Theoretical and Experimental Investigations on Rectangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array for Radar and Satellite Application

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this article, the theoretical, simulation, and experimental study of high gain dual segment 4-element linear broadside rectangular dielectric resonator antenna array shaping the -field components with copper sheet on one side, has been carried out. Copper strip connected to microstripline is introduced to excite the proposed dielectric resonator antenna array to achieve the coupling for dielectric resonator material with lower dielectric constant (≤10). Proposed antenna array with copper strip excitation has been successfully fabricated and tested. The voltage standing wave ratio, gain, and radiation characteristics of the proposed array have been explored using Ansoft HFSS 15.0 simulation software. Antenna array is also investigated using the finite-difference time-domain numerical technique. Good agreement between the simulated, calculated, and measured results is obtained. High gain and appreciable bandwidth together with low cross polarization is always defiance for researchers. The gain of the proposed array has been raised by a factor of 6.05, compared with the gain of a single dielectric resonator antenna. The proposed antenna provides a high gain of 10.50 dBi with a medium bandwidth of 512 MHz (3.44–3.95 GHz) and low cross-polarization, which is definitely better than previous reported literatures. The proposed structure is a good substitute to patch antennas in array applications as it offers high gain, medium bandwidth, and nice impedance matching. However, one disadvantage compared to microstrip arrays is the added fabrication complexity involved in having to place and bond the individual elements. In the future, for mass production applications, this process could be automated using robotic pick-and-place machines.