IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 50, NO.

10, OCTOBER 2002 1415

Coplanar-Waveguide-Fed Slot-Coupled Rectangular

Dielectric Resonator Antenna
M. S. Al Salameh, Member, IEEE, Yahia M. M. Antar, Fellow, IEEE, and Guy Séguin

Abstract—A novel coupling scheme to rectangular dielectric order to match the dielectric resonator to the feedline and to
resonator antenna is proposed and investigated. In particular, excite the desired mode in the resonator in order to achieve the
coupling to the resonator is achieved through narrow slot at the required radiation characteristics. The most common method
end of a coplanar waveguide (CPW). The objectives of this design
are to maximize the coupling, match the dielectric resonator to of feeding is either probe feed [5], [6] or the microstrip-fed
the CPW feed line, achieve resonance at the desired frequency, aperture-coupled arrangement [7]. The latter offers more
obtain linear polarization with low-cross polarization components, flexibility and is directly compatible with different mounting
and minimize back radiation without using back conductor. An surfaces. For a comprehensive list of references on this topic,
approximate and quick design approach is given followed by the reader is referred to the feature article in [3]. However, to
more accurate design and analysis using commercial software.
The antenna was fabricated and tested. Measurements match avoid via holes and for ease of fabrication and compatibility
well with simulation results. with solid-state devices, the uniplanar configuration could be
Index Terms—Coplanar waveguide (CPW), dielectric res- advantageous. Despite that, the coplanar waveguide (CPW)
onators, measurement, radiation. feed to DRAs didn’t receive much attention. To the authors’
knowledge, very limited research on CPW-fed DRAs has been
reported [8], [9].
I. INTRODUCTION In this paper, a theoretical and experimental study was
undertaken in order to investigate the coupling from CPW to
T ELECOMMUNICATION and radar systems are increas-
ingly being used in the millimeter-wave band for the larger
bandwidth available. Printed or patch antennas have been de-
dielectric resonator (DR). The structure investigated consists
of rectangular dielectric resonator mounted on a linear slot
signed to operate in the millimeter-wave range [1]. However, in the ground plane of a CPW, see Fig. 1. The dielectric
conductor and dielectric losses could be significant at these mil- resonator is centered over the slot. The slot represents the
limeter-wave frequencies [2], which degrade the efficiency and coupling mechanism between the resonator and the CPW line.
adversely affect the performance of the system. On the other The lowest-order TE mode of the DRA is excited. The
hand, the dielectric-resonator antenna shows great potential for antenna described was designed with the help of the commercial
these applications. software Ansoft HFSS [10].
There is growing interest in dielectric resonator antennas In this structure, the thickness and dielectric constant of the
(DRAs) as they share many of the advantages with the patch substrate were chosen to reduce the adverse effects of the leaky
antennas, such as: light weight, low cost, small size, and ease modes [11] and surface waves [12]. In consequence, the aim
of integration with other active or passive microwave integrated was to design an antenna with reduced leaky modes and surface
circuit (MIC) components [3]. Additionally, DRAs avoid some waves effects, while keeping the radiation under the substrate
limitations of the patch antennas including the high-conductor insignificant.
losses at millimeter-wave frequencies, sensitivity to tolerances, A simple and quick approximate design procedure is out-
and narrow bandwidth. lined in this paper. This gives an initial design, which is then
DRAs of cylindrical, hemispherical, and rectangular shapes refined by full-wave techniques, e.g., commercial software. The
are the most widely used and investigated. The rectangular DRA computed field distributions inside the DR are also given. The
has additional advantages over the other shapes. The rectangular antenna presented here was fabricated and tested.
shape is much easier to fabricate and one or two more dimen-
sional parameters are available as additional degrees of freedom II. DESIGN
for the designer [4].
An approximate and quick design procedure is given here.
The use of dielectric resonators in microwave circuits
This initial approximate design is then refined by full analysis
requires accurate knowledge of the coupling between the
software, e.g., Ansoft HFSS [10]. Alternatively, the slot length
resonator and the microwave circuits. This is important in
may be experimentally adjusted to provide optimum coupling.
The design procedure starts by choosing the substrate. To re-
Manuscript received December 4, 2000; revised June 18, 2001. duce the adverse effects of the leaky modes [11] and surface
M. S. Al Salameh is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Jordan
University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, Jordan. waves [12], a substrate with suitable thickness and dielectric
Y. M. M. Antar is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engi- constant was used without a back conductor for the CPW inves-
neering, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON K7K 7B4, Canada. tigated. After that, the dimensions of the CPW are estimated to
G. Séguin is with the Canadian Space Agency, Saint-Hubert, QC J3Y 8Y9,
Canada. provide line impedance of 50 . This can be done either by the
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TAP.2002.802097 quasi-static design equations of the characteristic impedance of
0018-926X/02$17.00 © 2002 IEEE
1416 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 50, NO. 10, OCTOBER 2002

Fig. 1. Three-dimensional (3-D) view of the fabricated slot-coupled CPW-fed Fig. 2. Top view of the ground plane along with CPW and slot. All dimensions
rectangular DRA. are in millimeters (not to scale). Note that the resonator is not shown.

the uniform infinite-length CPW transmission line, or even by Extensive simulations using HFSS to characterize the antenna
using HFSS. The dimensions of the fabricated CPW are given were made. Measurements were performed to determine the
in Section III. radiation and coupling characteristics of the antenna.
It is to be emphasized here that the slot is not intended to be
an efficient radiator on its own. Thus, the slot is designed to effi-
ciently couple the energy from the CPW to the resonator. To this III. DIMENSIONS AND PARAMETERS
end, the slot length is chosen in the vicinity of at the reso-
nance frequency, where is the guided wavelength of the slot. The design procedure outlined in Section II has been utilized
This is easily calculated using HFSS, by considering an infinite to produce a structure that meets the objectives described in
transmission line with superstrate having the same material and this paper. The optimum design obtained has dimensions of the
height as the dielectric resonator and substrate similar to that of CPW and slot as shown in Fig. 2. The coupling scheme consid-
the DRA antenna. For this case, mm. Thus, the initial ered in this paper consists of CPW terminated by a narrow linear
design suggests slot length of 8.5 mm. In fact, the accurate slot slot where a rectangular dielectric resonator is placed as illus-
length obtained by full-wave techniques (HFSS) was 8.2 mm. trated in Fig. 1. The E plane is the plane ( ), which is
Also, the measurements showed that the coupling to the DR is perpendicular to the slot. The H plane is the plane ( ),
optimum at this slot length. The slot width was selected to be which is along the slot. Note that the azimuthal angle is mea-
narrow ( ), in order to minimize the cross-polarization sured from the positive axis.
levels. The CPW dimensions are center conductor width 0.5 mm
The resonant frequency of the DRA may be easily de- and gap width 0.26 mm. These parameters of the CPW give
termined using the model described in [13] or using the mod- 50 characteristic impedance. Slot dimensions are length
ified waveguide model [14]. For convenience, these equations 8.2 mm and width 0.26 mm. These dimensions of the slot
are written as maximize the coupling to the resonator. Substrate (RT/duroid)
parameters are thickness 100 mils and . Resonator
(1) parameters are length width 10.2 mm and height
7.89 mm, . The ground plane dimensions are length
(2) width 14 cm and the slot is in the middle of the ground plane.
Using these dimensions and parameters, the lowest-order
TE mode of the DRA is excited, which has field configu-
(3) ration as illustrated in Fig. 3 based on full-wave solutions of
HFSS. Note that using image theory, the height of the equiva-
Where is the dielectric constant of the resonator, is the speed lent isolated resonator is twice the height of the resonator on
of light, and the lengths , , are as shown in Fig. 1. Alterna- ground plane. This mode radiates like a slot- directed magnetic
tively, these equations may be used to determine the parameters dipole. It is clear from Fig. 3(a) that the electric field vectors
of the resonator for a desired frequency of operation. above the slot are parallel. This indicates the possibility to have
Note that the values of the substrate thickness and dielectric linear polarization with low cross-polarization levels. Also,
constant were chosen in order to keep the slot length smaller in Fig. 3(b), the electric field vectors are perpendicular to the
than the width of resonator. This provides a compact design ground plane. This should be the case since the ground plane is
where the slot lies totally under the resonator. assumed to be a perfect conductor.
SALAMEH et al.: CPW-FED SLOT-COUPLED RECTANGULAR DIELECTRIC RESONATOR ANTENNA 1417

Fig. 3. Full-wave solution of the field distribution of TE mode inside

resonator. (a) In the xz plane at y = 0. (b) In the xy plane at z = 0.

Fig. 5. Computed and measured radiation patterns at resonance in the E Plane

(perpendicular to the slot).

Fig. 4. Computed and measured return loss versus frequency.

IV. RESULTS
The CPW and slot were fabricated and the resonator was
glued to the slot by silicone cement, which had a negligible ef-
fect on coupling or frequency of operation. Measurements were
performed to determine the return loss, impedance characteris-
tics, and the radiation in both the E plane and H plane of the Fig. 6. Computed and measured radiation patterns at resonance in the H Plane
antenna. The obtained results show that very good performance (parallel to the slot).

has been achieved.

Return Loss: The calculated return loss of the DRA operating Radiation Patterns: Fig. 5 illustrates the comparison between
in the TE mode versus frequency is shown in Fig. 4 along the computed and measured co- and cross-polarized radiation
with the measured data. The agreement between these results patterns in the E plane (perpendicular to the slot). Note that the
is excellent. The small differences between the measured and fields were measured within the elevation angle range: 70
predicted values may be attributed to the proximity effects, to 70 . The elevation angle is measured from the positive
manufacturing tolerances, and other effects of the connector axis, see Fig. 1. The measured and simulated results match
used for the transition from the coaxial cable to the CPW well as can be seen from Fig. 5. There are some ripples in the
line. The computed resonant frequency is 4.52 GHz and the measured patterns. These ripples are expected to be due to
measured resonant frequency is 4.635 GHz. The difference the diffractions from the edges of the ground plane. It is clear
between measured and calculated resonant frequencies is only also that the measured cross-polarization levels are low. In
2.5%. Fig. 4 shows that the return loss of the antenna is less addition, the co- and cross-polarized radiation patterns were
than 10 dB over a frequency bandwidth of 6%. measured in the H plane (parallel to the slot), see Fig. 6.
1418 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 50, NO. 10, OCTOBER 2002

REFERENCES
[1] A. Ittipiboon, D. Roscoe, Y. M. M. Antar, M. Cuhaci, and L.
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[2] R. K. Hoffmann, Handbook of Microwave Integrated Cir-
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[5] S. A. Long, M. W. McAllister, and L. C. Shen, “The resonant cylindrical
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[6] K. W. Leung, K. M. Luk, and K. Y. A. Lai, “Theory and experiment
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Fig. 7. Real part (continuous line) and imaginary part (dotted line) of the 1993.
antenna input impedance evaluated at the slot. [7] J. T. H. St.-Martin, Y. M. M. Antar, A. A. Kishk, A. Ittipiboon, and M.
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[Online]. Available: http://www.ansoft.com/.
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zero whereas the real part is about 50 . Furthermore, both the behavior on coplanar waveguides of finite and infinite widths,”
measured and simulated smith charts show excellent matching IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 39, pp. 2130–2137,
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[12] N. G. Alexopoulos, P. B. Katehi, and D. B. Rutledge, “Substrate
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[13] A. Ittipiboon, R. Mongia, Y. M. M. Antar, P. Bhartia, and M. Cuhaci,
V. CONCLUSION “Aperture fed rectangular and triangular dielectric resonators for use
as magnetic dipole antennas,” Electron. Lett., vol. 29, no. 23, pp.
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Dielectric resonator antenna fed by CPW is investigated and a [14] Y. M. M. Antar, D. Cheng, G. Seguin, B. Henry, and M. G. Keller, “Mod-
novel coupling scheme is devised and tested. This new structure ified waveguide model for dielectric resonator antennas,” Microwave
was fabricated and tested. The predicted simulation results Opt. Technol. Lett., vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 158–160, Oct. 1998.
were verified by performing experiments on the fabricated
antenna. The objectives were to obtain linear polarization,
optimize the coupling from the CPW feedline to the resonator
at the resonance frequency, and to have certain radiation
characteristics. It is worth noting that this structure may be
considered as a building block for other useful configurations
such as: arrays, circularly polarized antennas, dual-frequency
structures, wide-band structures, and active antennas. Also, the
excitation of DRA by CPW feedlines has potential applications M. S. Al Salameh (S’92–M’93) received the Ph.D.
degree from the University of Ottawa, ON, Canada,
in MMIC technology. in 1993.
He is currently an Associate Professor of
Electrical Engineering at the Jordan University
of Science and Technology, Irbid. From 1986 to
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 1991, he was a Planning and Design Engineer, at
Telecommunications Corporation, Amman, Jordan.
He was a Visiting Professor at the Royal Military
The authors would like to thank M. G. Keller, Commu- College of Canada, Kingston, ON, working on
nications Research Center (CRC), Ottawa, ON, Canada, the development and applications of dielectric
resonators. His research interests include microstrip and CPW circuits, optical
H. Hammad and B. Frank, Department of Electrical and fibers, satellite communications, neural networks, dielectric resonator antennas
Computer Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, and radar sensing.
Canada, for their invaluable assistance in manufacturing the Dr. Al Salameh is a Member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques
Society, the Electromangetic Compatability Society, and Jordan Engineers
antenna and performing the measurements, respectively. Association.
SALAMEH et al.: CPW-FED SLOT-COUPLED RECTANGULAR DIELECTRIC RESONATOR ANTENNA 1419

Yahia M. M. Antar (S’73–M’76–SM’85–F’00) Guy Séguin was born in St. Jérôme QC, Canada, on August 15, 1952. He re-
was born on November 18, 1946, in Meit Temmama, ceived the B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics from the University of Moncton,
Egypt. He received the B.Sc. (Hons.) degree from NB, Canada, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from McGill Uni-
Alexandria University, Egypt, and the M.Sc. and versity QC, Canada in 1977, 1979, and 1998, respectively.
Ph.D. degrees from the University of Manitoba, From 1983 to 1993, he worked for Spar Aerospace, ON, Canada, as an An-
Winnipeg, Canada, MB, all in electrical engineering, tenna Engineer. In 1993, he joined the Canadian Space Agency as an Antenna
in 1966, 1971, and 1975, respectively. Specialist, in 1996, he became Manager of the RF Technology Section, and in
In 1966, he was a Faculty Member in the Depart- 2000, he became the Director of the Spacecraft Payloads Group. His research
ment of Engineering, Alexandria University, Egypt, interests include electromagnetism, near-field measurement, array antenna, and
where he was involved in teaching and research. At SAR antenna.
the University of Manitoba, he held a University Fel-
lowship, NRC Postgraduate, and Postdoctoral Fellowships. From 1976 to 1977,
he was a Faculty Member with the Department of Engineering, University of
Rezina, Regina, SK, Canada. In June 1977, he was awarded a Visiting Fellow-
ship from the Government of Canada to work at the Communications Research
Center, Department of Communications, Shirley’s Bay, Ottawa, ON, Canada,
where he was involved in research and development of satellite technology with
the Space Electronics Group. In May 1979, he joined the Division of Electrical
Engineering, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, where he worked
on polarization radar applications in remote sensing of precipitation, radio wave
propagation, electromagnetic scattering, and radar cross section investigations.
In November 1987, he joined the staff of the Department of Electrical and Com-
puter Engineering, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, where he
is currently a Professor of electrical and computer engineering. He holds an ad-
junct appointment at the University of Manitoba and has a cross appointment at
the Queen’s University, Kingston, ON Canada.
Dr. Antar is currently the Chairman of the Canadian National Commission
of URSI Commission B and holds a Canada Research Chair in Electromagnetic
Engineering.