2174 | VARMA
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https://doi.org/10.1002/mop.30707
Received: 1 February 2017
DOI: 10.1002/mop.30705
A compact dual frequency
double U-slot rectangular
microstrip patch antenna for
WiFi/WiMAX
Ruchi Varma | Jayanta Ghosh | known approach to design compact dual band MSA.2–8
Rajarshi Bhattacharya
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, NIT Patna,
Bihar 800005, India
ET AL.
Correspondence
Jayanta Ghosh, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering,
NIT Patna, Bihar 800005, India.
Email: jghosh@nitp.ac.in
Abstract
This letter presents design of a compact (0.32kg 3
0.15kg) dual frequency rectangular microstrip patch
antenna for wireless applications. Dual frequency opera-
tion is achieved by inserting a pair of symmetric face-to-
Ƶ Ƶ
face U-slots, which results in excitation of TM10 and TM01
modes, on a narrow radiating patch upon appropriate off-
set coaxial feeding. In addition to compactness, the
embedded slots provide two degrees of freedom for tuning
the resonant frequencies independently. A physics based
approach is adopted in deriving empirical expressions for
lower and upper resonant frequencies by analysing the sur-
face current distribution on the patch. Parametric studies
of the slots’ dimensions show that it can cover the fre-
quency ranges from 1.72 to 4.1 GHz without giving rise to
any grating lobes. This antenna geometry can be used for
various standards like GSM (1800–1900 MHz), DCS
(1710–1880 MHz), PCS (1880–1990 MHz), UMTS
(1920–2170 MHz), LTE2300 (2300–2400 MHz), WiFi
(2400–2480 MHz), WiMAX (3467–3521 MHz), etc. by
appropriately choosing slot parameters. Many typical
designs of the proposed antenna geometry are possible
with different slot dimensions according to the requirement
of these bands. One such design which supports WiFi and
WiMAX has been fabricated on FR4 substrate. The meas-
ured results for this antenna are also included here.
KEYWORDS
compact, dual frequency, microstrip patch antenna, U-slot
1 | INTRODUCTION
With increasing requirements for wireless handheld devices,
the demand for smaller, low-profile, low cost, light weight
antennas has brought the microstrip patch antenna (MSA) to
the forefront.1 Compact dual/multiband antennas are in great
demand for multi-standard handheld devices supporting
many standards such as GPS, Bluetooth, WiMAX, WiFi, etc.
Therefore, compact dual band MSAs are direly needed. Slot
loading of MSA with rectangular slot and U-slot are well
Although this is a classical subject, some important
researches are still being carried out in this domain.7–9 It is
well known that if feed is located symmetrically with respect
to non-radiating edge, corresponding modes excited are
VARMA ET AL.
| 2175

choosing different slot parameters. For dual band operation,

one can independently tune fL in the range of 1.72–3.31 GHz
and fU in the range of 2.97–4.1 GHz just by changing the
slot parameters without varying the patch dimension. This
tuning can be easily accomplished using the proposed design
equations. Many typical designs of the proposed antenna
with different slot dimensions can be fabricated according to
the requirement of these bands. One such design which sup-
ports WiFi and WiMAX has been fabricated on FR4 sub-
strate. This letter includes the measured results for this
antenna.

2 | ANTENNA DESIGN
FIGURE 1 Diagram of the proposed antenna with Lg 5 50 mm,
Wg 5 54 mm, L 5 34 mm, W 5 16 mm, ls 5 13 mm, ws 5 1 mm,
Figure 1 shows the geometry of the proposed slot loaded rec-
gs 5 9 mm, Dx 5 4.5 mm, Dy 5 1 mm, a 5 1 mm, h 5 1.6mm (A) Top
tangular microstrip patch antenna. The size of the upper radi-
view; (B) Side view
ating patch is 34 3 16 mm2 and that of finite ground plane
is 50 3 54 mm2 which is small enough to meet the space
TMƵ10 , TMƵ20 , and TMƵ30 .2 The TMƵ10 mode is generally used constraint of a portable handheld device. A coaxial probe of
in practical applications since the TMƵ20 mode has a broad- impedance 50 X, positioned at an offset of Dx 5 4.5 mm and
side - null radiation pattern and the TMƵ30 mode produces Dy 5 1 mm from the centre (as shown in Figure 1A), is used
grating lobes.2,3 The problem of grating lobes in TMƵ30 mode to excite this antenna. The antenna is fabricated on a 1.6-
is resolved by making the patch slot length “ls” comparable mm-thick inexpensive FR4 substrate having Er 5 4.4 and
to the patch length “L”.3 This letter introduces a symmetric tan d 5 0.025. Figure 2 shows the photograph of fabricated
dual U-slot loading structure, which is much more compact antenna. Two face-to-face U-shaped slots are placed at a dis-
than the existing ones.2–8 The insertion of a pair of symmet- tance a 5 1 mm from the upper and lower edges of the rec-
ric face-to-face U-slots on a narrow radiating patch with an tangular patch respectively as shown in Figure 1A. Detailed
appropriately designed offset coaxial probe feeding shifts the dimensions for antenna are mentioned in Figure 1. Because
TMƵ20 and TMƵ30 modes to higher frequency and excites the of insertion of these slots, the resonant frequencies are
TMƵ01 mode, which is not excited in Refs. [2], [3], and [5] reduced and on the top of that, tunability is achieved at
due to symmetrical feeding with respect to non-radiating both the frequencies. The design and analysis of the
edge, along with exciting the standard TMƵ10 mode. As the proposed antenna is carried out using commercially available
proposed antenna works at the two fundamental modes T full wave electromagnetic simulator CST microwave
MƵ10 and TMƵ01 providing dual-band impedance matching studio suite.
there is no problem of grating lobes or broadside null. As
there is no chance of exciting grating lobe, unlike, Refs. [2],
[3], and [5], we don’t have any restriction on the patch slot
length “ls.” Moreover, it provides two degrees of freedom to
independently tune the two resonances over a much wider
range than the reported ones3,5 with simple slot loading
structure. Regarding design equations, unlike,9 where the
empirical equations are not strictly physics based, we pro-
pose equations of the lower and upper resonant frequencies
in a physics based approach by analysing the surface current
distribution. Towards this aim, we adopt the approach, pre-
sented in Ref. [10], in the context of a single U-slot loaded
broadband MSA and extend that for the proposed double U-
slot loaded dual band MSA. This antenna can be used for
various standards like GSM (1800–1900 MHz), DCS (1710–
1880 MHz), PCS (1880–1990 MHz), UMTS (1920–2170
MHz), LTE2300 (2300–2400 MHz), WiFi (2400–2480 F I G U R E 2 Proposed antenna fabricated view. [Color figure can be
MHz), WiMAX (3467–3521 MHz), etc. by appropriately viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
2176 | VARMA
F I G U R E 3 Measured and simulated | S11|. [Color figure can be
viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
The return loss and input impedance of the patch
antenna are shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4, respec-
tively. To get further insight, we study the electric field
distribution on patch. Figures 5 and 6 presents the
patch electric field distribution at two resonant fre-
quencies 2.44 and 3.5 GHz, respectively. Evidently, at
lower frequency (fL) antenna operates in TMƵ10 mode
and at higher frequency (fU) antenna operates in TMƵ01
mode. The insertion of U-slots with an offset coaxial
feeding excites the TMƵ01 mode along with exciting the
standard TMƵ10 mode and shifts the TMƵ20 and TMƵ30
modes to higher frequency. As the proposed antenna
works at the two fundamental modes TMƵ10 and TMƵ01 ,
there is no problem of grating lobes or broadside null
in the radiation pattern.
A comparison with respect to size among previous
reported antennas with our proposed antenna has been tabu-
lated in Table 1. In Table 1, the kg corresponds to the lowest
FIGURE 4 Simulated Z11 on Smith chart
ET AL.
F I G U R E 5 Electric field distribution at fL 5 2.44 GHz. [Color figure
can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
operating frequency, which is 1.72 GHz for the proposed
antenna. This reflects that the proposed antenna is of smallest
size that could be easily incorporated in mobile handheld
devices.
3 | SURFACE CURRENT ANALYSIS
In this section, we introduce the surface current distribution
on the patch of the proposed structure to obtain approximate
expressions for fL and fU in a physics based approach. The
surface current distribution at fL 5 2.44 GHz on the patch is
shown in Figure 7A. The resonance occurs when the total
path length of the current equal to k/2. Here, X and Y are
defined in terms of antenna parameters as
X5ls =4 (1)
Y5 L=22gs =22a=2 (2)
F I G U R E 6 Electric field distribution at fU 5 3.5 GHz. [Color figure
can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
VARMA ET AL.
| 2177

T A BL E 1 Comparisons of compactness of size of the proposed kL =2523ðX1Y Þ; (3)

antenna with the ones reported in Refs. [2–8]
which gives
References Antenna size % Reduction c
fL 5 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi (4)
[2] 0.24kg 3 0.40 kg 50 4ðX1Y Þ Eeff

[3] 0.26 kg 3 0.36kg 48.7 where c is the velocity of light in free space and Eeff is the
effective dielectric constant.
[4] 0.36kg 3 0.45kg 70.3
The surface current distribution on the patch is shown in
[5] 0.36kg 3 0.24kg 44.4 Figure 7B at fU 5 3.5 GHz. The following terms are defined
in terms of antenna parameters to describe surface current
[6] 0.29kg 3 0.36kg 54
path length (see Figure 7B)
[7] 0.30kg 3 0.41kg 60.9
C53W=4123ws (5)
[8] 0.37kg 3 0.42kg 69.1
D5ðL=22gs =22a=2Þ=4 (6)
Proposed 0.32kg 3 0.15kg – E5W=22ls =21ws =2 (7)
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
F5 D2 1E 2 (8)
As per Figure 7A, the total current path is double of
ðX1Y ) for the proposed antenna. Therefore, at resonance The total current path is ðC12F ) and for resonance
condition, condition,

FIGURE 7 Surface current distribution (A) at fL 5 2.44 GHz; (B) at fU 5 3.5 GHz. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]

T A BL E 2 Percentage error in prediction of fL and fU

CST simulations Formulae

Slot parameters (mm) fL (GHz) fU (GHz) fL (GHz) fU (GHz) %error in fL %error in fU

gs 5 15, ls 5 15, ws 5 1 2.6 3.92 2.7 4 3.8 2.04

gs 5 9, ls 5 13, ws 5 1.2 2.42 3.53 2.32 3.48 4.13 1.41

gs 5 13, ls 5 13, ws 5 1 2.69 3.77 2.64 3.71 1.85 1.59

gs 5 15, ls 5 12, ws 5 1 3.05 3.71 2.91 3.65 4.59 1.61

gs 5 2, ls 5 15, ws 5 1 1.85 3.29 1.84 3.44 0.5 4.55

2178 | VARMA
FIGURE 8 Parametric study for gs with fixed ws 5 1.5 mm,
ls 5 7.75 mm. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
kU =25ðC12F Þ
Hence, fU is given by
c studies patch length, patch width and feed position are
fU 5 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2ðC12F Þ Eeff
Equations (4) and (10) are the two closed form expres-
sions to calculate fL and fU. We compute fL and fU for differ-
ent slot parameters using (4) and (10). Table 2 shows the
percentage error between the resonant frequencies, predicted
by formulae and the same, simulated by CST. In this study,
parameters like L, W, Lg, Wg, Dx, Dy, Er are kept constant.
Evidently, prediction accuracy is quiet high as the maximum
error is 4.59%.
4 | PARAMETRIC STUDY
In the parametric study, the slot parameters i.e. slot
length (ls), slot width (ws), and gap spacing (gs) are
F I G U R E 9 Parametric study for ws with fixed gs 5 4 mm,
ls 5 7.75 mm. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
ET AL.
F I G U R E 1 0 Parametric study for ls with fixed ws 5 1 mm,
gs 5 9 mm. [Color figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
(9)
varied one by one keeping the others constant as given in
Figure 1, which results in a wide tunable range from 1.72
to 4.1 GHz of the dual band antenna. In all parametric
(10)
kept fixed at the values shown in Figure 1. From Figure
8, it is seen that with increase in gs, both fL and fU
increases. Figure 9 shows simulated |S11| for different ws
and it is seen that with increase in slot width, fL remains
constant while fU decreases. Also, it is found that with
increase in ls, fL decreases while fU increases as shown in
Figure 10. Therefore one can independently choose fL
(in the range 1.72–3.31 GHz) and fU (in the range 2.97–
4.1 GHz) by appropriately choosing the design parame-
ters like ls, ws, and gs. It is worth to mention that these
parametric studies are in line with the proposed equations
for fL and fU.
5 | RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
A prototype is fabricated and measurements are carried
out. |S11| is measured using Vector Network Analyzer
(Agilent N5222A). Figure 3 shows measured and CST
simulated |S11| plot and it is seen that they slightly differ
with each other. It may be due to irregularity in fabrication.
The radiation pattern is measured in a semi-anechoic cham-
ber. The corresponding gains are 2.96 and 7.04 dBi, at
2.44 and 3.5 GHz, respectively. The simulated efficiency is
95% at 2.44 GHz and 99% at 3.5 GHz. The measured
radiation characteristics of the proposed antenna at the two
resonant frequencies for XƵ - plane and YƵ - plane are
shown in Figure 11. It is found that both the resonant
modes have similar broadside radiation characteristics with
some back lobes due to finite ground plane size, at both
the bands.
VARMA ET AL.
FIGURE 11 Measured radiation pattern (A) XƵ plane at fL 5 2.44 GHz at fU 5 3.5 GHz; (B) YƵ plane at fL 5 2.44 GHz at fU 5 3.5 GHz
6 | CONCLUSION
In this letter, a double U-slot loaded, compact MSA for wire-
less handheld devices has been proposed. As the proposed
antenna works at the two fundamental modes TMƵ10
and TMƵ01 , consequently there is no problem of grating lobes
or broadside null. Besides compactness, owing to the effect
of slot loading, two degrees of freedom, that provides the
much needed flexibility to control both the frequencies inde-
pendently, is achieved. This antenna can operate in the GSM
(1800–1900 MHz), DCS (1710–1880 MHz), PCS (1880–
1990 MHz), UMTS (1920–2170 MHz), LTE2300 (2300–
2400 MHz), WiFi (2400–2480 MHz), WiMAX (3467–3521
MHz), etc. bands by appropriately choosing the slot parame-
ters. By analysing the surface current distribution on the
patch, approximate expressions for fL and fU are derived.
Parametric studies of the slots’ dimensions are carried out.
Interestingly, the observations of the parametric study could
be easily explained by the equations of fL and fU for the pro-
posed class of structures. The broadside radiation characteris-
tics are achieved at both the frequencies. Finally, a prototype
[10] Weigand S, Huff GH, Pan KH, Bernhard JT. Analysis and
is fabricated. The measured results are found to be in good
agreement with the simulation results. This work can be fur-
ther extended to improve the bandwidth and to study the
effect of different substrates.
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How to cite this article: Varma R, Ghosh J, Bhatta-
charya R. A compact dual frequency double U-slot rec-
tangular microstrip patch antenna for WiFi/WiMAX.
Microw Opt Technol Lett. 2017;59:2174–2179. https://
doi.org/10.1002/mop.30705