orthogonally placed radiators. Each radiator is excited through a narrow rectangular aperture with the help of a microstrip line. For higher mode excitation, the proposed structure uses dual segment DRA which apparently looks like stacked geometry. The aperture fed dielectric resonator works as a feed for upper cDRA to generate higher order mode. The presented radiator covers the band between 3.3‐3.8 GHz and 5‐5.7 GHz. The measured isolation is better than 20 dB in the desired band. The average gain and radiation efficiency achieved for the proposed antenna is 6.0 dBi and 85%, respectively at the operating frequency band. In the proposed geometry, broadside radiation patterns are achieved by exciting HEM_11δ and HEM_12δ modes in a stacked geometry. Different MIMO performance parameters (ECC, DG, MEG, and CCL) are also estimated and analyzed. The prototype of proposed antenna is fabricated and tested. The measured outcomes are in good accord with the simulated one.     

Fast simulation‐driven optimization of planar microstrip antenna arrays using surrogate superposition models

A technique for simulation‐driven design of excitation tapers for planar antenna arrays is presented. Our methodology exploits antenna array models constructed as a superposition of simulated radiation and reflection responses of the array under design, with only one radiator active at a time. Low computational costs of these models are ensured by using iteratively corrected electromagnetic‐simulation data computed with coarse meshes. Our technique allows for simultaneous control of the radiation pattern and the reflection coefficients of the array. Numerical efficiency as well as scalability of the technique is demonstrated using the design examples of various sizes and topologies, including a sixteen element and hundred element microstrip patch antenna arrays of the Cartesian lattice and a hundred element microstrip antenna array of the hexagonal lattice. The proposed technique is versatile as it also can be applied for simulation‐based optimization of antenna arrays comprising other types of individually fed elements, e.g., wires, strips, or dielectric resonator antennas. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:371–381, 2015.     

Gain enhancement and mutual coupling reduction of multiple‐intput multiple‐output antenna for millimeter‐wave applications using two types of novel metamaterial structures

A method to significantly increase the gain and reduce the mutual coupling of microstrip multiple‐intput multiple‐output (MIMO) antenna based on metamaterial concept is presented. The μ‐negative and ε‐negative features of the proposed modified peace‐logo planar metamaterial (MPLPM) and two‐sided MPLPM (TSMPLPM) structures are calculated. The antenna structure consists of eight MPLPM slabs and two TSMPLPM, which are embedded in azimuth plane of a MIMO antenna vertically. The dimensions of MIMO antenna are 28 × 16 × 6.3 mm³ at 40 GHz. As a result, a compact MIMO antenna is simulated in comparison with primary microstrip structures. The corresponding return‐loss of the antenna is better than 10 dB over 34.5 to 45.5 GHz for Ka‐band applications. Good consent between the measured and simulated result is tacked. The maximum simulated gain of the structure is 15.5 dB at 40 GHz, creating a maximum gain improvement of 11.5 dB in comparison with a MIMO antenna without any metamaterial combinations. The value of the insertion‐loss (isolation) is 33 dB, which has improved by more than 25 dB compared to the conventional sample.     

A low‐profile circularly polarized dielectric patch antenna and array

A square dielectric patch (DP) resonator fusing with the bottom substrate is studied for designing low‐profile circularly polarized (CP) antenna. Based on the theoretical investigation using the constructed analysis model, it can be found that the proposed DP resonator possesses a pair of degenerate dominate modes (TM₁₀₁ and TM₀₁₁), which can be split by introducing perturbations on the DP resonator and then used to design CP antenna fed by a microstrip line directly. To verify the proposed idea, a 2 × 2 array fed by a dual Marchand balun network is designed and implemented. Reasonable agreement between the measured and simulated results is observed. Experimental results show that a measured impedance bandwidth is 380 MHz (5.18‐5.56 GHz) for |S₁₁| < ?10 dB and the 3‐dB axial ratio bandwidth is 90 MHz (5.32‐5.41 GHz). The measured gain is up to 11.77 dBic with a cross polarization of about ?20 dB in the boresight direction.     

A novel millimeter‐wave dual‐band circularly polarized dielectric resonator antenna

In this article, a novel dual‐band circularly polarized (CP) dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for millimeter‐wave (MMW) band is presented. The rectangular dielectric resonator with layered truncated corners is excited by a microstrip‐coupled cross‐slot. CP radiations in the lower band are realized by utilizing two quasi‐TE₁₁₁ modes operating at 21.7 GHz and 23.8 GHz, while CP radiations in the upper band are obtained by exciting a quasi‐TE₁₁₃ mode at 28.2 GHz. The dual‐band DRA is fabricated and measured. Due to the higher order mode, the average gain of the DRA in the upper band is about 3 dB higher than that in the lower band. The measured impedance bandwidths (|S₁₁| < ?10 dB) are 17.0% (20.5‐24.3 GHz) and 15.2% (26.1‐30.4 GHz), while the measured axial ratio (AR) bandwidths (AR < 3 dB) are 12.8% (21.2‐24.1 GHz) and 5% (27.4‐28.8 GHz). In addition, the peak gain values are 5 and 8 dBic.     

Wideband circularly polarized rectangular DRA fed with dual pair of right‐angled microstrip line

In this article, design and development of wideband circularly polarized (CP) rectangular dielectric resonator antenna (RDRA) is presented. To generate wideband CP in proposed antenna, different feeding mechanism have been studied. Three antenna configurations based on different feeding have been discussed using single and dual pair of microstrip lines aligned perpendicular to each other to generate orthogonal modes resulting in circular polarization. It has been claimed here that excitation of RHCP/LHCP field and its direction of radiation could be controlled using height of microstrip feed lines. Finally antenna configuration‐3 is fabricated and measured which shows 36.8% of input impedance bandwidth (3.48–5.05 GHz) and axial ratio bandwidth of 14.46% (3.67–4.24 GHz) in broadside direction (at Φ = 0°, θ = 0°). The final proposed structure exhibits consistent far‐field characteristics with average LHCP gain of 6.4 dB and almost stable radiation efficiency in entire operational frequency range. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 26:713–723, 2016.