Dielectric Resonator Antenna-Induced Conduction Current on the Metallic Ground Plane: Interesting observations on its impact and usefulness

Abstract

This article addresses the role of conduction current, caused by a dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) on its metallic ground plane (GP), in influencing its radiation and also in predicting accurate directivity patterns. Extraction of the surface current and its translation to the far field have been systematically studied using different methods. In contrast to what was reported earlier in <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[6]</xref> , the conduction current alone is eventually found insufficient to predict the radiation successfully. An additional requirement of the passive DRA block to compensate fields over the front hemisphere has been identified, and an effective method of computation has been demonstrated. Measured and simulated data have been used as references to validate the method. A few examples have been furnished using different DRA shapes, feeding structures, and GP shapes with a special focus on different modes and polarizations. The provided method of computation will be helpful in understanding the physics of radiation from a DRA and interpreting its behavior under special conditions. This method shows that, by controlling the GP current and without disturbing the DRA resonance, the radiation patterns can be easily reconfigured.