Circularly Polarized Radiation Research Articles

A wideband dual-circularly polarized traveling wave dielectric resonator antenna array

ABSTRACT In order to meet the demand of high capacity and high speed transmission of satellite communication system, a wideband dual-circularly polarized dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) array is proposed based on the traveling wave principle. Four DRA elements with slot-coupling excitation are sequentially placed on the ground, and the feeding network is designed to realize the two orthogonal circular polarization radiation waves. A notched copper loop (NCL) around the antenna array is adopted to improve the radiation performance. Depending on the operation of the two ports, the NCL generates the induced currents which rotates clockwise/counterclockwise, increasing the axial ratio bandwidth. In order to further improve the gain stability, the copper sheets are embedded on the top surface of each radiation element, and the copper cylinders perturb the internal field distribution of the DRA to introduce higher-order modes. The measurement results show that the left-hand circular polarization and the right-hand circular polarization operating bandwidths are 11.8% (14.97–16.85 GHz) and 12% (14.91–16.82 GHz). The antenna gain achieves 9.0 dBic. This DRA array can be applied for the vehicle mounted RF terminals in satellite communication.

A single-feed circularly polarized antenna with a low vertical profile and hemispherical axial-ratio beam coverage

ABSTRACT A novel wide axial-ratio beamwidth (ARBW) circularly polarized (CP) antenna with a single layer substrate fed by a single probe is proposed. It consists of an inner annular slotted radiator containing eight outer sector units with arc branches, a ground plane, and eight grounded vias. The antenna has an ARBW covering the upper hemisphere and has a low vertical profile. The ultra-hemispherical ARBW is formed by ingeniously merging the endfire omnidirectional CP radiation pattern with the boresight CP radiation pattern. The two radiation patterns can be excited by a central coaxial probe without an additional feeding network. An antenna prototype of dimensions 1.15 × 1.15 × 0.02 (λ 0 3) is fabricated and measured to validate the design concept. Measured results show that the impedance bandwidth of the proposed antenna is 2.0% (3.328–3.394 GHz) and the 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth is 1.3% (3.332–3.374 GHz). The 3 dB AR beamwidth can cover more than 217° and the maximum gain is 0.79 dBic at 3.35 GHz. A good agreement between the simulated and measured results is obtained.

A dual-band meandered line antenna loaded with metasurface for wireless applications

In this paper, a metamaterial inspired meandered line loaded antenna with dual-band characteristics for wireless applications is presented. Initially, the antenna is loaded with a single meandered line structure and operates over a single band with a center frequency of 5.64 GHz and circularly polarized (CP) radiation. Further, it is loaded with two more similar meandered line structures inducing an extra band with a center frequency of 3.4 GHz and hence operating as a dual band antenna with an impedance bandwidth of 11.4% and 33.7%, respectively, exhibiting CP radiation in its second band. Moreover, the antenna is backed with a metasurface (MS) at the ground side with a separation of 18.4 mm to enhance the gain and radiation of the antenna. The antenna exhibits good radiation characteristics with peak gains of 7.66 dBi and 8.7 dBi in the first and second bands, respectively. The antenna is fabricated, and promising experimental results have been observed.

Compact dual-band dual sense circularly polarized flexible antenna with polarization rotation metasurface for off-body communications

ABSTRACT A dual-band dual circularly polarised flexible antenna, operating at 3.5 GHz for WiMAX and 5.8 GHz for industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) bands, is proposed for wearable applications. The antenna design integrates a wideband comb-shaped slotted monopole antenna with a polarisation rotation metasurface (PRMF). The PRMF unit cell consists of a nested split square ring in the corner and a square ring in the centre, where the split square rings facilitate polarisation conversion and the centre square ring enhances the axial ratio. The PRMF integration helps achieve dual circular polarisation (CP) radiation, with left-handed CP in the WiMAX band and right-handed CP in the ISM band. The proposed monopole antenna and PRMF are printed on a conformal polyimide substrate, with a total footprint of 48 × 48 mm2 (0.31λo2). The proposed antenna has a 10 dB impedance bandwidth of 24.9% (3.2 to 4.2 GHz) and 18.9% (5.3 to 6.43 GHz), a 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of 11.1% and 21.4%, and a peak gain of 6.4 and 6.7 dBic in both bands. Numerical and measured results demonstrate that the antenna performs well in the presence of human body and structural deformations. These attributes make the proposed design highly suitable for off-body wearable applications.

Circularly Polarized Modified Minkowski Metasurface-Based Hybrid Dielectric Resonator Antenna for 5G n79 Wireless Applications

This paper presents a circularly polarized hybrid cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (HCDRA) over a modified Minkowski unit-cell-based metasurface for 5G n79 band (4.4–5 GHz) and IEEE 802.11n WLAN (5 GHz) applications. The location of the perturbed probe feed mechanism and the asymmetric nature of the metasurface are the factors that influence the circularly polarized (CP) radiation within the DR element. The magnitude of E-field distribution and parametric study of the antenna to obtain the optimized feed location are the pieces of evidence of CP radiation. The return loss (RL) and axial ratio (AR) bandwidths produced by the proposed antenna are 1.837 GHz and 750 MHz with a peak gain of 7.04 dBic. The gain obtained is more than 5 dBic across the offered bandwidth of the proposed antenna. The proposed antenna is fabricated and tested in an anechoic chamber for measured results, and these results closely match with the simulation results.

Miniaturized, Broadband, Circular Polarized Horn Antenna With Groove Gap Waveguide Technology

AbstractIn this study, a wideband circularly polarized (CP) H‐plane horn antenna based on Gap Waveguide (GW) technology in K‐band is presented. The proposed antenna consists of two unconnected metal planes. To produce broadband CP radiation, two main methods are utilized. First, two antipodal tapered plates (ATPs) are added in front of the horn. The ATPs are carefully designed for dissimilar polarization orientations. By this technique, the orthogonal electric fields can be prepared. Then, by embedding three metal square pins near the center of the aperture in both inner plates, the impedance bandwidth (BW) and BW of CP radiation of the proposed horn is entirely improved. Its BW for target |S11| < −10 dB is 18–28 GHz. Also, the peak gain fluctuates between 11.5 and 13 dB. This antenna can provide a 3 dB polarization axial‐ratio BW of about 28.5% (20–26 GHz). Total radiation efficiency is higher than 94%. To verify the design, the proposed structure is manufactured and tested. The proposed horn antenna result has an appropriate agreement between measurement and simulation. Its miniaturized dimensions, easy and cheap fabrication, and broadband CP capability make it a proper volunteer for broadband communication systems.

High-Gain Dual-Polarization Microstrip Antenna Based on Transmission Focusing Metasurface.

In this paper, a single-feed microstrip antenna (MA) equipped with a transmission-mode focusing metasurface (MS) is proposed to achieve dual-polarization capabilities and superior high-gain radiation performance. The original-feed MA comprises two distinct layers of coaxial-fed tangential patches, enabling it to emit a circular polarization (CP) wave with a gain of 3.5 dBic at 5.6 GHz and linear polarization (LP) radiation with a gain of 4 dBi at 13.7 GHz. To improve the performance of the single-feed MA, a dual-polarization transmission focusing MS is proposed and numerically substantiated. By positioning the originally designed MA at the focal point of the MS, we create a transmission-mode MS antenna system capable of achieving CP and LP radiations with the significantly higher gains of 12.9 dBic and 14.8 dBi at 5.6 GHz and 13.7 GHz, respectively. Measurements conducted on the fabricated dual-polarization focusing MS antenna closely align with the simulation results, validating the effectiveness of our approach. This work underscores the significant potential of dual-polarization high-speed data systems and offers a practical solution for enhancing antenna gains in contemporary wireless communication systems.

Circularly polarized multi-layered ellipsoidal coaxial fed dielectric resonator antenna for wireless applications

This paper presents a circularly polarized multi-layered Ellipsoidal Dielectric Resonator Antenna (CP-EDRA) having a footprint of 0.2λ0× 0.4λ0 operating in the frequency band 11.24-14.05 GHz. The structure is fed using a 50 Ω coaxial probe. Three layers of ceramic material have been stacked together in the increasing order of their dielectric constants in order to enhance the impedance bandwidth. There is an angular offset given to the topmost ellipsoidal cylinder which in turn leads to circular polarization radiation from the antenna with an optimum realized gain of 7.2 dBic and axial-ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 1.7 GHz (12.3-14 GHz). The radiation and total efficiency are in good coincidence with each other and above 95% throughout the operating bandwidth. The prototype of CP-EDRA is fabricated and tested for experimental validation. The measured results of the fabricated antenna are in good agreement with simulated ones. The presented work finds its applications in broadcasting satellites, aeronautical navigation space research, etc. The antenna has a simple design and working principle with better performance compared to those reported so far.

Compact Dual-Band Circularly Polarized Shared-Aperture Antenna for Satellite Communication Systems

A compact dual-band circularly polarized (CP) shared-aperture antenna is proposed for satellite communication. The antenna enables simultaneous dual-band functionality and CP radiation with right-handed CP in the Ku band and left-handed CP (LHCP) in the Ka band. The shared-aperture is implemented by integrating two independent subapertures, which function through frequency-multiplexed, resulting in a minimized profile (0.04 λ 0 ) and reduced complexity, making it an ideal choice for array applications. To enhance inter-frequency isolation, a circular arrangement of metal vias is incorporated. The measured results indicate that the antenna effectively encompasses a 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 15.6–16.5 GHz in Ku and 26.5–27.5 GHz in Ka bands. Additionally, it exhibits a broader 10 dB impedance bandwidth (IBW) and superior port isolation bandwidth exceeding 30 dB.

A Wide-Band Circularly Polarized Euler Spiral Dielectric Resonator Antenna for X/Ku-Band Applications

This paper puts forward a low-profile, circularly polarized (CP), wideband Euler’s Spiral Dielectric Resonator Antenna (ES-DRA) having a footprint of 0.68 λ × 0.68 λ × 0.096 λ and operating in X and Ku-band (8.26–14 GHz). A cross-shaped aperture is used to couple the power from 50 Ω walking stick-shaped microstrip line to the ES-DRA. The antenna generates circular polarization radiation in the frequency band 10.47–11.69 GHz and has a peak gain of 8.1 dBic. There is a good matching between radiation and total efficiency in the operating band. The antenna can be put to use in weather mapping and detecting, long-range tracking radar and missile applications. The prototype has been fabricated and tested for experimental validation and the results are in good coherence with the simulated ones.

A high-gain circularly polarized magnetoelectric dipole antenna array with metallic radiating structure for millimeter-wave applications

A high-gain circularly polarized (CP) magnetoelectric (ME) dipole antenna with metallic radiating structure is presented. The proposed CP antenna element consists of two pairs of metallic posts with a supporting metallic plate, a metallic air-filled elliptical cavity, and a feeding slot on the bottom substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). The two pairs of modified rectangular metallic posts combined with the gaps between them act as radiating ME-dipoles which are surrounded by a metallic air-filled elliptical cavity. The above-mentioned radiating structures are fed by a modified cross-shaped coupling slot etched on the bottom feeding SIW to generate CP radiation, where loading the elliptical metallic cavity significantly improve the CP performance of the antenna element. Then, a 4 × 4 antenna array with full-corporate feeding network is designed, fabricated, and measured, which has an impedance bandwidth of 18.9 % from 37.4 to 45.2 GHz and a 3-dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 14.2 % from 36 to 41.5 GHz. Thanks to the all-metal radiating structures, a maximum measured gain of 20.4 dBic has been achieved. The measured and simulated results are in good agreement.

A single-layer multimode high gain circularly polarized metasurface antenna using CMA for C-band applications

Abstract This article presents an innovative design for a low-profile, high-gain circularly polarized (CP) antenna using a single-layer metasurface (MTS). The proposed design incorporates an MTS layer, comprising a 4 × 4 array of hexagonal-shaped patches, printed on the top layer of the substrate. The bottom layer features a coplanar waveguide-fed slotted ground. Circular polarization and broadside radiation are achieved through the application of characteristic mode analysis (CMA). CMA is employed to simultaneously excite desired modes, aiming for wideband circular polarization and gain enhancement. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the design, with compact dimensions of 0.67λ0 × 0.67λ0 × 0.04λ0. The measurements demonstrate an impressive impedance bandwidth of 84.3% within the 3.7–9.1 GHz. Additionally, a 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of 18.6% is observed between 4.96 and 5.98 GHz and 3.74% between 8.38 and 8.7 GHz. The antenna exhibits excellent radiation pattern characteristics, featuring a maximum gain of 10.08 dBi at 7.1 GHz. The radiation pattern is symmetrical with broadside directionality, making the antenna well-suited for sensing applications.

A low‐profile circularly polarized cavity‐based waveguide aperture antenna

AbstractThis article proposes a new design of a circularly polarized (CP) aperture antenna based on a dual‐mode rectangular waveguide cavity‐resonator. A capacitive iris is employed to attain a strong coupling between the cavity and the input port, resulting in a larger fractional bandwidth (FBW) than a conventional aperture antenna. Another capacitive iris is embedded at the corner of the radiating aperture and extended into the cavity to maintain equal amplitude and a phase difference of 90° between the radiated electric (E) fields of the TE101 and TE110 modes, and thus yielding CP radiation. The proposed antenna has been fabricated using a computer numerical control machine. The antenna has an FBW of 18% at center frequency (f0) f0 = 10 GHz when the reflection coefficient (S11) S11 = −10 dB. The 3‐dB axial ratio bandwidth is 7%. A gain of 8.0 dBic is found at 10.06 GHz. The low profile and competitive performance of the antenna make it a good candidate in radar applications.

Design of dual circular polarized stacked patch antenna for BeiDou navigation satellite systems

In this article, a design of two-layered, dual circular-polarization (CP) and dual-band path antenna is presented for BeiDou navigation satellite (BDS) system applications. A single 50-Ω Co-axial probe feeding arrangement is employed to achieve dual-band operation and it feeds both the antennas simultaneously. This mode introduces the CP radiation on both upper (RHCP) and lower (LHCP) operation bands. The impedance bandwidth is further widened by accommodating two semi-circular stubs on the top patch. The fabricated and experimentally validated prototype radiates at 1.82 and 3.45 GHz (center frequency). The upper and lower operating band exhibits right and left-handed CP radiations, which constructs dual-band operation. The fabricated prototype has a physical size of πr2 × 0.024 λg with an antenna profile of 2.38 mm (0.024 λg). The experimentally validated upper and lower bands impedance bandwidth with |S11| < −10 dB are 21.1% and 11.1%, respectively. The fabricated prototype is a good candidate to use in BDS applications. [Q2

Compact Integrated Circular Polarization Filtering Antenna based on SIW Cavity

In this paper, a compact integrated circular polarization filtering antenna is proposed based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity. Firstly, a dual-mode (TE102 and TE201 modes) rectangular cavity is utilized as a common feeding cavity to achieve a dual-mode filtering response. And then, an additional rectangular patch with a slot is coupled from the feeding cavity for circular polarization radiation. To verify the proposed concept, a prototype circular polarization filtering antenna is simulated. The circular polarized filtering antenna resonates at 4.225 GHz with a low cross-polarization and a high gain of 7.23 dBi.

Compact Series-fed Circularly-polarized Patch Array basedon Microstrip Line

A compact single-layer circularly polarized (CP) antenna array is proposed in this paper for 5G/6G applications. The conventional microstrip line is modified as a feeding network by periodically and alternatively loading field blocking stubs, producing a linearly polarized in-phase radiative field aperture. By adding CP corner-truncated patches beside these in-phase fields, a linear high-gain CP antenna array excited by a single feed is obtained. The feasibility of the proposed design is demonstrated through the fabrication and measurement of a 16-element linear array. The results indicate that the 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth is 3.5% (19.60∼20.30 GHz), the -10 dB impedance bandwidth totally covers the 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth, and the peak realized gain is 14.9 dBi under an antenna length of 5.69λ0. This proposed strategy provides a very compact antenna structure to achieve high-gain CP radiation without the requirement of impedance transformers, phase shifters, and open-stop-band suppressing measures. Moreover, the antenna has a per-unit-length CP gain of 5.5/λ0, which is superior to many single-layer high-gain CPantennas.

An all‐metal wideband circularly polarized single‐patch antenna based on TM11 mode

AbstractThis paper proposes an all‐metal wideband circularly polarized (CP) single‐patch antenna based on TM11 mode. The conventional square patch is divided into four small square patch units by loading metal shorting walls under the two vertical centerlines. The shorting walls are windowed to facilitate coupling between the adjacent units. When the TM11 mode is excited, the coupling windows not only distribute energy but also provide the 90° phase difference required for CP radiation. An additional feeding network is not required, and its profile is less than 0.05λ0 (λ0 is the free space wavelength at the center frequency). Three minima in the axial ratio (AR) response are present. The results show that right‐hand circularly polarized (RHCP) radiation is achieved. The measured 3 dB AR bandwidth is 6.9%, ranging from 1.52 to 1.62 GHz, and the RHCP realized peak gain is 7.72 dBic. An all‐metal construction suitable for satellite communication systems is designed that has superior performance in harsh space environments.

Dual band dual circularly polarized patch antenna for Ku-band applications

This paper proposes a duplex antenna, with four square patches to form a sequential rotating array, which can generate dual circular polarization radiation. A feeding network consisting of power dividers, phase shifters and couplers feeds the antenna with ±90° phase difference and achieves dual circular polarization. A band stop filter with low reflection is employed in the receive port to increase the isolation in the transmitting band (14–14.5 GHz) to over 30 dB. The receive port achieves a gain of over 4.8 dBi and an axial ratio under 3 dB in the receiving band (10.7–12.7 GHz). The transmit port has a gain of more than 5.1 dBi and a 3 dB axial ratio in the whole frequency band (10.5–15 GHz).

Compact and bandwidth-enhanced circular-polarized dipole antenna for 5G base-station applications

ABSTRACT A miniaturized and wideband circular-polarized (CP) dipole antenna with couple-feed has been developed for 5G base-station applications. In this design, two novel L-shaped short stubs working as the couple feed are introduced to excite the orthogonal dipole with the orthogonal phase difference. Therefore, CP radiation is realized on the orthogonally arranged dipoles. In addition, a stub-loaded square-ring dipole is utilized to generate another resonant frequency at low frequency, which broaden the working bandwidth and achieve the miniaturization design. To further expand the impedance and axial ratio bandwidths, four branch lines are adopted in the center of crossed square-loops dipoles. The proposed CP antenna using couple feed was finally fabricated and tested. The simulated and measured impedance bandwidth for |S11| < −10 dB is 65.0% from 1.55 to 3.05 GHz. The measured 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth is 37.5% (1.95–2.85 GHz). The measured results prove that this CP antenna can be applied to wideband base-station applications.

Circularly-Polarized Ring Slot Antenna Fed by a V-Shaped Coupling Strip

A design for circularly-polarized (CP) ring slot antennas is described. The antenna is fed by a V-shaped coupling strip loaded with a resistor. For the slot antenna with a thin slot width, the proposed feeding mechanism can directly generate good CP radiation and fine tuning of antenna parameters is unnecessary. When the slot width is increased, CP radiation with low axial ratio can also be obtained as long as the included angle of the V-shaped coupling strip is properly adjusted. Numerical analyses of the key parameters of the V-shaped coupling strip are provided. A number of the CP prototypes with various slot widths are fabricated. Experimental results demonstrate that the feeding mechanism can give good CP performances for the case that the slot width is varied from 0.008 to 0.09 e0, and the antenna gain is not significantly degraded when the loading resistance is small enough.