Sextuple Stepped-Impedance Resonator Antenna for Multiband Wireless Communication Systems

Abstract

This article presents the design and analysis of a sextuple-patch antenna fabricated on Flame Retardant 4 (FR-4) substrate having a copper cladding of 0.5mm for the radiating patches and the ground plane. The antenna can operate at six distinct frequencies, 0.9 GHz, 1.2 GHz, 1.5 GHz, 2.5 GHz, 2.7 GHz, and 3.6 GHz, all of which fall within the communication bands of GSM, GPS, DCS, UMTS, and IEEE 802.11b/g. This versatility renders the antenna highly suitable for various communication devices. To achieve high gain and hexa-band characteristics at the resonant frequencies, the stepped-impedance resonator technique is implemented. The designed antenna's front surface is covered with rectangular-shaped radiating elements while the rear surface is the ground layer. Simulation results confirm that the antenna exhibits very good performance in terms of high gain across the specified frequencies and maintains a favourable impedance matching of 50Ω to observe minimal transmission losses. To ensure compactness and ease of integration with other circuits, the antenna is fed using a coaxial feeding technique. CST Studio is employed to design and validate the antenna's performance. The advanced features and capabilities of the designed antenna make it a compelling choice for integration into smart communication devices.

Index Terms
Multiband; microstrip patch; coaxial feeding; FR-4; SIR; UMTS; WiMAX; WLAN; DCS; GSM.