ISSN 1064-2269, Journal of Communications Technology and Electronics, 2020, Vol. 65, No. 10, pp. 1147–1160.

© Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2020.

ANTENNA AND FEEDER

SYSTEMS

Design and Analysis of a Compact Dual-Band

Serpentine-Shaped Patch Antenna with Folded Stub Lines
for C- and X-Band Applications
K. Viswanadhaa and N. S. Raghavaa, *
aDepartment of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Delhi Technological University,
Shahbad Daulatpur, Delhi, 110042 India
*e-mail: nsraghava@dce.ac.in
Received October 3, 2019; revised May 28, 2020; accepted June 1, 2020

Abstract—Antenna miniaturization plays an important role in modern wireless communication and has got
some serious limitations. Gain and bandwidth degradations are two vital limitations in miniaturized anten-
nas. Another problem faced by small antennas is efficiency degradation. This paper presents a compact dual-
band serpentine-shaped antenna with folded stub lines having a total volume of 10 × 13 × 1.524 mm3 and
mounted on the partial ground plane with the dimensions of 10 × 6.5 × 0.035 mm3. A size reduction of 82%
(including ground plane) is achieved compared to the conventional square patch antenna working at
6.8 GHz. The proposed antenna is linearly polarized. The antenna is fed with a 50-ohm microstrip line. The
radiating element of the proposed antenna is connected to quarter-wavelength folded stub lines. The mea-
sured by –10 dB level impedance bandwidths of the proposed antenna are 660.6 MHz (6.6–7.26 GHz) and
1.52 GHz (8.84–10.36 GHz) which covers C- band (4–8 GHz) and X-band (8 ~ 12 GHz) applications. Mea-
sured gains of 3.2, 5.41 and 5.56 dBi along with the measured efficiencies of 82.1, 86.3, and 88.1% are
obtained at 6.8, 9.51, and 9.89 GHz respectively. The radiation patterns of the proposed antenna are found to
be unidirectional in all the planes at 6.8 GHz, uni-directional in E-plane and omni-directional in H-plane at
9.51 GHz and uni-directional in all the planes at 9.89 GHz. All the measured and simulated results are in
good agreement.

DOI: 10.1134/S106422692010006X

1. INTRODUCTION these papers. A microstrip line-fed multiband patch

Miniaturization of patch antennas is necessary in
the modern wireless communications as the integra-
tion is shifting towards ultra-small side. Design of
compact wideband antennas for portable wireless
communication systems is quite a challenging task
because it has to satisfy requirements like wide band-
width, omnidirectional radiation pattern, constant
gain, high radiation efficiency, compact size, less
weight and ease of fabrication. Miniaturization is usu-
ally achieved with the degradation in the gain and effi-
ciency. It is always a challenging task to achieve high
gain, bandwidth and efficiency along with the minia-
turization at the lower part of Super High Frequency
range (6–11 GHz). Bandwidth plays an important role
in the high data communications like WiMAX,
WLAN and 5G communications. The antennas used
in these applications should be light, low volume and
possess more features like handling high data rates,
and high SNR [1].
A various miniaturized patch antenna [2–30]
working in S, C and X-bands with different shapes for
size reduction, gain and bandwidth are reported in
antenna having a total volume of 25 × 37 × 1.575 mm3
is proposed in [2]. The proposed antenna in [2] covers
three frequency bands from 3.2–3.4, 6.57–6.8, and
7.24–7.57 GHz respectively. A 28.8 × 28.8 × 0.8 mm3
slot embedded dual band and dual polarization patch
antenna is proposed in [3]. The proposed antenna
consists of two parallel slots close to each other. The
antenna works in X- and Ku bands with the gains of 6
and 5.8 dBi respectively. A 40 × 40 × 1.6 mm3 patch
antenna working at 4.2, 5.3, 6.8, 7.1, 9.1 and 10.2 GHz
is proposed in [4]. The proposed antenna in [4] pos-
sesses bandwidths of (4.1–4.3 GHz), (5.21–
5.43 GHz), (6.55–7.25 GHz), (7.02–7.15 GHz),
(9.07–9.15 GHz) and (10.02–10.5 GHz). This pos-
sesses gains of 0.25 dB, 0.43 dB, 2.73 dB, 1.98 dB, 1.77
and 1.63 dB at 4.2, 5.3, 6.8, 7.1, 9.1, and 10.2 GHz
respectively. A 20 × 15 × 1.5 mm3 rectangular slotted
patch antenna working between 5–6 GHz with partial
ground is proposed in [5]. The antenna in [5] pos-
sesses gain and bandwidth of 2.78 dBi and 6.21 GHz.
A 16 × 18 × 1.6 mm3 patch antenna is proposed in [6].
The antenna resonates at 7.47, 8.95, and 11.01 GHz

1147
1148 VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA
with the gains of 5.36, 4.65, and 4.45 dBi respectively.
Further, the antenna in [6] possesses bandwidth of
400 MHz at 7.47 GHz, and 790 MHz at 11.01 GHz
respectively. A 32 × 32 × 1.6 mm3 rectangular slotted
patch antenna resonating at 9 GHz is proposed in [7].
The antenna in [7] possesses a circular slot on the
ground. The antenna in [7] further possesses the
impedance bandwidth up to 2.56 GHz (8.2–
10.76 GHz). Further, the patch has a gain of 6.51 dB.
A 59.01 × 50.95 × 1.6 mm3 quad stair case patch
antenna resonating at 2.44, 5.53, 7.79, and 9.39 GHz
is proposed in [8]. Minimum gain of 6.05 dBi and
maximum gain of 9.98 dBi is obtained in [8]. A 14.3 ×
14.3 × 2 mm3 circular patch antenna resonating at
8.966, 14.44, and 18.97 GHz is proposed in [9]. The
proposed antenna in [9] possesses gain and efficiency
of 6.32 dB and 80.9% respectively. An 18.21 × 25.6 ×
1.6 mm3 patch antenna resonating at 9.18 and
10.81 GHz is proposed in [10]. The patch antenna
possesses the gains of 1.42 and 2.083 dBi at these fre-
quencies. Further, the proposed patch in [10] has the
bandwidths of 540 MHz and 1.6 GHz at 9.18 and
10.81 GHz respectively. A 40 × 28 × 1.6 mm3 rectan-
gular grid type patch antenna resonating at 3.6, 4.1, 8,
and 9.5 GHz is proposed in [11]. The antenna in [11]
possesses a gain of 3.5 dBi at 8 GHz. In [12], a 30 × 30 ×
1.6 mm3 resonating at 9.5 GHz is proposed. The pro-
posed patch in [12] has a gain of 4.22 dBi and effi-
ciency of 79.7%. In [13], a 35 × 30 × 1.6 mm3 stacked
microstrip patch antenna for X-band communications
is proposed. The patch in [13] possesses a bandwidth
of 2.1 GHz and a gain of 7.62 dBi. In [14], an 18 ×
34.5 × 0.8 mm3 multiband antenna for WLAN and
X-band satellite communications is proposed. The
proposed antenna consists of two arc-shaped strips,
dual inverted L-shaped parasitic stubs, and a partial
ground plane. The proposed patch antenna possesses
peak gains of 1.75, 2.65, and 3.36 dBi at 2.45, 5.5, and
7.5 GHz respectively. Many structures like Defective
Ground (DGS), Electromagnetic Bandgap (EBG),
metamaterials (MTMs) and stacked structures are
proposed to achieve miniaturization and improve the
efficiency of the microstrip patch antenna at low fre-
quencies. Electromagnetic Bandgap structures (EBG)
are periodically etched slots on ground plane or peri-
odic pattern of metallic patches on dielectric substrate
to block electromagnetic waves of undesired frequency
bands. In [15], a 31.34 × 28.33 × 1.6 mm3 fan shaped
triple band microstrip patch antenna with DGS for
X-band applications is proposed. The patch antenna
possesses gain ranging from 1.1 dBi to 3.32 dBi at 9.93,
10.81, and 11.86 GHz. In [16], a 20 × 20 × 0.2 mm3
C-shaped pair metamaterial loaded patch antenna
resonating at 7.5 GHz is proposed. The proposed
antenna in [16] possesses stacked antennas with EBG
ground to improve the efficiency, gain and bandwidth.
A peak gain of 6.25 dB is obtained at 7.5 GHz. A 15 ×
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS
20 × 1.6 mm3 triple band patch antenna resonating at
2.4, 5.63, 5.8, and 9.43 GHz is proposed in [17]. Band-
widths of the proposed antenna in [17] are 0.12, 1.31,
and 0.9 GHz. Peak gain and efficiency of 3.02 dB and
75.5% are obtained in [17]. A 20 × 17.2 × 1.6 mm3
inverting ‘S’ shaped patch antenna for X-band appli-
cations is proposed in [18]. The antenna in [18] pos-
sesses peak gain of 4.45 dBi and bandwidths of 450,
1010, and 450 MHz at 8.95, 11.05, and 11.85 GHz
respectively. A 40 × 40 × 1.6 mm3 patch antenna for
X-band applications is proposed in [19]. Antenna in
[19] possesses a peak gain of 4.31 dBi and impedance
bandwidth of 1.59 GHz along with the stable effi-
ciency of 78.1% over the entire band of operation. A
38 × 30 × 1.575 mm3 patch antenna resonating at 8.25
and 9.95 GHz is proposed in [20]. A peak gain of
4.24 dBi along with the bandwidths of 1030 MHz
(9.16–10.19 GHz) and 1028 MHz (9.034–10.62 GHz)
are obtained in [20]. A 33.1 × 16.8 × 1.57 mm3 patch
antenna resonating at 8.2 GHz and having impedance
bandwidth of 500 MHz ((7.9–8.4 GHz) is proposed in
[21]. The patch antenna in [21] possesses a peak gain
of 8.57 dBi. A 35.5 × 55 × 1.6 mm3 multi-band patch
antenna resonating at 4.30, 5.51, 6.42, 8.55, 9.55,
11.47, and 12.58 GHz is proposed in [22]. The antenna
in [22] possesses a peak gain of 6.5 dBi and maximum
impedance bandwidth of 0.85 GHz is obtained in the
band of 4.3 GHz ~ 12.58 GHz. A 25 × 25 × 1.6 mm3
Canadian leaf shaped patch antenna working at C-
and X-bands is proposed in [23].The proposed patch
antenna in [23] resonates at 5.21, 10.17, and 9.45 GHz
having peak gain of 4.5 dBi. A 40 × 40 × 1.575 mm3
Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) loaded patch
antenna for X-band applications is proposed in [24].
The antenna in [24] possesses gain of 9.7 dBi at
10 GHz along with the impedance bandwidth of
250 MHz. A 27.31 × 37.4 × 1.58 mm3 circular slot
loaded rectangular patch antenna without central slot
working at S-and X-bands is proposed in [25]. The
antenna in [25] resonates at 3.9, 8.8, and 8.9 GHz with
peak gain of 8.15 dBi. A 52 × 64.5 × 1.6 mm3 patch
antenna working in S-, C- and X-bands is proposed in
[26]. The proposed antenna in [26] resonates at 3.7,
7.5, and 11.84 with the peak gain and impedance
bandwidth of 9.773 dBi and 25.6 MHz respectively. A
40.29 × 35.1 × 0.78 mm3 patch antenna for OFDM
based RFID application is proposed in [27]. The pro-
posed patch in [27] resonates at 7.75, 9.72, and
11.93 GHz with the gains and impedance bandwidths
of 5.793, 6.674, 3.882 dB, 0.185, 0.177, and 0.587 GHz
respectively. A 22.5 × 24.6 × 2 mm3 labyrinth Split
Ring Resonator (SRR) metamaterial loaded patch
antenna proposed in [28]. The antenna in [28] reso-
nates at 8.5, 17.7, 20.7, and 23.7 GHz having the peak
gain of 9.6 dBi. A 30 × 35 × 1.6 mm3 multiband recon-
figurable fractal slot antenna for GPS/GNSS/Blue-
tooth/WiMAX/X-band applications is proposed in
Vol. 65 No. 10 2020
 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DUAL-BAND SERPENTINE-SHAPED… 1149

l5
RO-4003C
l4 w4
w5
Copper
l3 w3
w2 l2 l6 Copper
w6
l1
w1
y
l0
w0 l7
Lg
w7
l w x

Wg

Fig. 1. Structure of the proposed serpentine shaped patch antenna with folded stub lines.

[29]. The antenna in [29] is embedded with PIN diode 2. ANTENNA DESIGN
in conjunction with Complementary Split Ring Reso-
The structure of the proposed stub lines loaded ser-
nator (CSRR) to achieve reconfigurability and thus
pentine shaped patch antenna is shown in Fig. 1. The
making the antenna to exhibit switchable radiations at antenna is printed on one side of a RO-4003C with
1.91–2.34 GHz (BW = 20.73%) Bluetooth, 3.72– thickness of 1.524 mm, relative permittivity of 3.38
3.89 GHz (BW = 4.46%) middle WiMAX, 4.92– and loss tangent of 0.027. Initially, a serpentine shaped
5.33 GHz (BW = 8.0%) upper WiMAX and 10.16– patch is excited by a 50 Ω line having length l and width
10.70 GHz (BW = 5.1%) X-band. The antenna in [29] w. The impedance bandwidth obtained with this con-
possesses a peak gain of 5.36 dBi. A 39.8 × 22.28 × figuration is large. To further increase the impedance
1.57 mm3 SIW Cavity-Backed Circularly Polarized bandwidth, the serpentine patch is connected to a bent
Square Ring Slot antenna is proposed in [30]. The stub-line resonating at 6.82 GHz. Finally, a strip line
antenna in [30] possesses axial ratio bandwidth of resonating at 10.1 GHz is connected to the bent stub-
789 MHz (10.64–11.45 GHz) and impedance band- line makes the proposed antenna. The bent stub-line
width of 1.74 GHz (9.92 –11.67 GHz) with the peak along with the strip together makes folded stub lines.
gain of 5.1 dBic. When the folded stub lines are connected to the serpen-
tine patch, the required efficiency is achieved. When the
The compact dual band serpentine shaped patch proposed patch antenna is mounted on the partial
antenna with folded stub lines proposed in this paper ground plane having the dimensions of 10 × 6.5 ×
is for C- and X-band communications. In this paper, 0.035 mm3, the required wide bandwidth is achieved.
efforts are made to miniaturize the patch antenna at The detailed dimensions of the proposed patch
Super High Frequency range (6–11 GHz) and achieve antenna are given in Table 1.
high gain and efficiency at the frequencies of opera-
tion. The serpentine section is attached with a quarter
length folded stubs to enhance its performance param- Table 1. Detailed dimensions of the proposed antenna
eters. The proposed patch antenna possesses imped- Parameter l w l0 w0 l1
ance bandwidths of 660.6 MHz and 1.6 GHz and mea-
sured gains of 3.2 dBi, 5.41 and 5.56 dBi at 6.8, 9.61, Value, mm 3.5 2 1.5 8 2.75
and 10.03 GHz respectively. The antenna possesses
efficiencies of 82.1, 86.3, and 88.1% at 6.8, 9.61, and Parameter w1 l2 w2 l3 w3
10.03 GHz respectively. The antenna’s performance Value, mm 2 2.5 2 1 2
was simulated using CST Microwave Studio. The
equivalent circuit model of the proposed patch is Parameter Lg Wg w5 l6 w6
designed by extracting values of the lumped elements
Value, mm 6.5 10 2 6.5 1.5
from impedance curves in CST. The parametric anal-
ysis is also carried out in the coming sections and the Parameter l4 w4 l5 l7 w7
effect of antenna’s key parameters on its performance
is analysed. Value, mm 4.25 6.5 1.5 4.5 3.5

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

1150 VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA

Evolution stage#1 Evolution stage#2 Proposed antenna

Fig. 2. Evolution stages of the proposed antenna.

The resonant frequency of the stub-line portion f1 Mathematically, the frequency f1 at which bent
is given by: stub-line portion resonates is obtained as 6.96 GHz
and a dip is observed at 6.82 GHz in the simulated
f1 = c , (1) result of the return loss of the proposed patch antenna.
4l6 εeff The difference in the mathematical and simulated
results is due to the non-consideration of the dielectric
where c is the velocity of the light, l6 is the length of the and conductor losses.
stub portion and εeff is the effective dielectric constant
given by: Similarly, the resonant frequency f2 of the serpen-
tine section is given by:
 
c
ε r   + 1  ε r   − 1  1  f2 = . (3)
εeff =  +  , (2) 2(l0 + l1 + l3 + l4 ) εeff
2  2  12h
1+ Mathematically, the frequency at which serpentine
 w 
portion resonates is obtained as 9.61 GHz and a dip is
where εr is the relative dielectric constant, h is the observed at 9.6 GHz in the simulated result of the
thickness of the dielectric and w is the width of the feed return loss of the proposed patch antenna.
line. The frequency of the strip line is given by:

f3 = c . (4)
0 4l7 εeff
Mathematically, the frequency at which strip line por-
10 tion resonates is obtained as 10.1 GHz and a dip is
observed at 10.03 GHz in the simulated result of the
Return loss, dB

20 return loss of the proposed patch antenna. The slight

difference in the mathematical and the simulated val-
ues is due to the mutual coupling between the strip line
30 l7 and the bent stub line l6 .
Figure 2 shows the different stages in the evolution
40 of the proposed antenna and the corresponding simu-
lated return losses are shown in Fig. 3. The antenna
presented in stage 1 of Fig. 2 is a basic serpentine
50 shaped patch antenna resonating at 9.65 GHz as
0 3 6 9 12
shown in thick black dashed curve. The impedance
Frequency, GHz
bandwidth (S11< –10 dB) of 763 MHz is observed in
Evolution Proposed
stage#1 patch
the frequency range of (9.27–10.03 GHz).
antenna When a bent stub-line resonating at 6.82 GHz is
Evolution added to the serpentine patch antenna in stage 1, the
stage#2 patch resonates at 6.52 and 9.58 GHz as shown in
Fig. 3 (represented in thick black solid curve). The
Fig. 3. Simulated return losses of the evolution stages. impedance bandwidths in these ranges are 150 and

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DUAL-BAND SERPENTINE-SHAPED… 1151

200 This means that the impedance matching occurs at the

desired resonating frequencies. The simulated values
of the imaginary part of the input impedance(shown
150 in black solid curve) are nearly crossing zero in the fre-
quency ranges 6.6–7.2 and 8.8–10.4 GHz respec-
tively. The measured values of the real and imaginary
parts (shown in thin black and thick black dotted
100
curves) of the input impedance in Fig. 5 are in good
Ohms

agreement with the simulated values in Fig. 4. The val-

50
0 3 6 9
Frequency, GHz
–50
Real part of impedance in CST
Imaginary part of impedance in
CST
Fig. 4. Simulated input impedance plots of the proposed
patch antenna.
352 MHz. Further, a strip line resonating at 10.1 GHz
is added to the bent stub line to make the patch
antenna resonate at 6.8, 9.6, and 10.03 GHz with the
impedance bandwidths 662 MHz and 1.6 GHz respec-
tively as shown in Fig. 3. (represented in thick black
dotted curve). Each of the three sharp dips in the curve
can be considered to represent a resonance frequency.
In Fig. 4 the variation of the input impedance with fre-
quency is shown, where the input impedance is simu-
lated in CST and measured. It can be seen that the
simulated values of real part of the input impedance
(shown in black dashed curve) are around 50 Ω in the
frequency ranges 6.6–7.2 GHz and 8.8–10.4 GHz.
ues of resistors, capacitors and inductors in Fig. 6 are
extracted from the real and imaginary input imped-
ance curves in CST in Fig. 4. Real part of impedance
of the equivalent circuit is close to 50 Ω in the fre-
quency ranges 6.6–7.2 and 8.8–10.4 GHz (as shown
12 in thin black curve). The imaginary parts of the equiv-
alent circuit model are close to zero in desired fre-
quency ranges (as shown in thick black dashed curve).
The result yielded by equivalent circuit model
designed in ADS and the CST simulation result are in
good agreement.
Figure 6 shows the lumped element equivalent of
the proposed patch antenna. The inductances and
capacitance (L3, L4, C4) corresponds to the serpentine
section. The resistance, inductance and capacitances
(R2, L5, C5, C7) correspond to the bent stub-line sec-
tion and inductances, capacitances and resistance
(L1, C1, R1, L2, C2, C3) correspond to the feed line sec-
tion. Capacitance C6 represents the gap capacitance
between the serpentine section and the bent stub- line.
The section (L6, R3, C8) corresponds to the strip line.
Figure 7 represents the return loss plot of the lumped
element equivalent circuit as shown in Fig. 6.
The circuit exhibits resonance at 6.72, 9.61, and
10.05 GHz. Impedance bandwidths of 659.1 MHz and
1.61 GHz are observed in the frequency ranges of
6.58–7.24 and 8.8–10.04 GHz. The circuit is opti-
mized using the Agilent ADS schematic tuner to
match the simulated return loss curve in CST.

150
Real part of impedance of the
equivalent circuit in ADS

100
Imaginary part of impedance of the
equivalent in ADS

50
Real part of impedance (Measured)
Ohms

0 3 6 9 12 Imaginary part of impedance

Frequency, GHz (Measured)
–50

–100

Fig. 5. Measured impedance plots of the patch and its equivalent lumped element mode.

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

1152 VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA
R2
L4 L5
C5 C7 L6
C6
L3 C4
R3
C3
L2
C2
L1
C1
R1
Fig. 6. Equivalent circuit of the patch antenna: L1 = 1,
L2 = 1.1, L3 = 0.15, L4 = 35.529, L5 = 0.27, L6 = 3.6 nH;
C1 = 1, C2 = 0.66, C3 = 0.786, C4 = 4, C5 = 0.968, C6 =
0.1, C7 = 20, C8 = 0.3 pF; R1 = 40, R2 = 59.25, R3 = 19 Ω.
3. PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
The performance of the proposed antenna depends
on the various structural parameters. Lengths and
widths of the serpentine, stub-line sections and active
area of the patch antenna play vital role in achieving
the wide bandwidth and hence proper impedance
matching of the patch yields wideband. The effects of
the reflection coefficients with the variation in the var-
ious structural features of the proposed patch antenna
as observed through CST simulations are discussed in
this section. Figure 8a shows the effect of the length l
of the serpentine patch on the return loss. The length
of the serpentine section is varied from 2 to 5 mm. The
frequency of serpentine section shifts from the desired
resonant frequency with the change in the length of
the serpentine section.
The impedance bandwidth of the proposed patch
not only depends on the length of the serpentine section
but also on the length of the stub-line. The variations in
the impedance bandwidth are observed with the change
in the length of the stub-line between 4–6 mm. Figure 8b
shows the effect of the length L of the stub-line on the
return loss. The resonant frequency f1 shifts from 9–
10.21 GHz when the length of the stub line is varied
from 4–6 mm.
Figure 8c shows the effect of the length l of the strip
line on the return loss. The resonant frequency f3 dras-
tically vanishes with the increase in the length l7 of the
strip line.
Figure 8d shows the effect of the length Lg of the
ground plane on the return loss. Increase in the length
of the ground plane reduces the bandwidth in the fre-
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS
0
2
4
Return loss, dB
6
8
C8 10
12
14
16
18
1 3 5 7 9 11
Frequency, GHz
Fig. 7. Plot of the return loss of the equivalent circuit in
ADS.
quency range 8.84–10.36 GHz. The dual band feature
vanishes with the increase in the length of the ground.
Hence, the length of the ground plane is optimized to
6.5 mm. Figure 8e shows the effect of width of the ser-
pentine portion on the impedance bandwidth.
Increase in the width of the serpentine portion makes
the proposed antenna resonate at two bands. Hence,
the width of the serpentine section is optimized to
4.5 mm.
Figure 8f shows the change in the impedance band-
width is analysed by varying the overall width of the
proposed patch antenna and thereby the overall active
area of the antenna while keeping the length of
the antenna constant. The decrease in the area of the
patch highly effects the operational frequencies of the
proposed patch antenna.
Figure 8g shows the change in the magnitude of the
return loss with the change in the space between the
serpentine section and the bent stub-line. Increase in
the spacing effects the impedance bandwidth in the
second band (8.84–10.36 GHz). The change in the
spacing not only effects the impedance bandwidth but
also increases return loss in the said frequency band.
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The proposed antenna is designed using the CST
Microwave Studio and fabricated with optimized
dimensions. Figures 9 and 10 show the fabricated
antenna along with the measured and simulated
reflection coefficients. The measurements have been
performed using Anritsu Vector Network Analyzer
(MS2037C/2). Simulated and measured results are in
good agreement. The small difference between the
measured and simulated results is due to the effect of
discontinuities in substrate, SMA connector quality
and fabrication tolerances. The measured impedance
bandwidths of the proposed serpentine antenna are
662.1 MHz and 1.52 GHz in the frequency ranges of
6.6–7.26 and 8.84–10.36 GHz respectively. Current
Vol. 65 No. 10 2020
 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DUAL-BAND SERPENTINE-SHAPED… 1153

(a) (c)
0
5 0
10 2
Return loss, dB

15 l 4
6
20
5
25 10
30 12 l
35 l = 5 mm 14
l = 3 mm 16
40 l = 2 mm 18
45 20
0 3 6 9 12 0 3 6 9 12
l = 3 mm
l = 4 mm
l = 5 mm

(b) (d)
0
0
5
2
10
15 4
Return loss, dB

20 6
L
25
5
30
10
35
40 12 Lg

45 14
0 3 6 9 12 0 3 6 9 12
Frequency, GHz Frequency, GHz
Lg = 7 mm
L = 4 mm L = 6 mm Lg = 8 mm
L= 5 mm Lg = 9 mm

Fig. 8. The effects of: (a) length of the serpentine portion, (b) length of the stub-line, (c) length of the strip line, (d) length of the
ground plane, (e) width of the serpentine section, (f) the overall active area of the patch, (g) the spacing between the serpentine
section and the stub-line on the return loss of the proposed patch antenna.

distribution gives a better idea about the resonance
behaviour of the proposed patch antenna.
Figure 11 shows the surface current distribution of
the proposed patch antenna at 6.8, 9.51, and 9.89 GHz.
From this figure it is observed that surface current is
concentrate in the bent stub-line at 6.8 GHz and a part
of current is concentrated on the ground plane. At
9.51 GHz, more current is concentrated in the serpen-
tine section and the current in the ground plane is
reduced. At 9.89 GHz, the current in the serpentine
section is distributed towards strip line.
The simulated and measured efficiencies of the
proposed antenna in the operating band are shown in
Fig. 12. It can be seen that the efficiencies are varying
between 82 and 87%. A stable efficiency is achieved
across the desired bands.
The simulated and measured peak gains of the pro-
posed antenna in the operating bands are shown in
Fig. 13. The gains are varying from 3.34 to 5.6 dBi with
the peak gains taking values 3.2, 5.41, and 5.56 dBi in
the useful band.
The radiation patterns of the proposed patch
antenna are simulated in E-plane and H-plane using
CST Microwave Studio and measured in an anechoic
chamber using antenna measurement system. The ref-
erence antenna used for testing is a double-ridged
horn. The simulated and measured radiation patterns
of the proposed antenna at 6.8 GHz are shown in
Fig. 14a. Both E-plane and H-plane has unidirec-
tional radiation patterns at 6.8 GHz. The simulated
and measured radiation patterns of the proposed
antenna at 9.51 GHz are shown in Fig. 14b. The
H-plane radiation pattern has omni-directional shape
while E-plane radiation pattern has unidirectional
shape. The simulated and measured radiation patterns
of the proposed antenna at 9.89 GHz are shown in

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

1154 VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA

(e) (g)
0
0
5
9
Return loss, dB

w 10
18
15 s

27
20
36 w = 1 mm
25
w = 2 mm
w = 4 mm
45 30
0 3 6 9 12 0 3 6 9 12
Frequency, GHz s = 0.75 mm Frequency, GHz
s = 0.50 mm
s = 0.25 mm

(f)
0

5

10
Return loss, dB

w
15

20
L
25

30

35
0 3 6 9 12
Frequency, GHz
Area = 10 × 11.7 mm Area = 10 × 9.6 mm

Area = 10 × 10.4 mm

Fig. 8. (Contd.)

Fig. 9. Top and bottom views of the fabricated antenna.

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DUAL-BAND SERPENTINE-SHAPED… 1155

5

10

15

Return loss, dB
20

25

30

35

40
Simulated Measured
45
0 2 4 6 8 10
Frequency, GHz
Fig. 10. Simulated and measured results of the return loss of the proposed patch antenna.

(a) (b)
A/m
8.00
7.03
6.06
5.09
4.12 A/m A/m
A/m
3.15 8.00
8.00 8.00
2.18 7.03
7.03 7.03
1.21 6.06
6.06 6.06
0 5.09
5.09 5.09
4.12 4.12 4.12
3.15 3.15 3.15
2.18 2.18 2.18
1.21 1.21 1.21
0 0 0

(c)

A/m A/m
8.00 8.00
7.03 7.03
6.06 6.06
5.09 5.09
4.12 4.12
3.15 3.15
2.18 2.18
1.21 1.21
0 0

Fig. 11. Surface current distributions on the patch (left) and ground plane (right) at (a) 6.8, (b) 9.51, and (c) 9.89 GHz.

Fig. 14c. The E-plane and H-plane radiation patterns
have unidirectional shape. The measured cross-polar-
ization levels are observed to be –8 and –8.78 dB in
the E- and H-planes at 6.8 GHz. Cross-polarization
levels are high at 6.8 GHz due to the excitation of
undesired modes. The measured cross-polarization
levels are observed to be –13.2 and –14.38 dB in the
E- and H-planes at 9.51 GHz. The measured cross-
polarization levels are observed to be –14.6 and
‒14.08 dB in the E- and H-planes at 9.89 GHz. In
both the cases, the simulated and measured results are
found to be in close agreement with a little difference
due to measurement and alignment, human errors.
The comparison between the proposed and the
existing antennas working at C- and X-bands is pre-
sented in Table 2. The proposed patch antenna is
superior over the existing antennas in terms of overall
volume, gain, bandwidth and the active patch area.

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

1156 VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA

0.90 6

0.85
5
Effeciency

Gain, dBi
0.80
4
0.75

3
0.70 Simulated
Measured
0.65 2
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Frequency, GHz Frequency, GHz
Simulated Measured
Fig. 12. Simulated and measured efficiencies of the pro- Fig. 13. Simulated and measured gains of the proposed
posed patch antenna. patch antenna.

0° Co-polar measured, dBi 0°

8 8
Co-polar simulated, dBi
315° –24
45° 315° –24
45°
Cross polar measured, dBi

–56 Cross polar simulated, dBi –56

270° –88 90° (a) 270° –88 90°

225° 135° 225° 135°

180° 180°

(b) 0°
8
0° 8

315° –16 45° 315° –24

45°
–40
–56
–64

270° –88
90° 270° –88 90°

225° 135° 225° 135°

180° 180°
(c)
0° 0°
8 8

315° –16 45° 315° –16 45°

–40 –40
–64 –64

270° –88 90° 270° –88 90°

225° 135° 225° 135°

180° 180°

Fig. 14. Radiation patterns of the proposed antenna in E-plane (left) and H-plane (right) at (a) 6.8, (b) 9.51, and (c) 9.89 GHz.

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS Vol. 65 No. 10 2020

 Table 2. Comparison of the proposed patch antenna with some existing patch antennas at X-band
Active area
Dimensions, Volume, Frequencies, Gain, Bandwidth, Efficiency,
Reference of the patch, Applications
mm3 mm3 GHz dBi MHz %
mm2
[4] 40 × 40 × 1.6 2560 660 4.2, 5.3, 6.8, 0.25, 0.43, 2.73, 200, 220, 700, Not mentioned S-,C-,
7.1,9.1 & 10.2 1.98, 1.77 & 1.63 130 & 80 & 130 and X-bands

[5] 20 × 15 × 1.5 450 300 5.8 2.78 621 Not mentioned C-band

[6] 16 × 18 × 1.6 460.8 77 7.47 & 11.01 5.46 & 4.65 400 & 190 Not mentioned C- and X-bands

[7] 32.015 × 32.015 × 1.6 1639.93 1024.96 9 6.5 2500 Not mentioned X-band

[8] 59.01 × 50.95 × 1.6 4807.66 2043.1 2.44, 5.53, 6.49, 6.05, 58.8, 343.8, Not mentioned S-,C-,
7.79 & 9.39 9.98 & 8.55 281.5 & 779.6 and X-bands

[9] 14.3 × 14.3 × 2 408.98 56.8 8.96, 6.32, 6.32 & 6.32 650, 800 & 1420 80.91, C- and X-bands
14.4 & 18.97 80.91 & 80.91

[10] 25.6 × 23.63 × 1.6 967.88 466.176 9.19, & 10.82 1.44 & 2.03 540 & 1600 68.9, & 71.2 X-band

[11] 38 × 26 × 1.6 1580.8 988 3.6, 4.1, 8, & 9.5 <–4, <–4, Not Not mentioned S-,C-,
3.52, 2.52 mentioned and X-bands

[12] 30 × 30 × 3 2700 400 9.5 4.46 1560 81.1 X-band

[13] 35 × 30 × 1.6 1680 450 10.3 7.62 2110 83.2 X-band

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS

[14] 18 × 34.5 × 0.8 496.8 Not mentioned 2.45, 5.5 & 7.5 1.25, 2.62 & 3.31 290, 1270 & 850 Not S-, C-
mentioned and X-bands

Vol. 65
[15] 28.33 × 31.34 × 1.6 1420.57 793.21 9.96, 3.32, 2.84 & 1.16 470, 590 & 420 Not mentioned X-band
10.81 & 11.56

No. 10
[16] 20 × 20 × 0.2 80 80 7.5 0.59 1500 Not mentioned C-band

2020
[17] 15 × 20 ×1.6 480 300 2.4, 5.63, 0.83, 2.17, 120, 1310 & 900 43, 71.1, S-, C-
5.8 & 9.43 2.02 & 3 71.3 & 0.53 and X-bands
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DUAL-BAND SERPENTINE-SHAPED…

[18] 20 × 17.2 ×1.6 550.4 344 8.95, 4.45, 3.99 & 4.17 450, 1010 & 450 90.90, X-band
11.06 & 11.85 87.89 & 88.32
1157
 1158

Table 2. (Contd.)
Active area
Dimensions, Volume, Frequencies, Gain, Bandwidth, Efficiency,
Reference of the patch, Applications
mm3 mm3 GHz dBi MHz %
mm2

[19] 40 × 40 × 1.6 2650 1600 10.25 & 11.54 4.31 1590 78.8 X-band

[20] 38 × 30 × 1.575 1792 1140 8.51 & 9.96 2.96 & 4.24 1030 & 1028 98.18 & 95.4 X-band

[21] 33.10 × 16.8 × 1.57 873 556.08 8.2 8.28 575 Not mentioned X-band uplink

[22] 35.5 × 55 × 2.5 4882 1952.5 4.3, 5.51, 6.42, 0.44–6.76 222–575 Not mentioned C- and X-bands
8.55, 9.55,
11.57 & 12.58

[23] 25 × 25 × 1.6 1000 625 5.21, 9.17 & 10.45 1.35, 3.1 & 4.57 190, 270 & 440 57, 58 & 66 C- and X-bands

[24] 40 × 40 × 1.575 2520 1600 10 9.7 250 97 X-band

[25] 27.31 × 37.4 × 1.58 1625.4 1021.394 3.9 & 8.9 8.15 Not mentioned Not mentioned C- and X-bands

[26] 52 × 64.5 ×1.6 5366.4 3354 3.769, 8, 9.534 & 9.776 11.9, 24.4 & 25.6 98, 96 & 97 S-, C- and
7.55 & 11.84 X-bands

[27] 40.29 × 35.1 × 0.78 1113.59 1414.179 7.75, 9.72 & 11.92 5.59, 6.67 & 3.72 180, 270 & 300 84.14, 85.6 & 86.3 C- and X-band
VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA

[28] 22.5 × 24.6 × 2 1107 553.5 8.5, 17.7, 9.6 220 Not mentioned GPS,
20.7 & 23.7 WLAN & satellite
applications

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS

[29] 30 × 35 × 1.6 1680 1050 1.6, 2.37, 3.48, 3.9, 3.7, 1.13, 220, 443, Not mentioned GPS, GNSS,
5.71 & 10.14 2.16 & 5.36 930, 170 & 250 Bluetooth,
WiMAX
and X-band

Vol. 65
[30] 40.8 × 31.4 × 1.57 1392.1 1281.12 10.8 5.1 1.74 80 X-band

Proposed 10 × 13 × 1.524 198.12 70.74 6.8, 9.51 & 9.89 3.2, 5.41 & 5.56 660.2 and 1600 82.1, 86.3 & 88.1 C- and X-bands

No. 10
patch
antenna

2020
 DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF A COMPACT DUAL-BAND SERPENTINE-SHAPED…
The proposed patch antenna is compact with overall
volume of 198.12 mm3 and active area of 70.74 mm2
excluding feed line area and 77.14 mm2 if the feed line
area is considered.
5. CONCLUSIONS
A very compact folded stub line loaded serpentine
shaped patch antenna with a partial ground plane is
proposed. The proposed antenna is compact and pos-
sesses high gain and efficiency. This possesses the sim-
ulated bandwidths of 662 MHz, 1.6 GHz and mea-
sured bandwidths of 660 MHz and 1.52 GHz. Mea-
sured gains of 3.2, 5.42, and 5.56 dBi along with the
efficiencies of 82.1, 86.3 and 88.1% are obtained at 6.8,
9.51, and 9.89 GHz respectively. The proposed anten-
nas are fabricated on RO-4003C substrate and their
performances measured. The measured results of the
fabricated antenna show unidirectional in all the
planes at 6.8 GHz, nearly omnidirectional radiation
pattern in H-plane and unidirectional radiation pat-
tern in E-plane at 9.51 GHz and unidirectional in all
the planes at 9.89 GHz. A good impedance band-
width, reasonable gain and efficiency make the pro-
posed antenna suitable for C- and X-band satellite
communications.
REFERENCES
1. D. A. Outerelo, A. V. Alejos, M. G. Sanchez, and
M. V. Isasa, “Microstrip antenna for 5G broadband
communications: Overview of design issues,” in Proc.
IEEE Int. Symp. on Antennas and Propagation & US-
NC/URSI National Radio Sci. Meeting, Oct. 2015
(IEEE, New York, 2015), pp. 2443−2444.
2. Samah Badr and Ehab K.I. Hamad, “Design of multi-
band microstrip patch antenna for WiMAX, C-band
and X-band applications,” Aswan Eng. J. (AswEJ),
No. 4, 1−7 (2018).
3. M. A. Rahman, E. Nishiyama, and I. Toyoda, “A dual-
band slot-embedded microstrip antenna for dual-po-
larization operation,” in Progress In Electromagnetics
Research (PIER), Moscow, 2018, Vol. 63, pp.141−149.
4. Y. Rhazi, Outman El Bakkali, Youssef El merabet,
Mustpaha Ait lafkih, Seddik Bri, and Mohamed Nabil
Srifi, “Novel design of multiband microstrip patch an-
tenna for wireless communication,” Adv. Sci., Technol.
& Eng. Syst. J. 4 (3), 63−68 (2019).
5. M. N. Srifi, M. Meloui, and M. Essaaidi, “Rectangular
slotted patch antenna for 5–6 GHz applications,” Int.
J. Microwave Opt. Technol. 5 (2), 52−57 (2014).
6. Rabbani, Muhammad, Ghafouri-Shiraz, and
Hooshang, “Design of dual and wideband rectangular
patch antenna for C and X Band applications,” Adv.
Electromagn. 10 (5), 145−150 (2018).
7. F. Kurniawan, J. T. Sri Sumantyo, K. Ito, H. Kuze, and
S. Gao, “Patch antenna using rectangular centre slot
and circular ground slot for circularly polarized syn-
thetic aperture radar (CP-SAR) application,” Progress
in Electromagnetics Research (PIER) 160, 51−61
(2017).
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS
1159
8. Sandeep Singh Sran and Jagtar Singh Sivia, “Quad
staircase shaped microstrip patch antenna for S, C and
X band applications,” Procedia Comp. Sci. 85,
443−450 (2016).
9. M. Sekhar, S. Nagakishore Bhavanam, and P. Siddaiah,
“Triple frequency circular patch antenna,” in Proc. IEEE
Int. Conf. on Comput. Intelligence and Comput. Research,
2014 (IEEE, New York, 2014), pp. 1052−1056.
10. R. Kiruthika, T. Shanmuganantham, and Rupak Ku-
mar Gupta, “A novel dual band microstrip patch anten-
na with DGS for X-band applications,” in Proc. IEEE Int.
Conf. on Computer, Commun. & Signal Process (ICCCSP),
Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Jan. 10−11, 2017 (IEEE,
New York, 2017), pp. 1–5.
11. Shipra Singh and Rahul Kumar Verma, “Rectangular
grid type patch antenna for S band and X band applica-
tions,” in Proc. 4th IEEE Int. Conf. on Signal Processing
and Integrated Networks (SPIN), Delhi, Feb. 2−3, 2017
(IEEE, New York, 2017), pp. 267−269.
12. Vivek Singh, Brijesh Mishra, and Rajeev Singh,
“A compact and wide band microstrip patch antenna
for X-band applications,” in Proc. IEEE-Second Int.
Conf. on Advances in Computing and Communication En-
gineering, Oct. 2015 (IEEE, New York, 2015),
pp. 296−300.
13. Abhinav Anand and Priyadarshi Suraj, “Design of a
stacked microstrip patch antenna for X-band commu-
nication,” in Proc. 4th IEEE Int. Conf. on Recent Ad-
vances in Information Technology (RAIT), June 2018
(IEEE, New York, 2018), pp. 1–5.
14. Ruixing Zhi, Mengqi Han, Jing Bai, Wenying Wu, and
Gui Liu, “Miniature Multiband Antenna for WLAN
and X-Band Satellite Communication Applications,”
Prog. in Electromagn. Res. (PIER) Lett. 75, 13−18
(2018).
15. R. Kiruthika, T. Shanmuganantham, and Rupak Ku-
mar Gupta, “A Fan Shaped Triple Band Microstrip
Patch Antenna with DGS for X-band Applications,” in
Proc. Int. IEEE Conf. on Control, Instrumentation, Com-
munication and Computational Technologies (ICCICCT),
July 2017 (IEEE, New York, 2017), pp. 292−297.
16. Parul Dawar, N. S. Raghava, and Asok De, “Tunable
and directive metamaterial-inspired antennas for ‘C’
Band Applications,” Int. J. Microwave and Opt. Tech-
nol. 10, 168−175 (2015).
17. Vishal Asnani & Sudeep Baudha, “Triple band mi-
crostrip patch antenna useful for Wi-Fi and WiMAX,”
IETE J. Res., 1−4 (2019).
18. M. Samsuzzaman and M. T. Islam, “Inverted
S-Shaped Compact Antenna for X-Band Applica-
tions,” Sci. World J. 2014, 1−11 (2014).
19. M. M. Islam, M. T. Islam, M. R. I. Faruque, and
W. Hueyshin, “Design of an X-band microstrip patch
antenna with Enhanced bandwidth,” in Proc. 2nd IEEE
Int. Conf. on Advances in Electrical Engineering (ICAEE
2013), Mar. (2014) (IEEE, New York, 2015),
pp. 313−317.
20. M. T. Islam and M. Samsuzzaman, “Miniaturized dual
band multislotted patch antenna on polytetrafluoro-
ethylene glass microfiber reinforced for C/X band ap-
plications,” Sci. World J. 2014, 1−14 (2014).
Vol. 65 No. 10 2020
1160 VISWANADHA, RAGHAVA
21. Divesh Mittal, Avneet Kaur, Maninder Singh, Roopan,
Raveena Bhatoa, Anshula Garg, and Ekambir Sidhu,
“High gain substrate slotted microstrip patch antenna 26.
design for X-band satellite uplink applications,” Prog-
ress in Electromagnetic Research Symposium (PIERS),
Aug., 2016, pp. 1119−1123.
22. N. Prema and Anil Kumar, “Design of multiband mi- 27.
crostrip patch antenna for C and X band,” Optik 127,
8812−8818 (2016).
23. R. Kiruthika and T. Shanmuganantham, “A canadian
leaf shaped triple band patch antenna with DGS for X 28.
and C-band applications,” World Acad. Sci., Eng.
Technol. Int. J. Electron. & Commun. Eng. 11,
502−508 (2017). 29.
24. Mohamed AlyAboul-Dahab, Hussein Hamed Mah-
moud Ghouz, and Ahmed Zakaria Ahmed Zaki, “High
gain compact microstrip patch antenna for X-band ap-
plications,” Int. J. Antennas (JANT) 2, 47−58 (2016).
30.
25. Amandeep Kaur Sidhu, and Jagtar Singh Sivia, “Mi-
crostrip Rectangular Patch Antenna for S and X band
applications,” in Proc. Int. IEEE Conf. on Wireless Com-
munications, Signal Processing and Networking
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY AND ELECTRONICS
(WiSPNET), Sept. 2016 (IEEE, New York, 2016),
pp. 248−251.
El Amjed Hajlaoui, “New triple band electromagnetic
band gap microstrip patch antenna with two shaped
parasitic elements,” J. of Comput. Electron. 17,
452−457 (2018).
Nayan Sarker, Md. Aminul Islam, and M. Rubaiyat
Hossain Mondal, “Two novel multiband centimetre-
wave patch antennas for a novel OFDM based RFID
system,” J. Commun. 13, 303−316 (2018).
Parul Dawar, N. S. Raghava and Asok De, “A novel
metamaterial for miniaturization and multi-resonance
in antenna,” Cogent Phys. 2, 1−13 (2015).
Tanweer Ali, Nikhat Fatima, and Rajashekhar C. Bira-
dar, “A miniaturized multiband reconfigurable fractal
slot antenna for GPS/GNSS/Bluetooth/WiMAX/X-
band applications,” AEU – Int. J. Electron. Commun.
94, 234−243 (2018).
Arvind Kumar, Divya Chaturvedi, and Singaravelu Ra-
ghavan, “SIW cavity-backed circularly polarized
pquare ring slot antenna with wide axial-ratio band-
width’, AEU – Int. J. Electron. Commun. AEUE
52409, 1−15 (2018).
Vol. 65 No. 10 2020