Chapter 5

Dielectric Resonator Antenna with Boundary Fractal

5.1 Objective
In this chapter the objective is to investigate the dielectric resonator antennae with fractal
shaped boundary in two different configurations. In first configuration, these antennae are
splitted in the middle into two halves and are excited by a coaxial probe. The second
investigation involves miniaturization of rectangular DRA by using fractal rectangular curve
along the cross-sectional boundary. An investigation on size reduction upto second iteration of
modified rectangular curve fractal geometry is reported. For completeness parametric studies,
resonance and radiation characteristics are also presented.

5.2 Introduction
Dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) have been intensely studied since it was first introduced
by Long et al. in 1983 [1]. The DRA is useful for high frequency applications where Ohmic
losses become a serious problem in case of conventional metallic antennas. The dielectric
resonator is fabricated from a dielectric material having low-loss (loss tangent≈10-4, or less) and
high dielectric constant (  r  10 to 100 ) though some low values are being recently explored
as antennas [2]. Its resonant frequency is predominantly a function of size, shape and material
permittivity. DRAs have several desirable antenna features including high radiation efficiency,
flexible feed arrangement, simple geometry and compactness. In addition, they offer higher
bandwidths, higher gain and absence of surface waves when compared to microstrip antennas is
observed. Over the past few years researchers have tried to improve the impedance bandwidth
of DRAs to increase its functionality. Improving impedance bandwidth by optimization of
DRA dimensions have been recently used to achieve wide bandwidth. This has been
demonstrated for cylindrical DRA (CDRA) by Chair et al. [3] and for rectangular DRA by Li
and Leung [4]. Systematic analysis of improving bandwidth using this mode merging technique
has been reported by Young and Long [5]. Apart from mode merging techniques by varying
geometrical parameters, bandwidth can also be improved by lowering the radiation Q of the
excited DRA [6, 7]. With the introduction of fractals in antenna engineering, Hajihshemi and
Abiri [8] investigated DRAs with fractal shape and reported that with increase in fractal
iteration the ratio of surface to volume in dielectric resonator increases and thereby enhance the

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Q-factor which tends to increase in antenna impedance bandwidth. Fractal DRA for wireless
application is also reported by Gangwar et. al. in [9]. Mode merging to achieve wideband by
introducing fractal in DRA was reported in [10]. Thamae and Wu proposed broadband
dielectric resonator antenna by using shape deformation with low permittivity resonator [11].
Denidni et al. investigated DRA for ultra wideband applications by using a bevel feeding patch
and introducing an air gap between the DR and the ground plane [12]. The effective dielectric
constant and the Q-factor can be reduced by introducing the air gap.

Figure 5.1. Illustration of construction of fractal rectangular

curve.

In this chapter two different functionalities of modified fractal rectangular curve (FRC) shaped
DRA is proposed. . The FRC is constructed by applying a geometric transformation on the
rectangle by producing four smaller rectangles where each smaller rectangle in the first
iteration has an area of ‘A/δ’, where area of larger rectangle is ‘A’ = L  W; ‘L’ indicates width
along x-axis and ‘W’ denotes length long y-axis and placing them at the corners aligned with
the center of the smaller rectangle. Here    1   2 in each configurations where  1 and  2 are
the arbitrary constants. The choice of δ1 and δ2 depends on the shape and size of the fractal
rectangular curve DRA which in turn governs the overall side length desirable for achieving the
resonant frequencies. The orientation is illustrated as shown in Fig.5.1.
Because of the symmetry of the prefractal geometry the DRA of area ‘A’ is cut in the middle
along the y-axis to insert a coaxial probe feed as shown in Fig.5.2 (b). The first iteration is
formed by placing smaller rectangles at the four corners of the initiator as depicted in Fig.5.2
(c). Repeating this procedure one more time on each rectangle placed at the two corners results
in the second iteration.

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 Figure 5.2. Various stages of the fractal rectangular curve shaped DRA with probe feed. In (b) the geometry is
bifurcated to accommodate the feed pin for exciting the DRA and this follows for other iterations as given in (c)
and (d).

It is observed that the Q-factor of cavity is proportional to its volume and is inversely
proportional to its area. Therefore, in DRA, when fractal iteration level increases, the ratio of
surface area-to-volume increases and the radiation Q-factor, which is given in equation (5.1),
decreases. Consequently, the bandwidth of DRA increases since bandwidth (BW) given by the
following expression (5.2) is inversely proportional to the radiation Q-factor (Q rad):
w rW
Q rad  (5.1)
P rad
VSWR  1
BW  (5.2)
Qrad VSWR

At first fractal geometry is used here to achieve wideband DRA. The details of antenna design,
feed arrangement and parametric study are given in Section 5.3. This is followed by
investigation on miniaturization of DRA using fractal rectangular curve. The final Section 5.5
provides concluding remarks on investigations of modified rectangular fractal curve shaped
dielectric resonator antenna [13].

5.3 WIDEBAND FRACTAL RECTANGULAR CURVE ANTENNA

5.3.1 Antenna Design

The shape of the proposed configuration originates from the “Squares Curve” [14], using a
rectangular initiator instead of a square one results in a Fractal Rectangular Curve (FRC). The
ground plane size is taken for each antenna as 50  50 mm2. The dielectric constant of the
DRA is chosen to be ε DRA =10. The design begins with a rectangular DRA [Fig. 5.2 (a)] of
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dimensions, length being 25.4 mm ( W ) along y-axis, width of the DRA is 14.3 mm ( L ) along
x-axis, height of the DRA is 26.1 mm along z-axis and the resonant frequency is 3.95 GHz.
These design parameters follow from the dielectric waveguide model (DWM) theory of
rectangular DRA. The area of rectangular DRA, A  L  W = 363.22 mm 2 which is divided
into two halves to insert a coaxial probe feed in the centre. Here δ 1 =2 and δ 2 =3, so the area of
L W 2 A
the smaller rectangle is A1   = 60.54 mm = that gets added to the four corners
2 3 6
named as first iteration fractal rectangular curve DRA (FRC1). Similarly, second iteration is
L W A
formed by placing smaller rectangle of area A2   =10.09 mm 2 = 1 to the two outer
4 9 6
corners of rectangle of area A1 and named as second iteration fractal rectangular curve DRA
(FRC2). The excitation is done by inserting in the gap between the two halves a z-directed
coaxial probe with radius of 0.635 mm. The probe of the SMA connector is located at the
center of the two halves of DRA. The fractal rectangular curve DRA for second iteration is
shown in Fig.5.3.

Figure 5.3. Illustrations of offset along the arrow shown for (a) pin offset and (b) DRA
offset.

5.3.2 Parametric Study and Radiation Characteristics

It is observed from electromagnetic simulations that apart from the fractal iteration (which in
this case is fixed at two to avoid design and fabrication complexity), the length of probe pin, the
shift in position of feed pin with respect to the centre known as pin offset position [Fig.5.3 (a)]
as well as DRA lateral offset [Fig 5.3(b)] are some parameters which influence antenna
characteristics. All simulations are performed using CST Microwave Studio™. The probe pin
length ‘l’ is parametrically varied to observe its effect on resonance frequency. It is seen from
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Fig. 5.4. that probe pin length of 8 mm above ground was found to provide desired resonance
characteristics.

Figure 5. 4. Variation in S11 curves for different pin lengths in fractal rectangular curve
DRA of second iteration.

The next parameter under study is the pin position. The effect on resonance characteristics due
to varying offset position of pin is shown in Fig. 5.5. From Fig 5.5 it is seen that when the pin
is at the centre then only resonance centered at 3 GHz is prominent. Gradually, the frequencies
desirable for Body Area Network (BAN) and WLAN are obtained for a pin offset of 4 mm.
However, if the DRA lateral offset positions are relatively varied, then the resonance
performance degrades and desired resonance characteristics are not achieved.

Figure 5. 5. Variation in S11 (dB) curves for different pin offset position that feeds the
Fractal Rectangular Curve DRA of second iteration.

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In the final design, the fractal shaped DRA with pin length 8 mm and pin offset 4 mm is
realized using ε r = 10. It is observed from the simulated resonance characteristics as shown in
Fig. 5.6 that the antenna covers the wide BAN ranging from 3.5 to 5.0 GHz as well as the IEEE
802.11a WLAN frequency bands centered around 5.5GHz.

Figure 5. 6. Simulated S11 (dB) plot of the final design of fractal rectangular curve DRA
of second iteration.

The inclusion of fractal boundary in the form of fractal rectangular curve in conjunction with
the offset excitation assists in merging the TE111 mode with a modified TE112 mode of a
rectangular DRA. In normal rectangular DRA, the TE 112 mode is generally non-radiating one
[15]. The modification of TE 112 is confirmed by the radiation pattern at 4.5 GHz which shows
finite gain. The TE113 mode gets fined tuned to the IEEE 802.11a frequencies.
Field orientations of the proposed antenna configuration have been compared with a
conventional rectangular dielectric resonator antenna. In Fig.5.7, the H-field distribution inside
the fractal DRA (FDRA) is illustrated for conventional rectangular DRA [4], bifurcated DRA
with centrally probe feeding and FRC of first and second iteration at 3.5 GHz, 4.5 GHz and 5.5
GHz respectively. It is seen that H-field gets modified depending on the FDRA shape iteration
and for a given iteration field gets altered due to different frequencies of operation.

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 (a) (b) (c)

(d) i (d) ii (d) iii

Figure 5.7. Variation in H-field distribution in different configuration of Fractal Rectangular Curve DRA (a) Li and
Leung original rectangular DRA, (b)Bifurcated DRA, (c) FRC of first iteration and (d) Fractal DRA of second
iteration at (i) 3.5 GHz, (ii) 4.5 GHz and (iii) 5.5 GHz respectively.

The radiation pattern for three frequencies at 3.5 GHz, 4.5 GHz and 5.5 GHz of the proposed
DRA is given in Fig.5.8. At 3.5 GHz, 4.5 GHz and 5.5 GHz the pattern is omni directional with
a small fluctuation at 4.5 GHz and 5.5 GHz. With a definite pattern which in this case is fractal
rectangular curve geometry of second iteration, the resonance frequencies could be fine tuned
resulting in a wide impedance bandwidth.

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 Figure 5. 8. Radiation pattern in xz-plane at (a) 3.5 GHz, (b) 4.5 GHz and (c) 5.5 GHz, in yz-plane at (d)
3.5 GHz, (e) 4.5 GHz and (f) 5.5 GHz and in xy-plane at (g) 3.5 GHz, (h) 4.5 GHz and (i) 5.5 GHz
respectively.

The simulated antenna gain of the rectangular curve fractal DRA is shown in Fig 5.9. The
simulated peak gain varies from 3.83 dBi to 7.89 dBi within the band. At the resonant
frequency 4.5 GHz and 5.4 GHz, the gain is approximately 7.89 dBi. The computed antenna
efficiency is found to be above 95%.

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 Figure 5. 9. Simulated antenna peak gain of DRA against Frequency.

5. 4. MINIATURIZATION OF RECTANGULAR DRA USING FRACTAL RECTANGULAR CURVE

In this section, the cross section of fractal rectangular dielectric resonator antenna is
miniaturized using different iterations. A view of the proposed antenna configuration is shown
in Fig. 5.10. As discussed in previous section, the rectangular DRA is divided into two halves,
L L
each half is having length as and an area, A   W =181.61 mm 2. This area is then
2 2
divided by three by setting δ 1 =1.5 and δ 2 =2. The area of smaller rectangle A1 = L1  W1 =

2 A L W
60.54 mm = where L1  and W1  that gets added to the four corners of
3 3 2
rectangular DRA named as first iteration fractal rectangular curve DRA (FRC1). Repeating this
L1 W 1 2 A1
procedure one more time, rectangle of area A2   = 20.18 mm = at each
1 .5 2 3
rectangle placed at the four corners, results second iteration named as second iteration fractal
rectangular curve DRA (FRC2). This configuration is modified compare to previous
configuration with inner corner elements and optimizing the value of δ 1 and δ 2. The studied

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dielectric resonators have a permittivity material with ε r =10. Proper feeding of dielectric
resonator has been achieved with coaxial probes at the centre of two halves. The height of DR
in all configurations is 26.1 mm whereas the feed probe length is 8 mm. The following table I
shows the different antenna parameters. The simulated S11 (dB) of the original rectangular
DRA as given in [4], the splitted DRA, modified fractal rectangular curve DRA of first iteration
(FRC 1) and second iteration (FRC 2) are compared in Fig. 5.11. From Table I it is observed
that the perimeter increases in each new iteration and the resonant frequency decreases.

Figure 5. 10. 3d view of miniaturized Fractal Rectangular Curve DRA of second iteration

TABLE-I Comparison of proposed second iteration FRC DRA with reference antenna as given in [4], the
splitted DRA and first iteration of FRC shape DRA.

Different Resonant Footprint area Height Volume

antenna frequency (mm2) (mm) (mm3)
configurations (GHz)
Reference[4] 4.75 363.22 26.1 9480.042
Splitted DRA 5.4 363.22 26.1 9480.042
FRC 1 4.3 544.84 26.1 14220.39
FRC 2 3.2 726.47 26.1 18960.75

The dielectric constant of all antennas under comparison is 10 and height as per the design given in [4] is
26.1 mm.

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It is observed from the resonance characteristics as shown in Fig. 5.11. that there is a down shift
in resonant frequency after introducing the boundary fractal. The area of original rectangular
DRA (1480.19 mm2) that resonates around 3.2 GHz, has length along x-axis= 33.3 mm, width
along y-axis= 44.45 mm, height along z-axis =26.1 mm. In comparison to this the area of
modified second iteration fractal rectangular curve DRA is 726.4654 mm2. Therefore the
difference in cross-sectional area between rectangular DRA and that with fractal-shaped
boundary DRA is 753.72 mm 2. Hence, the area of the proposed FRC2 FDRA is less than the
original rectangular DRA by approximately 50% bringing about the necessary miniaturization.

Figure 5. 11. Comparison of return loss plot of conventional RDRA, splitted DRA, first
iteration of Fractal Rectangular Curve FRC1 as well as Fractal Rectangular Curve DRA
of second iteration FRC2.

The miniaturized FDRA is put to parametric study by considering shift in position of feed pin
along the y-axis with respect to the centre known as pin offset position and altering relative
position between the DRA sections known as DRA offset position as already illustrated in Fig.
5. 3 (a) and (b) for the first FDRA investigation. The effect on resonance characteristics due to
each is shown in Fig. 5.12 (a) and Fig.5.12 (b) respectively.
From Fig 5.12(a) it is seen that when the pin is at the centre then only resonance centered at 3.2
GHz is prominent. However, here it is observed that resonance performance degrades and
desired bands are not achieved when either pin position or DRA positions are altered.

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 Figure 5.12. Variation in S11 curves for different (a) pin offset position (b) DRA offset (keeping
probe pin at the centre) in miniaturized Fractal Rectangular Curve DRA of second iteration

The radiation pattern of the proposed DRA is given in Fig. 5.13 (a). It is noticed that at 3.2 GHz
the pattern is omni directional. Figure 5.13(b) show the simulated antenna gain of the
miniaturized rectangular curve FDRA. Antenna gain is about 4.5 dBi at 3.2 GHz which follows
closely with that obtained for the rectangular DRA with a larger cross-sectional size. The
computed antenna efficiency is found to be above 92%.

Figure 5. 13. Principal radiation pattern of the proposed FDRA at 3.2 GHz

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5.5. Summary
In this chapter two consequences of using fractal shape in DRA is investigated. At first, fractal
rectangular curve is used to achieve wideband performance of a DRA from 3.5 to 5.0 GHz
covering the body area network and also the IEEE 802.11a frequencies. The pattern remains
similar over the entire band. The average peak gain within the band is about 7 dBi. The second
investigation reveals miniaturization of a rectangular DRA using a modified rectangular fractal
curve along the cross-sectional boundary. By this, a DRA at 3.2 GHz is realized using second
iteration of modified rectangular curve fractal geometry and a miniaturization of about 50% is
achieved maintaining the radiation characteristics.
.
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