Left-Handed Metamaterial (LHM) Structure Stacked on a Two-Element Microstrip Antennas Array

Abstract

Antenna can be one of the largest components in a wireless device; therefore antenna miniaturization can reduce the overall size of wireless devices. One method used to reduce the element size of an antenna is by using metamaterial structures. This paper discusses a LeftHanded Metamaterial (LHM) structure stacked on a two-element microstrip antennas array for miniaturization and gain enhancement at a frequency of 2.35 GHz. To observe the impact of the LHM structure on the antenna, first this paper discuss the design of a conventional rectangular shape microstrip antenna without a LHM structure, then a design of the LHM structure which shows both negative permittivity and negative permeability. This LHM structure is then implemented on a conventional single element microstrip antenna and on a two-element microstrip antennas array. Results and discussion of implementation of the LHM structure on the conventional microstrip antenna is provided in this paper. The results show that good agreement between simulated and measured results has been achieved. The simulation results show that the antenna works at a frequency of 2.29-2.42 GHz with a bandwidth of 128 MHz (5.4%) and a gain of 8.2 dBi, while the measurements show that the antenna works at a frequency of 2.26-2.41 GHz with a bandwidth of 146 MHz (6.21%) and a gain of 8.97 dBi. In addition, by comparing the substrate dimension for the two element array antennas, with and without the LHM structure, shows a 39% reduction is achieved.

A Compact Microstrip Slotted Antenna for Dual-band RFID Applications

“…When operating at microwave frequencies, the RFID reader design becomes crucial, especially the RF front end circuit including the antenna element (Kumagai et al, 2011;Hattan et al, 2012). In the literature, wireless communication devices mostly employ integrated compact microstrip patch antennas due to their light weight, low profile, low cost and easy fabrication, which allows better efficiency and wide bandwidth (Chen, 2002;Chen & Chen, 2004;Abbas et al, 2012;Roy et al, 2014;Zulkifli & Saputro, 2016). Hence they are good candidates for RFID applications.…”