Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xm8r8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-05T01:48:17.910Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Magnetically tuned SIW patch antenna based on nematic liquid crystal for 5G applications and satellite communication systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2023

Adel Kouki Open the ORCID record for Adel Kouki [Opens in a new window] ,
Fakher Sboui  and
Lassaad Latrach
Adel Kouki*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Tunis El Manar Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
Fakher Sboui
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Tunis El Manar Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
Lassaad Latrach
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Tunis El Manar Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
*
Corresponding author: Adel Kouki, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper presents a new design of a reconfigurable miscrostrip patch antenna based on a substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW). The antenna is resonant at the millimeter-wave (mmWave) 5G spectrum. The tuning technique consists of using a nematic liquid crystal (K15). An adjustable frequency band from 30.191 to 32 GHz is obtained, giving a tunable range of Δfr = 1.809 GHz. The maximum gain and efficiency reach the values of 7.61 and 9.07 dBi and 93 and 94%, respectively. The proposed SIW antenna loaded with liquid crystal was fabricated and tested. The experimental results correlated well with the simulation; however, the measured reflection coefficient plot shows a shift of the tuning range of 284 MHz, which is an acceptable outcome compared to simulation. A new approach of adopting the magnetic field as a technique to tune the resonance frequency has been used. The structure is characterized by its design simplicity, compactness, and fabrication process. The proposed antenna proves that the liquid crystal improves the performance of the antenna in the Ka band for 5G applications and satellite communication systems.

Keywords

5Gmillimeter-wavenematic liquid crystalSIW
Type
Antenna Design, Modelling and Measurements
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 15 , Issue 9 , November 2023 , pp. 1610 - 1619
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with the European Microwave Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Balanis, CA (2005) Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design, 3rd Edn. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.Google Scholar
Economou, L and Langley, RJ (1997) Patch antenna equivalent to simple monopole. Electronics Letters 33, 727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Awida, MH and Fathy, AE (2009) Substrate-integrated waveguide Ku-band cavity-backed 2×2 microstrip patch array antenna. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 8, 1054–1056.10.1109/LAWP.2009.2031416CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, Z-J, Song, W, Zhu, Y-Q and Sheng, X-Q (2018) RCS reduction and gain enhancement for patch antenna by using low profile EBG. In 2018 12th International Symposium on Antennas, Propagation and EM Theory (ISAPE), Hangzhou, China, December 2018, pp. 1–2. doi: 10.1109/ISAPE.2018.8634341CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadi, RJ, Sandhagen, C and Bangert, A (2014) Wideband high-gain multi-layer patch antenna-coupler with metamaterial superstrate for X-band applications. In 2014 9th European Microwave Integrated Circuit Conference, Rome, Italy, October 2014, pp. 636–639. doi: 10.1109/EuMIC.2014.6997937CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gu, Y, Liao, S, Xue, Q and Che, W (2021) High gain wideband planar aperture antenna array for 5G millimeter-wave applications. In 2021 IEEE 4th International Conference on Electronic Information and Communication Technology (ICEICT), Xi'an, China, August 2021, pp. 710–713. doi: 10.1109/ICEICT53123.2021.9531097CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, W (2005) Development of microwave antennas, components and subsystems based on SIW technology. In 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Microwave, Antenna, Propagation and EMC Technologies for Wireless Communications, Beijing, China, 2005, p. P-14. doi: 10.1109/MAPE.2005.1617827CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, YJ and Fan, Y (2011) Millimeter-wave miniaturized substrate integrated multibeam antenna. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 59, 4840–4844.10.1109/TAP.2011.2165497CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Abdel-Wahab, WM and Safavi-Naeini, S (2011) Wide-bandwidth 60-GHz aperture-coupled microstrip patch antennas (MPAs) fed by substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 10, 1003–1005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Awida, MH and Fathy, AE (2012) Design guidelines of substrate-integrated cavity-backed patch antennas. IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation 6, 151.10.1049/iet-map.2011.0376CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yun, S, Kim, D-Y and Nam, S (2012) Bandwidth and efficiency enhancement of cavity-backed slot antenna using a substrate removal. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 11, 1458–1461.Google Scholar
Yeap, SB and Chen, ZN (2010) Microstrip patch antennas with enhanced gain by partial substrate removal. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 58, 2811–2816.10.1109/TAP.2010.2052572CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mukherjee, S, Biswas, A and Srivastava, KV (2014) Broadband substrate integrated waveguide cavity-backed bow-tie slot antenna. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 13, 1152–1155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yun, S, Kim, D-Y and Nam, S (2012) Bandwidth enhancement of cavity-backed slot antenna using a via-hole above the slot. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 11, 1092–1095.Google Scholar
Han, W, Yang, F, Ouyang, J and Yang, P (2015) Low-cost wideband and high-gain slotted cavity antenna using high-order modes for millimeter-wave application. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 63, 4624–4631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shi, Y, Liu, J and Long, Y (2017) Wideband triple- and quad-resonance substrate integrated waveguide cavity-backed slot antennas with shorting vias. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 65, 5768–5775.10.1109/TAP.2017.2755118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costantine, J, Tawk, Y and Christodoulou, CG (2016) Reconfigurable antennas. In Chen, ZN, Liu, D, Nakano, H, Qing, X and Zwick, T (eds), Handbook of Antenna Technologies. Singapore: Springer Singapore, pp. 1737–1772. doi: 10.1007/978-981-4560-44-3_61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sboui, F, Machac, J and Gharsallah, A (2018) Tunable slot antenna backed by substrate integrated waveguide cavity. International Journal of RF and Microwave Computer-Aided Engineering 28, e21591. doi: 10.1002/mmce.21591.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sboui, F, Machac, J and Gharsallah, A (2019) Low-profile slotted SIW cavity backed antenna for frequency agility. Radioengineering 27, 386–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choi, J, Park, J, Youn, Y, Hwang, W, Seong, H, Whang, YN and Hong, W (2020) Frequency-adjustable planar folded slot antenna using fully integrated multithrow function for 5G mobile devices at millimeter-wave spectrum. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 68, 1872–1881.10.1109/TMTT.2019.2961088CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rebeiz, GM (2003) RF MEMS: Theory, Design, and Technology. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley.10.1002/0471225282CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khaira, NK, Singh, T and Mansour, RR (2019) Monolithically integrated RF MEMS-based variable attenuator for millimeter-wave applications. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques 67, 3251–3259.10.1109/TMTT.2019.2925798CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dash, S and Patnaik, A (2017) Graphene loaded frequency reconfigurable metal antenna. In 2017 IEEE International Conference on Antenna Innovations & Modern Technologies for Ground, Aircraft and Satellite Applications (iAIM), Bangalore, India, November 2017, pp. 1–4. doi: 10.1109/IAIM.2017.8402579Google Scholar
Lou, Q, Tan, L, Poo, Y and Wu, R (2015) Ferrite-loaded SIW antenna – a new type of reconfigurable antenna. In 2015 International Workshop on Antenna Technology (iWAT), Seoul, March 2015, pp. 262–264. doi: 10.1109/IWAT.2015.7365324CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, J and Oh, J (2020) Liquid-crystal-embedded aperture-coupled microstrip antenna for 5G applications. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 19, 1958–1962.Google Scholar
Tan, L-R, Wu, R-X, Wang, C-Y and Poo, Y (2013) Magnetically tunable ferrite loaded SIW antenna. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters 12, 273–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tan, L-R, Wu, R-X and Poo, Y (2015) Magnetically reconfigurable SIW antenna with tunable frequencies and polarizations. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation 63, 2772–2776.10.1109/TAP.2015.2414446CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kouki, A, Sboui, F and Latrach, L (2022) A new tunable frequency 4xl MIMO antennas loaded with liquid crystal dedicated for 5G and WiGig applications. In 2022 Microwave Mediterranean Symposium (MMS), Pizzo Calabro, Italy, May 2022, pp. 1–6. doi: 10.1109/MMS55062.2022.9825541CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magnetically tunable U-slot microstrip patch antenna based on nematic liquid crystal materials | 2022-11-10 | Microwave Journal. Available at https://www.microwavejournal.com/articles/39179-magnetically-tunable-u-slot-microstrip-patch-antenna-based-on-nematic-liquid-crystal-materials (Accessed 4 February 2023).Google Scholar
Oswald, P and Pieranski, P (2005) Nematic and Cholesteric Liquid Crystals. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, D-K and Wu, S-T (2006) Fundamentals of Liquid Crystal Devices. Chichester; Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yaghmaee, P, Karabey, OH, Bates, B, Fumeaux, C and Jakoby, R (2013) Electrically tuned microwave devices using liquid crystal technology. International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 2013, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, N, Laurent, P, Person, C, Le Roy, M, Perennec, A, Gelin, P and Huret, F (2005) Influence of design liquid crystal-based devices on the agility capability. In IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium Digest, 2005., Long Beach, CA, USA, 2005, pp. 1835–1838. doi: 10.1109/MWSYM.2005.1517084CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luo, GQ, Wang, TY and Zhang, XH (2013) Review of low profile substrate integrated waveguide cavity backed antennas. International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 2013, 1–7.Google Scholar
Kumar, A, Saravanakumar, M and Raghavan, S (2018) Dual-frequency SIW-based cavity-backed antenna. AEU – International Journal of Electronics and Communications 97, 195–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pozar, DM (2005) Microwave Engineering, 3rd Edn. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley.Google Scholar
Entesari, K, Saghati, AP, Sekar, V and Armendariz, M (2015) Tunable SIW structures: antennas, VCOs, and filters. IEEE Microwave Magazine 16, 34–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deslandes, D and Wu, K (2002) Design consideration and performance analysis of substrate integrated waveguide components. In 32nd European Microwave Conference, 2002, Milan, Italy, October 2002, pp. 1–4. doi: 10.1109/EUMA.2002.339426CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podaru, G, Moore, J, Dani, RK, Prakash, P and Chikan, V (2015) Nested Helmholtz coil design for producing homogeneous transient rotating magnetic fields. Review of Scientific Instruments 86, 034701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed