SSRG International Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering Volume 11 Issue 12, 206-218, December 2024

ISSN: 2348-8549/ https://doi.org/10.14445/23488549/IJECE-V11I12P119 © 2024 Seventh Sense Research Group®

Original Article

Design and Analysis of Microstrip Patch Antennas for

Sub-6GHz 5G: A Comparative Study of Substrates and
Feeding Techniques
D. R. Basavaraju1, R. Sukumar2
1,2
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jain (Deemed-to-be University), Karnataka, India.
1Corresponding Author : [email protected]

Received: 24 October 2024 Revised: 28 November 2024 Accepted: 14 December 2024 Published: 30 December 2024

Abstract - In this paper, Microstrip patch antennas were designed at a center frequency of 3.7GHz, and the performance
parameters were analyzed using three different feeding techniques on two different substrates. The antennas were designed
using Direct, Inset and Quarter wave feeds on FR4 substrate having a dielectric constant (εr) of 4.4 as well as using low loss
RT-Duroid substrate with Dielectric constant 2.2 by keeping the constant size of 60mm*60mm*1.6mm. The antennas'
performance variations regarding Return Loss (S11), voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), Gain, Radiation Efficiency,
Bandwidth, and Impedance were analyzed using the ANSYS HFSS simulator. The analysis shows S11 of -21.2316 dB, -32.1585
dB, -22.9989 dB and -22.27 dB, -29.2056 dB, and -21.45 dB, respectively, for the Direct, Inset, Quarter wave feeds on FR4
and RT Duroid substrates respectively at 3.7GHz. The study shows that better impedance matching was obtained using an
Inset Feed than the other two, with VSWR values of 1.0506 and 1.0718, for the equal length and width of the substrate and
ground plane. The gain of the antennas was found to be 4.72 dBi,4.3 dBi,4.33 dBi and, 8.08 dBi, 8.05 dBi, and 8.10 dBi,
respectively. The moderate radiation efficiencies of 65.06%,50.84% and 51.54% were obtained for the design using a lossy
FR4 substrate. The study reveals that the design on low-loss RT Duroid substrate improves the Radiation efficiency and the
Gain but minimizing the bandwidth compared to the design on FR4 substrates.

Keywords - Microstrip Patch Antenna (MSPA), Sub-6 GHz, FR4, HFSS, Rogers RT/Duroid 5880.

1. Introduction rectangular patches are used with various performance

Rapid technological advancements have shown the path improvement techniques such as feeding techniques,
for high data rates, low latency, and enhanced capacity Defective Ground Structures (DGS), slots and slits etc. The
through 5G. Microstrip patch antennas play a critical role in primary task of the antenna is to transmit or receive
the sub-6GHz band of 5G due to their compact structure, electromagnetic waves effectively at the desired frequencies.
lightweight, ease of fabrication and meeting the requirements
of real-world communications. Many researchers have In the 5G scenario, particularly in the sub-6 GHz band,
implemented an MSPA for 5G applications using different which has below 6GHz frequencies, microstrip patch
techniques such as variations in substrate, feeding, antennas are well applicable due to their characteristic
introducing slit/slots, stacking the patches/substrates to features. The trade-off between capacity and coverage in 5G
achieve better results in the form of Gain, Bandwidth, sub-6 GHz is better than millimetre-wave frequencies that
Radiation efficiency, VSWR etc. Research on combining confirm long-distance transmission and penetration via
different techniques has a significant role in determining the obstacles such as buildings and large structures. This results
requisite performance. This work mainly focuses on the in a reliable and high data rate for multiple users.
design of MSPA by combining variations in three different
techniques and two substrates over a constant length and The main challenge in the 5G sub-6 GHz Microstrip
width of the ground plane and substrate. The structure of patch antenna design is to obtain better performance
MSPA includes a metallic surface at the top and bottom with parameters with less volume and cost that meets the user
the substrate in between. The substrate is dielectric, whereas demands such as wide bandwidth and high gain, which are
the radiating patch and ground plane are conductors. The very crucial for modern devices such as WiFi modules,
radiating patch can have shapes like rectangular, triangular, Internet of Things (IoT) equipment and smartphones. The
circular, pentagon, hexagon, etc. Most commonly, main problem today’s researchers face with the MSPA is that

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

 D. R. Basavaraju & R. Sukumar / IJECE, 11(12), 206-218, 2024

improving one performance parameter affects the other. performance shows its ability to work in integrated wireless
Hence, the design of optimised performance MSPAs is a communication due to its compact size, harmonic
challenging task. suppression, Null radiation at out-band and Wider
bandwidth.
In addition, the compact structure of microstrip patch
antennas makes them a good choice for incorporating them In this work, a circularly polarised patch antenna was
into base stations, mobile phones and different 5G devices. designed using slots and coupled strips to widen the 3-dB
Also, advancements in the fabrication and material sciences Axial Ratio Beam Width (ARBW) [5]. The measured values
have made the development of conformal, flexible, and semi- of the S11 matched adequately with the computer-simulated
flexible microstrip patch antennas possible. The efficiency of values, which were less than -10dB between 2.36 GHz and
the microstrip patch antennas is one more critical parameter 2.48 GHz. The simulated and measured ARBW values were
in sub-6GHz 5G applications. Efficient radiation signifies 241o and 244o respectively. The antenna can be used in
that a good amount of power has been radiated, which is a wireless applications at high-elevation angles.
prime factor for maintaining the signal strength.
The tri-polarized microstrip patch antenna operating at
The paper's organisation has six sections: Section 1 2.65GHz is proposed [6]. The Left-Hand Circular
discusses the need for a microstrip patch antenna in 5G sub- Polarisation (LHCP) was obtained by incorporating the slots
6GHz and its characteristic features. A review of the with the excitation of the set of radiative modes on a single
literature is presented in Section 2. The proposed antenna patch. Shorting vias were used to mitigate or suppress the
design methodology with the corresponding mathematical unwanted modes at the patch's edges. In the same way, with
equations is in Section 3. The results of the proposed the help of slots and shoring, vias Right Hand Circular
antennas are discussed in Section 4. Section 5 presents the Polarization (RHCP) and Linear polarisations were achieved
conclusion, and then the future scope is presented in Section on a quarter and Half patch. Finally, all the individual
6. patches were fabricated on a single structure by maintaining
an isolation greater than 20 dB.
2. Review of Literature
A microstrip patch antenna with a flag structure has been Microstrip Patch antennas operating at 2.4GHz with
designed using RT Duroid substrate (εr =2.2) resonating at different structures consisting of a single layer, Double layer
2.4GHz. [1]. The Defected Ground Structure and rectangular of substrate, diagonally slotted and corner slotted sections
slots were used to achieve a wide bandwidth and decrease the were designed [7]. The FR4 Epoxy material as a substrate
resonant frequency. The structure of the ground plane was L- having a height of 1.5mm and εr =4.4 has been used for the
shape, and Slit had been introduced on the Patch. The design. The gain of the single, double layer, diagonally
implemented antenna gives a Bandwidth of 200MHz and a slotted, corner slotted designs vary between 0.16dBi to
good radiation efficiency of 92%. 1.38dBi, with the bandwidth varying between 80 MHz and
120 MHz. The results emphasize that the diagonally slotted
This paper proposed an Omnidirectional Dual Band Microstrip Patch Antenna (MSPA) provides a better
Circular Patch antenna [2]. The Radiating Patch is circular reflection coefficient than the other structures.
and consists of a star-shaped slot at the mid, resulting in
operating at two bands (2.45 GHz and 5.2 GHz). Truncated The MSPA, using three different substrates with
Arc and partial ground structures were added to improve the dielectric constants of 4.3 (FR4), 2.2 (RT-5880), and 3
Bandwidth and reflection coefficient. A gain of 2.5dBi and (TLC-30), were designed [8]. Also, the thicknesses of all the
4.63dBi were obtained with a radiation efficiency of 98.5% substrates used differed, with the values 1.6, 1.575mm and
and 95%. The designed antenna was suitable for Wireless 1.58mm, respectively. The findings of the work show that
Body Area Networks due to its semi-flexible nature. the variations in dielectric constant height (thickness) of
substrates greatly impact the antenna gain and bandwidth.
An Inset-Fed Microstrip Patch antenna designed on an The TLC-30 gives better radiation efficiencies when
RT/Duroid 5880 substrate (εr =2.2) operating at 3.5GHz [3]. compared to the other two substrates used in the design. The
The antenna shows a good radiation efficiency of 89.56% Direct Fed MSPA is implemented on an FR4 substrate (εr
with a -13.772dB reflection coefficient. =4.4) with a height of 1mm in the LED3 simulator [9]. The
ground plane has H-shaped metal with two slots.
T-shaped feeding acting as a stepped impedance
structure is used with a circular-shaped patch operating at a The Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) microstrip patch antenna
frequency of 3.2GHz and is designed for harmonic was implemented over an FR4 substrate of εr =4.4 using a
suppression [4]. Two arms were included parallel to the T- simulator CST microwave studio [10]. The initial design of
shaped feeding structure. The gain of 7.5dBi is realized with the antenna was resonating at 6.7GHz. The variations in the
an improvement in the Bandwidth. The antenna's shape of the ground plane due to the introduction of slots

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resulted in improved bandwidth up to 5.7GHz. Due to wide

bandwidth, the single antenna covers WiFi, WiMAX, An Inset fed MSPA operating at 3.5GHz designed on
Bluetooth, and WLAN applications. FR4 substrate (εr =4.4) for Sub-6GHz 5G applications [19].
This paper's study reveals that a T-shaped slot on the patch
The Direct Fed MSPA is designed at 1.176GHz on a top and the half ground plane increased the antenna
FR4 Substrate (εr =2.33). The IE3D simulator was used. The performance, particularly S11 and VSWR.
0.021 GHz bandwidth and 6.3 dBi of gain were observed
from the results. The return loss was found to be -29.752dB A UWB MSPA with a staircase of structure and
[11]. rectangular slot in the patch was proposed in [20]. The slot
improved the antenna bandwidth (3.1 GHz- 16.7 GHz).
The Inset Fed MSPA is designed at 2.4GHz with a 4.4
dielectric constant material such as FR4. The Patch width is A rectangular MSPA operating at 3.5 GHz was designed
varied to get the different bandwidths [12]. using a FR4 substrate (εr =4.4, h=1.6mm). The antenna's
bandwidth was enhanced by increasing the height of the
The Direct Fed MSPA, along with an H-shaped slot on substrate. The Designed antenna gives a very good return
the patch, was proposed using different substrates at a loss, Bandwidth, and gain of -43.52 dB, 2.3 GHz, and 2.646
frequency of 2.4GHz. The analysis of the results shows that dBi [21].
the antenna with FR4 substrate gives a significant return loss
of -23.68dB [13]. From the literature, it is observed that most of the
research work concentrated on implementing the microstrip
This inset fed MSPA operating at 3.5GHz is designed patch antennas to improvise any of the performance
using an RT Duriod substrate (εr=4.3) with 0.1mm thickness parameters (better gain, VSWR, S11, Bandwidth, multi-
[14]. The structure was simulated in ANSYS HFSS, and the band, and wide-band operation etc ) with the variations in the
result shows a return loss of -19.89dB, directivity of 6.7 dBi, shape of the patch as triangular, flag, circular etc, introducing
VSWR of 1.22, and a bandwidth of 128.9 MHz. the slots/slits on the radiating patch, defected ground
structures, feeding techniques (Coaxial, Aperture coupled,
An Inset-Fed MSPA with a T-shaped slot on the Direct etc.) and substrate materials. Currently, researchers
radiating patch operating at 948MHz was proposed in the are concentrating on bandwidth, gain enhancement, and
paper [15]. The antenna consumes low power; hence, it incorporating Machine learning techniques, MIMO,
applies to UAV communications. The structure was designed particularly in MSPAs for 5G related applications. The
using a Rogers RO 4003C substrate (εr =3.55). The return proposed work focuses on improving the performance of
loss of the antenna was found to be -28.6 dB with a gain of microstrip patch antennas by combining the variations in
5.3dBi. The study reveals that introducing insets and slots substrate and feeding mechanisms by keeping the constant
enhanced the gain from 2 dBi to 5.3 dBi. length, the width of the substrate and ground plane for the
lower band of 5G implementations. Two substrates and three
The coaxial-fed stacked MSPA was implemented on an feeding techniques are used to implement the MSPAs at a
FR4 dielectric substrate for GPS and WiFi applications. The frequency of 3.7GHz.
upper and lower patches operated at 1.227 GHz and 2.4 GHz,
Table 1. Substrate parameters
respectively. The performance of the stacked patch antenna
Rogers
was correlated to the conventional single-patch antenna. The Substrate FR4
RT/duroid 5880
experimented antenna shows a better result of -15 dB/-
Dielectric
24.8dB (S11), 1.49/2 (VSWR) and 50MHz of bandwidth at 4.4 2.2
Constant (εr)
1.227 GHz and 2.4 GHz respectively [16].
Height (mm) 1.6 1.6
A Direct-fed MSPA operating at 4GHz is designed by Loss Tangent 0.02 0.0009
varying the substrates' thickness and dielectric constant. The
study takes three different substrates such as RT Duroid 5870 3. Proposed Antenna Design
(εr = 2.33), Neltec NY9320 (εr = 3.2) and FR4_epoxy (εr = The MSPA design primarily depends on key parameters
4.4). The substrates' thickness varied, and the performance
such as operating frequency, Dielectric constant (εr) and
parameters were analysed [18]. The analysis shows that the
substrate height (h). These three parameters will be used to
increase in the thickness decreases the gain and directivity
determine the length and width of the patch. The proposed
with the increase in bandwidth.
design takes a constant length, the width of the substrate, and
An Inset fed MSPA designed on an FR4 substrate with the ground plane with the value 60mm*60mm to implement
εr =4.3 with a thickness of 1.5mm using a CST microwave
an antenna using three different feeding techniques (Direct
studio simulator operating at 2.25 GHz [18].
Feed, Inset Feed, and Quarter wave Feed). The antennas

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were designed considering two commercially available 𝐿𝑔= 𝐿 + 6ℎ (6)

dielectric substrates, FR4 Epoxy and Rogers RT/duroid
5880. The details of the substrate parameters are listed in 𝑊𝑔 = 𝑊 + 6ℎ (7)
Table 1. Equations (1) to (7) will be used to find the various
dimensions of the Direct fed Microstrip patch antenna. In Lg- Ground plane length, Wg - Ground plane width.
addition to the first seven equations, equation (8) is used for
finding the inset depth from the edge of the patch for inset 𝜋𝑦0
𝑍𝑖𝑛 (𝑦 = 0) = 𝑍𝑖𝑛 (𝑦0 ) COS 2 ( ) (8)
fed microstrip patch antenna and equations (9) and (10) for 𝐿
finding the impedance of the quarter wave transformer in
Quarter wave fed antenna. Table 2 details the Quarter wave Where Zin (y=0) is the input impedance of the patch at the
Feed line's Inset Depth and Characteristic impedance. Figure edge, Zin ( y= y0) is the expected input impedance (50 ohms),
2 shows the general structure of the Direct, Inset and Quarter and L is the Patch length.
wave fed microstrip patch antennas. The flow chart
representing the design process of the proposed microstrip Quarter wave Transformer Length and Width can be
antennas is shown in Figure 1. The simulation set-up consists calculated by investigating the Characteristic impedance of
of setting a radiation boundary(100mm*100mm*40mm) to the transformer for the corresponding Edge impedances of
capture maximum antenna far field radiations with air as a the Patch.
𝑍02
material. An adaptive mesh with a maximum of 20 passes 𝑍𝑖𝑛 = (9)
𝑍𝐿
obtained good convergence. Lumped port excitation is
provided with an input impedance of 50 Ohms. The Zin is the Patch’s edge impedance, ZL is the feedline
frequency sweep is taken from 2.5GHz to 4.5GHz with a step impedance (50 ohms), and Z0 is the characteristic impedance
size 10MHz. PEC is assigned to the Patch, Feed, and Ground of a quarter wave transformer.
Plane, whereas dielectric material is assigned to the substrate.
𝑍0 = √𝑍𝑖𝑛 ∗ 𝑍𝐿 (10)
The equation governs the width of the microstrip patch
(1) as
The patch and feed line length and width parameters are
𝐶 2
𝑊= √𝜀 (1) calculated using the corresponding equations from equations
2𝑓𝑟 𝑟 +1
(1) to (10). The calculated and optimized values were
tabulated in Table 3. The optimization of direct fed
Where C- Free space light velocity, εr – Substrate’s microstrip patch antenna involves varying the Patch length
Dielectric constant, fr -resonant frequency or Operating and width by keeping the feed width constant in the proposed
frequency. design.
The patch length can be calculated by equation (2) as Variations of inset depth and width, along with the patch
length and width, were done in the case of the inset feeding
𝐿 = 𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓 − 2∆𝐿 (2) mechanism. The alterations with the width of the quarter
wave transformer, as well as the length and width of the
Leff- Patch’s effective length, given by equation (3) patch, resulted in the optimum values of the performance
parameters.
𝐿𝑒𝑓𝑓= 𝐶 (3)
2𝑓 Table 2. Inset depth and characteristic impedance of Quarter wave feed
𝑟 √𝜀𝑒𝑓𝑓
line
Rogers RT/duroid
Ԑeff – Substrate Effective dielectric constant given by the Substrate FR4
5880
equation (4)
Dielectric Constant 4.4 2.2
𝜀𝑒𝑓𝑓=𝜀𝑟+1+𝜀𝑟−1 1 (4)
2 2
√1+12ℎ Edge Impedance of the 243
𝑊 144 ohms
Patch (Zin) ohms
h – substrate thickness, w – Patch width.
6.609
Inset Depth (y0) 7.929394 mm
𝑊 mm
∆𝐿 (𝜀𝑒𝑓𝑓 +0.8) ( ℎ +0.264)
= 0.412 (5) Characteristic impedance
ℎ (𝜀𝑒𝑓𝑓 −0.258) (𝑊+0.8) 110.23
ℎ of Quarter wave Feed line 80.85 ohms
Ground plane length and width were calculated using the ohms
(Z0 )
equations (6) and (7).

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Select the operating frequency,

Substrate's Dielectric constant
and height

Calculate Length, Width of the

Patch and Feed Line

Design the Antenna in HFSS tool

Optimize the Parameters:

Direct Feed: Length, Width of the Patch
and Feedline.
Inset Feed: Length, Width of the Patch and
Inset.
Quarter Wave Feed: Length, Width of the
Patch and Quarter Wave Feed and Quarter
Wave Feed

Verify S11
Value (Direct
/Inset /Quarter
Wave Feed) NO

Yes

Measure VSWR, Gain, Radiation

Efficiency, Bandwidth, E, H-Field, J
Surface etc.

Fig. 1 Design process of proposed microstrip patch antennas

a b c

Fig. 2 General structure of Microstrip patch antennas: a. Direct Fed b. Inset Fed c. Quarter wave fed

The parametric variations of the design show that the are decreased for the structure designed using the high
patch width is increased to achieve the perfect resonance at dielectric constant substrate to get the proper impedance
the operating frequency with the equal length and width of matching. Meanwhile, the depth and width of the inset are
the substrate and ground plane. In contrast, the length is increased for the antenna structure made of a low dielectric
decreased for both FR4 and RT Duroid substrates. The constant substrate to get good impedance matching.
analysis shows that the Inset Width and depth of the antenna

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Table 3. Proposed microstrip patch antenna calculated and optimized values for Direct, Inset and Quarter wave Feeding using FR4 and RT Duroid
Substrates
Substrate FR4 RT Duroid
Feeding Parameters Calculated Value Optimized Calculated Optimized Value
Technique (mm) Value (mm) Value (mm) (mm)
Patch Length 18.8692 18.25 26.4691 25.3
Patch Width 24.67218 35 32.05 32.25
Direct Feed
Feed Length 22.215 11 29.6366 17.5
Feed Width 3.058 3.058 4.9298 1.2
Patch Length 18.8692 18.82 26.4691 26.45
Patch Width 24.67218 24.67218 32.05 32.5
Inset Feed Feed Length 28 26.29 26 26
Feed Width 3.058 3.058 4.9298 4.9298
Inset Depth 6.609 5.7 7.929394 8.31
Inset Width 6 5.5 7 7.9
Patch Length 18.8692 18.03 26.4691 25.525
Patch Width 24.67218 24.67218 32.05 32.1
Quarter Wave Feed Length 11.1076 11.1076 14.82 14.82
Feed Feed Width 3.058 3.058 4.9298 4.93
QW Length 11.7426 13.3924 15.14 15.93
QW Width 0.5345 1 2.215 1.15

4. Results and Discussion Gain: It measures the antenna’s capacity to drive the
The single microstrip patch antenna performance energy in the desired direction. It is measured by considering
parameters such as return loss (S11), VSWR, Gain, an isotropic antenna as a reference.
Bandwidth, Radiation efficiency, Radiation Pattern, E-field,
H-field, and Surface current density (Jsurf) were analysed Bandwidth: It measures frequency range with S11 less
individually for the different substrates using HFSS. than -10dB.

Return Loss (S11): S11 is the measure of power Radiation Efficiency: This signifies the ability of an
reflected compared to the input power. The typical value of antenna to convert the supplied input power into
the S11 for the antenna applications is -10dB and less. S11 of electromagnetic signals. Mathematically, it is the ratio of
-10 dB indicates 90 percent of the power has been radiated to the total input power.
transmitted from the antenna, and only 10 percent is
reflected. Radiation Pattern: Pictorial way of representing the
antenna’s radiation concerning directions.
VSWR: VSWR is the measure of impedance matching.
The minimum value of the VSWR is 1, and the maximum E-Filed, H-Field and Surface Current Density: The
value will be ꝏ. For the antenna, the VSWR value should be measure of current flow on the antenna surface per unit
less than 2. length. The E, H-field and Jsurf form the resonance.

Table 4. Performance parameters of MSPA with different feeding techniques on FR4 and RT duroid substrates
Feeding
Direct Feed Inset Feed Quarter Wave Feed
Technique
Substrate FR4 RT Duroid FR4 RT Duroid FR4 RT Duroid
S11 (dB) -21.2316 -22.27 -32.1485 -29.2056 -22.9989 -21.444
VSWR 1.1901 1.1677 1.0506 1.0718 1.1524 1.1850
Gain(dBi) 4.72 8.08 4.30 8.05 4.33 8.10
Bandwidth
213 80.8 108 71.9 111.2 67.4
(MHz)
Radiation
65.06 98.62 50.84 98.31 51.50 98.39
Efficiency (%)
Impedance 1.0634-
1.050+0.1749i 0.8597+0.0319i 1.0493+0.0115i 0.9464+0.0409i 1.1369+0.1188i
(ohms) 0.1320i

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4.1. Analysis of the Performance Parameters of Designed quality factor. The high dielectric constant substrates lead to
MSPAs with Substrate as a Key Parameter low-quality factors, resulting in wider bandwidths and vice-
Table 4 shows the various performance parameters of versa. The experiment shows that antennas designed using
the designed microstrip patch antennas with different feeding FR4 as a substrate provide better bandwidth than those
techniques on FR4 and RT Duroid substrates with the implemented using RT-Duroid substrates, irrespective of the
dielectric constants 4.4 and 2.2, respectively. feeding techniques.

The parameters, as tabulated in Table 4, signify that, The experiment also implies that for bandwidth-critical
over a constant length of the substrate and the ground of the 5G applications such as Live streaming, Industrial
antenna, the design using an RT Duroid substrate gives a Automation, Augmented and virtual reality, remote surgery,
relatively better reflection coefficient for direct feed, whereas etc. FR4 as a substrate is better for the antenna design than
FR4 substrates perform comparatively well to the inset and the RT Duroid. The real part of the impedance values is
quarter wave feeds. A VSWR value of less than 2 is between 0.85 and 1.05. This signifies that the value of the
considered significant for practical antenna applications, real part is very close to 1, and the designed antennas are
resulting in better radiation and minimum reflection. well matched with the characteristic impedance, thus
resulting in better radiation from the antenna with minimal
The FR4 substrate gives a better VSWR value of 1.0506 reflections on the source.
for the Inset feed, but RT Duroid performs well for direct,
quarter-wave feeds. Irrespective of the feeding techniques, The imaginary part of the impedance is almost close to 0
the RT Duroid substrate antennas give an excellent gain, with a minimum value of -0.1320i and a maximum of
radiation efficiencies of above 8 dBi and 98.3 percent due to +0.1749i. The positive and negative values in the imaginary
the dielectric properties of the substrate, such as low tangent part indicate inductive and capacitive reactance.
loss, quick movement of the electromagnetic waves in the
lower dielectric constant materials resulting in less 4.2. Analysis of the Performance Parameters of Designed
confinement. MSPAs with Feeding Technique as a Key Parameter
The microstrip antennas were designed using three
The surface waves in the high dielectric constant different feeding techniques: Direct, Inset and Quarter wave
material produce less radiation, affecting the antenna's gain. feed. Table 4 shows that very good impedance matching of -
For all these reasons, from the results, we can observe that 32.1485 dB and -29.2056 dB was obtained for the inset feed
the gain of the RT Duroid substrate antennas is 4dBi higher microstrip patch antennas using FR4 and RT Duroid
than the FR4 antennas. The MSPAs designed over an RT substrates compared to the other two. The inset feed results
Duroid substrate, irrespective of the feed provided, are prove that the inset depth is moved to the 50 ohm point on
suitable for 5G applications in Industrial IoT, Remote the patch to obtain better matching.
Surveillance, Tracking and Navigation, Fleet management,
etc., where gain and efficiency are critical parameters at the In Direct feed, the 50-ohm feedline is directly connected
cost of increased size of the patch, moderate bandwidth. to the edge of the patch, which has a higher impedance,
resulting in difficulty in matching. The variations in the
The design also proves the material property of the low length of the quarter wave transformer lead to less accurate
dielectric constant, tangent loss substrates. In contrast to the impedance matching. Due to this, the results of S11 for the
RT Duroid MSPAs, The MSPAs designed on FR4 substrate direct fed and quarter wave microstrip patch antennas are not
give comparatively 35MHz more bandwidth at the cost of as good as the inset feed. The simulated results are shown in
reduced gain and efficiency due to their material properties, the Figures 3-7. The performance comparison of the various
such as dielectric constant and loss tangents affecting the works with the present work is tabulated in Tables 5 and 6.

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

Fig. 3 Electric Field Distributions at 3.7GHz (3a,3b,3c – for FR4 substrate, 3d,3e,3f – for RT Duroid substrate

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Table 5. Comparison of various works with the proposed work on FR4 (4.4)

Operating Radiation Antenna

Return Loss Gain Bandwidt
Technique used Frequenc Efficiency Size
(S11 in dB) (dBi) h (GHz)
y (GHz) (%) (mm3)
Patch antenna with Parallel
2.42 <-10 3.42 0.12 60 60 × 60 × 1.575
strips and slots [5]
Microstrip Patch with
variation in substrate layers 2.4 -29.61 0.16 0.08 - 47×38.18×1.5
and positions of slots. [7]
Inset Fed MSPA [12] 3.64-10.52 -20.211 3.04 6.68 - 80*60*1.6
Coaxial Fed stacked Dual-
1.227/2.4 -15 /-24.8 4.22/2.39 0.05/0.09 - 85*85*1.6
Band MSPA [16]
Inset fed MSPA with T-Slot
3.5 -38 3.4 0.15 - 37*37*1.6
and half Ground Plane [19]

Constant Length, Width of

-21.2316/ 4.72/ 0.213/ 65.06/
Substrate and Ground plane
3.7 -32.1485/ 4.30/ 0.108/ 50.84/ 60*60*1.6
with direct, inset and quarter
-22.9989 4.33 0.112 51.50
wave feeds. [This Work]

Table 6. Comparison of various works with the proposed work on Rogers RT5880 (2.2)

Operating Radiation Antenna

Return Loss Gain Bandwidt
Technique used Frequenc Efficiency Size
(S11 in dB) (dBi) h (GHz)
y (GHz) (%) (mm3)

Partial Ground along with -32.21

2.48 2.5 0.5 93 34 x 22 x 0.8
Rectangular Slots [1]

Circular Patch with a Star Slot

2.45/5.2 -24/-21 2.5/4.63 1.396/2.02 98.5/95 47×30 × 0.787
in the middle [2]

Inset Fed MSPA [3] 3.5 -13.772 7.55 0.0236 89.56 100×100×0.077

Circular Patch with T Shaped

2.55 <-10 7.5 0.26 - 62 × 60 × 6.1
feeding [4]

Inset Fed MSPA [14] 3.5 -19.89 - 0.1289 - 50*50*0.1

Constant Length, Width of

-22.27/ 8.08/ 0.0808/ 98.62/
Substrate and Ground plane
3.7 -29.2056 / 8.05/ 0.0719/ 98.31/ 60*60*1.6
with direct, inset and quarter
-21.444 8.10 0.0674 98.39
wave feeds. [This Work]

The antenna deployed in practical applications requires a electric field distribution in the inset, quarter wave than the
minimum S11 of -10 dB and a VSWR of less than 2. The direct feed. The inset feed design shows a better result
S11 values were less than -20dB, and the VSWR values were regarding S11 and VSWR over a constant length, substrate
closer to the ideal value of 1 in all the implementations, more width, and ground plane. Quarter feed gives an almost equal
specifically, less than 1.2. The proposed MSPA performance to Inset feed, but the design is complex. Even
implementations are compact when compared to the designs though the design is simple, achieving a proper impedance
in [3],[4],[12],[16]. The feeding techniques directly impact matching to reduce the spurious radiations is a challenge in
the E-field distribution in the MSPAs. Figure 3 shows better Direct feed.

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(a) (e)

(b) (f)

(c) (g)

(d) (h)

Fig. 4 Simulated results of the antenna designed on FR4 (left column) and RT Duroid (right Column) Substrates with Direct Feed.
(Fig.4a,4e- Plot of S11 versus frequency, Fig.4b,4f- Plot of VSWR versus frequency, Fig. 4c,4g – 3D plot of Gain, Fig. 4d,4h- Surface Current
Distribution)

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(a) (e)

(b) (f)

(c) (g)

(d) (h)

Fig. 5 Simulated results of the antenna designed on FR4 (left column) and RT Duroid (right Column) Substrates with Inset Feed.
(Fig. 5a,5e- Plot of S11 versus frequency, Fig. 5b,5f- Plot of VSWR versus frequency, Fig. 5c,5g – 3D plot of Gain, Fig. 5d,5h- Surface Current
Distribution)

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(a) (e)

(b) (f)

(c) (g)

(d) (h)

Fig. 6 Simulated results of the antenna designed on FR4 (left column) and RT Duroid (right Column) Substrates with Quarter wave Feed. (Fig.6a,6e-
Plot of S11 versus frequency, Fig.6b,6f- Plot of VSWR versus frequency, Fig.6c,6g – 3D plot of Gain, Fig.6d,6h- Surface Current Distribution).

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5. Conclusion the direct, quarter wave feeds over a constant length,

In this paper, microstrip patch antennas were designed substrate width, and ground plane. The designed MSPAs that
with a constant length, substrate width, and ground plane on provide better gain, efficiencies and moderate bandwidth can
FR4, RT-Duroid substrates using Direct, Inset and Quarter be used in 5G applications such as Industrial IoT, Remote
wave feeding techniques at a frequency of 3.7 GHz. The Surveillance, Tracking and Navigation, Fleet management,
structure of the antennas was analysed using an HFSS etc. The MSPAs with moderate gain, efficiency, and good
simulator. The study reveals that the antennas designed with bandwidth can be accommodated in live streaming, industrial
a low loss RT-Duroid substrate provide better gain and automation, augmented and virtual reality, remote surgery,
efficiency than the FR4 substrate with a narrow bandwidth. It etc.
was also found that a high dielectric constant substrate is
preferred for a bandwidth-critical application. In contrast, Future Scope
low loss substrates must be preferred for applications The proposed methodology can be extended to the
concentrating on Gain and Efficiency. A minimum of 35 design of 2*2 and 4*4 MIMO antennas to improve the
MHz more bandwidth has been obtained for the antennas performance parameters further to meet the demand of users
designed over a FR4 substrate with gains of 4.72 dBi,4.3 in terms of high data rate, low latency, wide bandwidth, etc,
dBi, and 4.33 dBi. The better Gains of 8.08 dBi, 8.05 dBi, in 5G applications. Also, the proposed implementations can
8.10 dBi and Radiation efficiencies of 98.62%, 98.31%, and be experimented with by employing slots/slits, defects in the
98.33% were achieved on a low loss RT-Duroid substrate. ground, meta surface, etc., to obtain the multi-band and
The S11 values of -21.2316 dB, -32.1585 dB, -22.9989 dB wide-band characteristics and better gain that leads to
and, -22.27 dB, -29.2056 dB, -21.45 dB were obtained, accommodating multiple 5G applications in a single
respectively, for the Direct, Inset, Quarter wave feeds on FR4 structure. The researchers can also work on incorporating
and RT-Duroid substrates. The VSWR values 1.0506 and machine learning algorithms to analyse the characteristics of
1.0718 obtained for the inset feed antennas signify that inset MSPAs with the feed and substrate variations over a constant
feed is a better choice for excellent impedance matching than length and width of a ground substrate.

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