ators. These behaviors agree well with the parametric analysis 5. J.-I. Moon and S.-O.
on and S.-O. Park, Small chip antenna for 2.4/5.8-GHz Dual
discussed in the previous paragraphs.
3. RESULTS
The designed antenna was fabricated and experimentally studied.
The performance of the antenna was measured with an 8719ES
vector network analyzer and a far-field measurement system. Fig-
ure 9 compares the measured and simulated return loss character-
istics of the proposed antenna. A good agreement is observed
between the simulated and the measured results. Four resonant
frequencies were obtained at 0.93 GHz, 1.88 GHz, 3.43 GHz, and
5.2 GHz with bandwidths of 13.9%, 11.7%, 13.1%, and 6.1%,
respectively. The bandwidths adequately cover the four desired
frequency bands. The measured radiation patterns are shown in
Figure 10 at 0.93, 1.88, 3.43, and 5.2 GHz. The radiation patterns
in the y-z plane were nearly omni-directional at the four frequen-
cies, and those in the x-z plane were monopole-like. In some
angular regions, the crosspolarization component was stronger
than the copolarization field. However, as the crosspolarization
component compensated for the copolarization field, the total field
became uniform [14]. The measured peak gains for the antenna
were ⫺0.87 dBi, ⫺0.52 dBi, 0.21 dBi, and ⫺0.75 dBi in the
GSM900, DCS1900, WiMAX, and WLAN bands, respectively.
The antenna gains were lower than that of stand-alone slot anten-
nas [15, 16] because of the Ohmic losses of the termination
resistance used for Radiator 2.
4. CONCLUSION
In this article, we proposed a multiband slot antenna. The proposed
antenna was designed to cover the GSM900, DCS 1900, WiMAX,
and 5.2 GHz WLAN frequency bands simultaneously. The antenna
has a simple structure and is easy to fabricate on a substrate. To
achieve multiband operation, two parasitic radiators are used. One
has the same shape as the main radiator and is terminated with a 50
⍀ load for operating in the GSM900, DCS 1900, and WiMAX
bands, and another parasitic radiator with a circular shape is placed
between the two hook-shaped radiators to create an additional
resonance at the 5.2 GHz WLAN band. The results show that by
controlling the electromagnetic coupling among the three radia-
tors, quadruple-band operation can be achieved without increasing
the total dimension of an antenna. The surface current distribution
at each resonant frequency and the parametric analysis for various
design parameters were investigated.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by the MKE (Ministry of Knowledge
Economy), Korea, under the ITRC (Information Technology Re-
search Center) support program supervised by the IITA (Institute
of Information Technology Assessment) (IITA-2008-C1090-0801-
0019).
REFERENCES
1. X. Jing, Z. Du, and K. Gong, A compact multiband planar antenna for
mobile handsets, IEEE Antennas Wireless Propag Lett 5 (2006),
343–345.
2. Z.N. Chen and M.Y.W. Chia, Broadband planar inverted-L antennas,
IET Proc Microwaves Antennas Propag 148 (2001), 339 –342.
3. R.A. Bhatti and S.O. Park, Hepta-band internal antenna for personal
communication handsets, IEEE Trans Antennas Propag 55 (2007),
3398 –3403.
4. G. Augustin, P.C. Bybi, V.P. Sarin, P. Mohanan, C.K. Aanandan, and
K. Vasudevan, A compact dual-band planar antenna for DCS-1900/
PCS/PHS, WCDMA/IMT-2000, and WLAN applications, IEEE An-
tennas Wireless Propag Lett 7 (2008), 108 –111.
DOI 10.1002/mop MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2009
ISM-Band applications, IEEE Antennas Wireless Propag Lett 2
(2003), 313–315.
6. K.C. Hwang, A modified Sierpinski fractal antenna for multiband
application, IEEE Antennas Wireless Propag Lett 6 (2007), 357–360.
7. W.-G. Jang and J.-H Choi, Design of a wide and multiband aperture-
stacked patch antenna with reflector, Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49
(2007), 2822–2824.
8. S.C. Kim, S.H. Lee, and Y.-S. Kim, Multi-band monopole antenna
using meander structure for handheld terminals, Electron Lett 44
(2008), 331–332.
9. J.-S. Lee, H. Rhyu, and B. Lee, Design concept of multi-band antenna
with resonant circuit on PCB, Electron Lett 43 (2007), 5– 6.
10. G.K.H. Lui and R.D. Murch, Compact dual-frequency PIFA designs
using LC resonators, IEEE Trans Antennas Propag 49 (2001), 1016 –
1019.
11. W.-C. Liu, Design of a multiband CPW-fed monopole antenna using
a particle swarm optimization approach, IEEE Trans Antennas Propag
53 (2005), 3273–3279.
12. J.-S. Chen, Studies of CPW-fed equilateral triangular-ring slot anten-
nas and triangular-ring slot coupled patch antennas, IEEE Trans An-
tennas Propag 53 (2005), 2208 –2211.
13. Ansoft Corp. Ansoft High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS),
Ver. 11.0, Ansoft Corp., Pittsburgh, PA.
14. D.-U. Sim and S.-O. Park, A triple-band internal antenna: Design and
performance in presence of the handset case, battery, and human head,
IEEE Trans Electromagn Compat 47 (2005), 658 – 666.
15. J.-Y. Jan and C.-Y. Hsiang, Wideband CPW-fed slot antenna for DCS,
PCS, 3G and Bluetooth bands, Electron Lett 42 (2006), 1377–1378.
16. A.A. Omar, M.C. Scardelletti, Z.M. Hejazi, and N. Dib, Design and
measurement of self-matched dual-frequency coplanar waveguide-fed-
slot antennas, IEEE Trans Antennas Propag 55 (2007), 223–226.
© 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A COMPACT RECTANGULAR
DIELECTRIC RESONATOR ANTENNA
FOR UWB WIRELESS
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
Mohssin Aoutoul, Otman El-Mrabet, Mohamed Essaaidi, and
Ahmed El Moussaoui
Faculty of Science, Electronics and Microwaves Group, Abdelmalek
Essaadi University, Tetuan 93000, Morocco; Corresponding author:
essaaidi@gmail.com
Received 28 January 2009
ABSTRACT: A compact rectangular dielectric resonator antenna
(DRA) is presented for ultra wide band communication systems. Ansoft
HFSS 3D electromagnetic solver is used for the design optimization and
measurement results are also provided. The proposed antenna has a low
profile (⬃3), a small size, and a low permittivity constant (10.2). An
impedance bandwidth about 46% (from 6.9 to 11 GHz) was achieved
making this antenna suitable for UWB applications. © 2009 Wiley Peri-
odicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 2281–2286, 2009;
Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).
DOI 10.1002/mop.24623
Key words: ultra wideband (UWB); rectangular dielectric resonator
antenna (DRA); ansoft HFSS
1. INTRODUCTION
Dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) have received much attention
recently owing to many attractive features, such as high radiation
efficiency, considerable bandwidth, light weight, small size, and
2281
low profile. However, the relative bandwidth of a single DRA, 0
typically below 10%, can not meet the increasing demand for
wideband applications [i.e., Ultra wide band (UWB)]. To en-
hance the bandwidth of DRAs, many techniques have been -5
proposed, such as stacking multiple dielectric resonators (DRs)

Return Loss in dB
[1–3], using parasitic DR elements [4], and utilizing special DR
-10
geometries [5]. However, these techniques will increase the
antenna size and cost.
In this article, a compact ultra wide band rectangular DRA is -15
proposed using a simple DRA topology. This antenna is fed by a W S3 = 4 mm
stepped microstrip line. Although the main antenna structure is similar
-20 W S3 = 4,5 mm
to that reported in [6], which is less compact, the fundamental antenna
working principle, as detailed in section II, is different and allows to W S3 = 5 mm
have much wider bandwidth compared with the original design at the
-25
similar frequency band. 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency [GHz]
2. DESIGN APPROACH
This work aims to optimize the antenna given in [6] to have UWB Figure 2 The effect of WS3 before using the rectangular metallic layer
performances and compact size. This has been achieved through a
rectangular dielectric antenna printed on the widely used Rogers
RT/Duroid 3010 with dimensions 30 ⫻ 45 ⫻ 1.27 mm3 as shown middle of the DRA button with dimensions 3.9375 ⫻ 3.9375 ⫻
in Figure 1. 1.2 mm3 as shown in Figure 1. Therefore, the proposed antenna
The dimensions of this DRA (␧r ⫽ 10.2) are fixed at 10 ⫻ has a UWB performance (6.9 –11 GHz, with a fractional band-
10 ⫻ 2.5 mm3 and the dimensions of truncated ground plane are width of 46%) and a compact size, which allows it to be
30 ⫻ 25 mm2. The dimensions of the microstrip feed line are integrated in different UWB electronic systems, whereas the
W1 ⫽ 1.2 mm and 11 ⫽ 19 mm whereas the width and length antenna reported in [6] is a broadband antenna (8 –9 GHz) and
of the wide stripline are, respectively, W2 ⫽ 3 mm and 12 ⫽ 11 has a size of 90 ⫻ 90 mm2.
mm. There are three slots in the truncated ground plane beneath Furthermore, the key difference between these two antennas is
the stepped feed line with the following dimensions, respec- the fact that the ground plane has been removed beneath the
tively, WS1 ⫽ 1.2 mm, LS1 ⫽ 6 mm, WS2 ⫽ 3 mm, LS2 ⫽ 2 mm, proposed DRA, the fact that contributes considerably to its UWB
WS3 ⫽ 4 mm, and LS3 ⫽ 2 mm. A metallic layer is placed in the performance.

3. PARAMETRIC STUDIES
Every geometrical parameter has different effects on the overall
performances of the proposed antenna. In the following section,
the effects of three parameters of the proposed antenna shown in
Figure 1, namely, (i) the third slot width WS3; (ii) the DRA height;
and (iii) the metallic layer height will be investigated in depth
using Ansoft HFSS simulator [7].

3.1. Third Slot Width Effect

To explore the effects of the third slot width; the DRA antenna is
considered without the metallic layer. Figure 2 gives its return loss

-5

-10
Return Loss in dB

-15

-20

-25

-30 HRM = 1 mm
HRM = 1,2 mm
-35
HRM = 1,4 mm
-40
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Figure 1 The structure of the DRA under consideration: (a) 3D view, (b) Frequency [GHz]
bottom view illustrating the slots on the truncated ground plane, (c) side
view, and (d) top view Figure 3 The effect of the metallic layer height

2282 MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2009 DOI 10.1002/mop
 0 HDRA = 2.5 mm
HDRA = 3.3 mm
-5
HDRA = 4.1 mm
Return Loss in dB

-10

-15

-20

-25

-30

-35
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency in GHz

Figure 4 The effect of the HDRA

as a function of frequency for different third slot width values. From

this study, we find that the relative bandwidth is 31% spanning the
frequency band from 6.86 to 9.41 GHz when WS3 ⫽ 4 mm.

3.2. Metallic Layer Effect

To increase the bandwidth; a rectangular metallic layer is placed in the
middle of the DRA. After several optimization tests, we found that the
metallic layer length and width (LRM, WRM) have to satisfy the
following relationship WRM ⫽ LRM ⫽ W2 (1 ⫹ ⌬) to get a larger
bandwidth. The optimum value obtained for ⌬ is 0.3125. We have
also investigated this layer’s height effect (HRM). In Figure 3, the
return loss of the antenna is plotted considering a rectangular metallic
layer with WRM ⫽ LRM ⫽ 3.9375 mm and for different values of its
height (HRM). This figure shows that the studied DRAs lowest oper-
ating frequency remains unchanged; whereas the highest operating
frequency experiences an insignificant variation. Figure 6 Antenna structure: (a) top view, (b) bottom view, and (c) DRA
with metallic layer. [Color figure can be viewed in the online issue, which
3.3. DRA Height (HDRA) Effect is available at www.interscience.wiley.com]
In Figure 4, the return loss of the antenna is depicted as a function
of frequency with the DRA height HDRA as a parameter. Following
several optimization simulations, we found that HDRA must be
equal to 2.0833*HRM to enhance the bandwidth of this antenna.

0
0
Measurement
-5
-5 Simulated by HFSS
Simulated by HFSS
Return Loss in dB

-10
Return Loss In dB

-10
-15

-15 -20

-25
-20
-30

-25 -35
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency [GHz] Frequency in GHz

Figure 5 Return loss with optimum parameters Figure 7 Return loss of the fabricated antenna with HDRA ⫽ 2.5 mm

DOI 10.1002/mop MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2009 2283
 Figure 8 Radiation pattern at 7.23, 8.19, 9.17, and 10.44 GHz, H-Plane

Figure 9 Radiation pattern at 7.23, 8.19, 9.17, and 10.44 GHz at E-Plane, Phi ⫽ 0

2284 MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2009 DOI 10.1002/mop
 Figure 10 Radiation pattern at 7.23, 8.19, 9.17, and 10.44 GHz at E-Plane, Phi ⫽ 90

From this figure, we can see that the bandwidth upper frequency
increases when HDRA increases.
3.4. Optimum Structure
According to the above analyses; it is obvious that the rectangular
metallic layer is the most important parameter allowing to increase
the bandwidth of the proposed antenna (Figs. 2 and 3). The
optimum DRA parameters values obtained by simulations are:
HDRA ⫽ 3.3 mm, WRM ⫽ LRM ⫽ 3.9375 mm, HDRA ⫽
2.0833*HRM, WS3 ⫽ 5 mm. The dielectric constant value (␧r ⫽
10.2 for both DRA and substrate) is the same as the one used in
literature [6]. In Figure 5, the return loss with optimum antenna
parameters is depicted versus frequency using Ansoft HFSS. The
HFSS simulations’ results show that the relative bandwidth
achieved with optimum parameters is about 56% ranging from
6.78 GHz to 12.1 GHz.
ization and cross-polarization radiation patterns of the proposed
antenna in three principal planes at 7.23 GHz; 8.19 GHz; 9.17
GHz; and 10.44 GHz. In general, the simulated results are in good
agreement with measurement. The radiation pattern is seen to be
unstable over the operating band due to the presence of the
metallic layer inside the DRA, which results in high surface
current density. Figure 11 shows the antenna’s measured gain
versus frequency for different values of frequencies along the
operating frequency band. The radiated modes of the proposed
compact UWB DR antenna are similar to those of a conventional
rectangular DR antenna, given the fact that the metallic layer we
have embedded in the DR is small and perpendicular to the electric
field.

3.5. Measurement
A prototype of this antenna was fabricated with HDRA ⫽ 2.5 mm
(refer Fig. 6). Because of some fabrication constraints, we were
obliged to use HDRA ⫽ 2.5 mm. However, this value did not affect so
much the bandwidth of the proposed UWB DRA (refer Figs. 5 and 7).
Measurement results (refer Fig. 7) confirm those provided by HFSS
simulations and prove that this is an UWB antenna operating between
6.9 and 11 GHz. Furthermore, the agreement between these results is
excellent for the lower frequency and it is quite good for the upper
frequency which shows a discrepancy less than 0.5 GHz, while the
discrepancy in the behavior of the measured and simulated return loss
curves between these two frequencies does not affect the bandwidth
defined for the values of S11 below ⫺10 dB.
Figures 8–10 illustrate the simulated and measured co-polar- Figure 11 UWB DRA gain versus frequency

DOI 10.1002/mop MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2009 2285
4. CONCLUSION
In this article, a compact UWB dielectric resonator antenna has
been developed for ultra wideband communications. The introduc-
tion of the rectangular metallic layer in this antenna has allowed us
to achieve a 46% bandwidth (from 6.9 to 11 GHz). The proposed
antenna has a simple configuration and it is easy to fabricate. It
also satisfies the ⫺10 dB return loss requirement from 6.9 to 11
GHz which makes it suitable for DS-UWB high band applications
(i.e., from 6 to 10.1 GHz).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors of this article thank Prof. Ahmed Kishk from the
University of Mississippi and Prof. John Volakis from Ohio State
University for their invaluable help and support for the fabrication
and measurement of this antenna.
REFERENCES
1. A.A. Kishk, B. Ahn, and D. Kajfez, Broadband stacked dielectric
resonator antennas, Electron Lett 25 (1989), 1232–1233.
2. S.M. Shum and K.M. Luk, Stacked annular-ring dielectric resonator
antenna excited by axi-symmeric coaxial probe, IEEE Trans Antennas
Propag 43 (1995), 889 – 892.
3. A. Petosa, N. Simons, R. Siushansian, A. Ittipiboon, and M. Cuhaci,
Design and analysis of multisegment dielectric resonator antennas,
IEEE Trans Antennas Propag 48 (2000), 738 –742.
4. R.N. Simons and R.Q. Lee, Effect of parasitic dielectric resonators on
CPW/aperture-coupled dielectric resonator antennas, Proc Inst Elect
Eng 140 (1993), 336 –338.
5. A.A. Kishk, Y. Yan, and A.W. Gilson, Conical dielectric resonator
antennas for wide-band applications, IEEE Trans Antennas Propag 50
(2002), 469 – 474.
6. M. Saed and R. Yadla, Microstrip-fed low profile and compact dielec-
tric resonator antenna, Prog Electromag Res PIER 56 (2006), 151–162.
7. Ansoft Corp., Pittsburgh, PA 15219.
© 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SMALL ELECTRICAL ANTENNA FOR
SAW SENSOR BIOTELEMETRY
Gwladys Collin, Ali Chami, Cyril Luxey, Philippe Le Thuc, and
Robert Staraj
Laboratoire d’Electronique, Antennes et Télécommunications,
Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis/UMR-CNRS, Bât.4, 250, rue
Albert Einstein, 06560 Valbonne, France; Corresponding author:
gwladys.collin@unice.fr
Received 28 January 2009
ABSTRACT: A spiral antenna matched to a SAW sensor for blood
pressure and body temperature monitoring is proposed. As the antenna/
SAW device is dedicated to be implanted in a human body, a small an-
tenna with omnidirectional pattern is required. The proposed structure
has a total area of 4 ⫻ 2.5 mm2 and a 1.1 mm height. To take into ac-
count the human body effect, we use a homogenous phantom with a di-
electric permittivity of 52 and a conductivity of 1.74 S/m. The ⫺10 dB
impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 66% from 2.22 to 3.83
GHz; moreover, a quasi-isotropic radiation pattern is achieved. © 2009
Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 51: 2286 –2293,
2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.
com). DOI 10.1002/mop.24622
Key words: spiral antenna; phantom; passive implanted medical de-
vice; SAW sensor
2286 MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS / Vol. 51, No. 10, October 2009
1. INTRODUCTION
Because of the many challenges such as patient well-being, im-
plantable devices are gaining popularity in medical applications
[1,2]. Two particular domains of interest are temperature and
blood pressure measurements inside a human body [3]. Most of the
proposed implanted devices contain a sensor associated to trans-
ceiver unit often powered by small batteries. However, such an
operating mode is not particularly suitable for a long-life implan-
tation because the sensor is inaccessible and its life-time is limited.
Some years ago, the use of passive SAW components for
remote sensing was demonstrated [4], especially for temperature
and pressure measurements but also for their possibility to be
wirelessly interrogated [5,6] and for their totally passive technol-
ogy. For example, a system to determine the body temperature of
a dog has been presented in [7].
A fairly good implanted antenna is important for measurement
accuracy and the total budget link which relies on the matching
between the antenna and the sensor.
Because of communication through the human body, the elec-
tromagnetic waves experience multiple reflections and are there-
fore strongly attenuated. In addition, the gain of the antenna is
always severely degraded. Consequently, there is a growing inter-
est in miniaturization of implanted antennas in dissipative media
and optimization of their performance. Most of the proposed
antennas have been studied for the Medical Implant Communica-
tions Service (MICS) in the 402– 405 MHz frequency band
[8 –11]. Recently, Warty et al. [12] demonstrated the possibility to
monitor the intracranial pressure in a skull with an implanted 4 ⫻
5 mm2 Planar Inverted-F Antenna (PIFA) operating at 2.45 GHz.
Yu et al. presented in [13] a 10-mm diameter microstrip antenna
based on the short pin technique at 2.45 GHz. In Ref. 14, Kara-
colak et al. optimized a 22.5 mm by 22.5 mm dual-band spiral
antenna for the 400-MHz MICS and the 2.45-GHz Industrial
Scientific Medical (ISM) frequency bands. All the proposed struc-
tures are interesting in terms of gain or their dual-band behavior.
However, their sizes are not necessarily suitable for a realistic
implantation in the human body and their radiation patterns are not
always omnidirectional.
In this article, the proposed antenna is a 2.5 mm by 4 mm spiral
antenna optimized for the 2.45-GHz ISM frequency band. This
antenna will be implanted inside a human body close to the heart.
The choice of such antenna over other radiating structures is also
conditioned to its ability to radiate quasi-omnidirectionally due to
the fact that any prior knowledge of the orientation of the inter-
rogating unit regarding the patient is known.
2. WIRELESS SYSTEM AND IMPLANTED STRUCTURE
The wireless system is composed of an interrogator unit located
outside the human body (represented by a square box in Fig. 1) and
an implanted device made up of the association of two SAW
sensors and two antennas.
A SAW sensor is composed of an InterDigital Transducer
(IDT) and some reflectors placed onto a piezoelectric substrate.
Such devices use the piezoelectric effect to convert an incoming
electromagnetic wave into a mechanical wave. Changes in tem-
perature or pressure modify the elastic constant of the piezoelectric
substrates which induces a modification of the velocity of the
mechanical wave propagation. There are two different types of
SAW sensors that allow the determination of different physical
quantities: resonator sensors and delay line sensors. SAW resona-
tor technology is used in this work.
A resonator can be modeled by a Butterworth–Van Dyke
equivalent circuit. In this model, the circuit is composed of two
DOI 10.1002/mop