Design and analysis of rectangular microstrip patch antenna at 2.4 and 5 GHz

Abstract

The future advancements in wireless communication and the network technology is facing new challenges under different circumstances. These challenges are emerging out as revolutionary invention roadmaps. This study strives to contribute in wireless communication and networking systems. A rectangular microstrip patch antenna is proposed. Initially, some common mediums of communication such as WIFI/WLAN and Bluetooth were targeted. The successful execution leads us to target the commons bandwidth of wireless communication i.e. 2.4 and 5 GHz. The dielectric substrate material used for this purpose was FR4 with 1.6 × 38 × 39.8 mm dimensions (thickness × width × height). The design and simulation on HFSS V15.0 revealed the peak at 2.4 and 5 GHz. These results were also verified through 3D polar plot. After successful simulation, the next step was fabrication. DipTrace circuit design tool was used to generate Gerber file and was printed it on glossy paper followed by printing of antenna on substrate. To remove copper surrounding, FeCl3 and butyl solutions were used followed by soldering of SMA, for successful transmission. The simulation results were empirically verified by using VNA (Vector Network Analyzer). The proposed antenna shows significant negative environmental effect on its transmission. The return loss is quantified as -13dB and -27dB at 2.4 and 5 GHz, respectively. In addition, it promises swift and economic transmission of data with minimum noise attenuation requirement.