IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 60, NO.

7, JULY 2012 3513

Gain Enhancement for Broadband Periodic Endfire

Antenna by Using Split-Ring Resonator Structures
Wenquan Cao, Bangning Zhang, Aijun Liu, Tongbin Yu,
Daosheng Guo, and Yi Wei

Abstract—A novel broadband high gain periodic endfire antenna is pre-

sented. Broad bandwidth is realized by using a parallel strip line (PSL) feed
and bowtie dipole elements while gain enhancement is achieved by loading
split-ring resonator (SRR) structure in the endfire direction. The measure-
ments show that SRR-loaded antenna presents gain of about 6.2~9.9 dB in
the whole working band (5.1~8.2 GHz), which is about 1.3~4.2 dB more
than the unloaded one. This antenna can be used in wireless communica-
tion systems for its advantages of broad bandwidth and high gain.
Index Terms—Bowtie antennas, broadband high gain antenna, split-ring
resonator (SRR).
Fig. 1. Geometry of the proposed antenna.

I. INTRODUCTION
With the rapid development of wireless communications, antennas
with broad bandwidth, high gain and unidirectional radiation patterns
are much in demand in various communication systems such as satellite
communication systems and point-to-point communication systems.
Bowtie dipoles are widely used for their simple structure and broad
bandwidth [1]–[3]. However features of dipole-like radiation patterns
and low gain restrict their applications. In [4], a wideband periodic end-
fire antenna with three bowtie dipole elements is proposed based on the
idea of log-periodic antenna. The fabricated one owns an impedance
bandwidth of 51.4% for SWR  2, an average gain of 4 dBi and uni-
directional patterns. Nevertheless, its gain is still lower than the con-
ventional patch antenna [5].
In recent years, many metamaterials which exhibit unique properties
have been widely used for microwave component and antenna appli- Fig. 2. The proposed SRR unit and simulation model.
cations [6]–[12]. Among them, low/zero-index (LIM/ZIM) materials
have features of controlling the direction of emission [10], [11]. In [12],
with the ZIM structure as the superstrate of a microstrip patch antenna, of the fabricated ones show good agreement with the simulation ones.
1~2 dB gain improvement is obtained. However, this kind of structure The proposed single-ring SRRs loaded periodic endfire antenna with
makes antenna thick in profile and heavy in weight. In [13], split-ring unidirectional patterns has solved the issues of the limited gain in
resonator (SRR) structure is introduced to achieve high gain along the [4], and restricted bandwidth and multi-layer structure in [13], which
endfire direction. When the wire dipole antenna is brought close to the makes it more valuable in practical applications.
SRR array, considerable gain of about 3 dB more than the gain of the
II. ANTENNA DESIGN
dipole antenna in free space is achieved. However the bandwidth of this
antenna is quite narrow. The geometry of the proposed antenna is shown in Fig. 1. The an-
In this communication, a broadband high gain periodic endfire tenna consists two major parts: the periodic endfire antenna part and
antenna based on SRRs is proposed. The broad bandwidth is realized the SRR load part. The structure of the periodic endfire antenna part
based on the idea in [4]. And gain enhancement is achieved by loading is designed based on [4]. This part is made up of a microstrip feed
two rows of SRRs symmetrically in the endfire direction while main- line, a transition from the microstrip line to a PSL, and three bowtie
taining the wideband performance. The SRR-loaded antenna owns elements of different size connected to the PSL. This antenna is fabri-
gain of about 6.2~9.9 dB in the whole operating band (5.1~8.2 GHz), cated on a substrate with a dielectric constant of "r and its thickness is
which is about 1.3~4.2 dB more than the unloaded case. The high h. The three bowtie elements with an equal flare angle , are arranged
frequency structure simulator (HFSS) software based on the finite-ele- along the PSL with mutual distances of L1 , L2 , L3 respectively. And
ment method is used to design this antenna. And the measured results their radii are R1 , R2 , R3 respectively. The ground of the microstrip
line acts as a reflector to produce unidirectional radiation patterns [4].
Impedance matching can be adjusted by tuning parameters of L1 , R1 ,
Manuscript received September 23, 2011; revised December 31, 2011; ac-
cepted February 25, 2012. Date of manuscript publication May 01, 2012; date
 and  = L3 =L2 . The final dimensions of the optimized antenna are
of current version July 02, 2012. given as: "r = 2:2, h = 1:5 mm, Lp = 45 mm, Wp = 28 mm,
The authors are with the Institute of Communications Engineering, PLA Uni- L1 = 9 mm, L2 = 1 mm, L3 = 8:5 mm,  = 0:77, R1 = 10 mm,
versity of Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China 210007 R2 = 7:5 mm, R3 = 5:625 mm,  = 70 , La = 11:5 mm.
(e-mail: tongxinxi2006@126.com; Liuaj.cn@163.com; njtyytb@sina.cn; The SRR loaded part consists of eight SRRs which are printed on
dx_guo@163.com; weiyi806050@163.com).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this communication are avail- the two surfaces of the substrate symmetrically in the endfire direc-
able online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. tion. Details of the SRR unit cell are described in Fig. 2(a). We use
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TAP.2012.2196959 single-ring rectangular SRRs instead of dual-ring SRRs which is used

0018-926X/$31.00 © 2012 IEEE

3514
Fig. 3. Current distributions of the two antennas. (a) antenna without loading
structures; (b) antenna with SRR loading structures.
Fig. 4. (a) Simulated S-parameters (S21) of the SRR unit. (b) Retrieved param-
eters from the simulated S-parameters of the SRR unit. Type A: L = 6 mm,
W = 4 mm, W = 0:6 mm, S = 0:5 mm, L = 4:5 mm. Type B:
L = 6 mm, W = 4 mm, W = 0:6 mm, S = 0:5 mm, L = 1:1 mm.
Type C: L = 4:5 mm, W = 4 mm, W = 0:6 mm, S = 1:2 mm, L =
1:15 mm. Type D: No SRR is loaded, only substrate without copper is used.
in [13] for three reasons: (a) Single-ring SRR owns a simple structure
and is easy to get larger capacitance; (b) It is more convenience to tune
the resonant frequency of the single-ring SRR structure by two main
parameters S and Ls ; (c) The asymmetric structure of the inner and
outer rings in the dual-ring SRR structure contributes gain enhance-
ment for the two opposite directions as is given in [13] (though not at
the same strength). However, gain enhancement is better in one direc-
tion for the single-ring SRRs which is a good choice for the proposed
periodic endfire antenna.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 60, NO. 7, JULY 2012
Fig. 5. The simulated gain curves for antennas with different types of loading
structures.
Fig. 6. Photos of the prototype of the proposed antenna. (a) The microstrip line
side (up: unloaded case; down: loaded case Type A) (b) The ground plane side
(up: unloaded case; down: loaded case Type A).
Fig. 7. Simulated and measured reflection coefficients of the proposed two
antennas.
Fig. 8. Simulated and measured gain of the proposed two antennas.
Operation principle is analyzed by investigating the current distribu-
tions of both the unloaded and loaded antennas which is given in Fig. 3.
Comparing the current distributions of the SRR-loaded antenna with
the unloaded one, we find that the SRR part makes vital contribution
on the current movement. Further investigation on the SRR structure is
made to find the relationship between gain enhancement and the char-
acteristics of the SRR-loaded part.
The most common and effective method to extract parameters of
metamaterials is given in [14], [15]. The scattering parameters of
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 60, NO. 7, JULY 2012
Fig. 9. Measured radiation patterns at 6 GHz (a1:E-plane, a2:H-plane), 7.6 GHz (b1:E-plane, b2:H-plane), and 8.2 GHz (c1:E-plane, c2:H-plane).
the modal can be obtained from simulation results of HFSS, and are
turned into structural parameters through mathematical calculations.
Fig. 2(b) is the simulation model for extracting the effective index of
metamaterials. The perfect electric conductor (PEC) and perfect mag-
netic conductor (PMC) boundary conditions are set in the up-down
faces and front-back faces of the box, respectively. The SRR can
create the strongest resonance when the E-field is aligned parallel
with the XY -plane and the H-field is aligned with the center axis (z)
of the SRR. The dimensions of the box are dx = 7 mm, dy = 6 mm,
dz = 6 mm. The dimensions of dx, dy of the simulation configuration
which can be considered as the periodicity of the unit cell in the x-
and y- directions respectively, is about the same as is given in Fig. 1
(which is depicted in dashed line). Lager dx or dy leads to lower
resonant frequency, while larger dz leads to larger resonant frequency.
Both Simulated S-parameters (S21) of the SRR unit and retrieved
parameters from the simulated S-parameters of the SRR unit are pre-
sented in Fig. 4. Four types of loading structures are considered for con-
trolling the performance of the antenna. On the one hand, from Fig. 4(a)
we can find that SRR metal structure affects the transmission character-
istics of the whole loading unit cell. When it is working at the resonant
frequency, S21 is so small that little energy can transmit through the
substrate with the SRRs and thus the antenna with this loading struc-
ture owns low gain at resonant frequencies. On the other hand, from
Fig. 4(b) we can find that when the SRR unit cell resonates, the re-
trieved parameters (Re(n)) from the simulated S-parameters owns a
sudden abrupt change. From Snell’s law, when the refractive index
(Re(n)) of the loading structure is lower than that of the substrate,
energy can congregate (according to the endfire reference plane (XY
plane)), thus high gain can be realized in the endfire direction. As is
shown in Fig. 4(b), when the working band of the antenna is higher
3515
than the resonant frequency, Type A as an example, the refractive index
is lower than that of the substrate (Type D) and thus gain enhancement
can be obtained in the whole working band of the antenna. The same
conclusion can also be deduced from the transmission characteristics
of the loading unit cell which is given in Fig. 4(a).
The gain curves of the antennas corresponding to different types of
loading structures are given in Fig. 5. The results confirm the conclu-
sions made above. When the S21 value of the SRRs loading is larger
than that of the substrate load (Type D) or when the refract index of
the SRRs loading is lower than that of the substrate load (Type D), The
SRRs can be considered as directors for the antennas. However when
the S21 value is lower or refract index is larger, energy is held back
and gain is low. Thus the gain of the antenna can be controlled by the
loading structures.
III. MEASUREMENT RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Two samples of unloaded and loaded antennas (Type A) are fabri-
cated to validate the predictions, which are shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6(a)
shows the microstrip line side of both the unloaded and Type A loaded
antennas, and Fig. 6(b) is the ground plane side for the two antennas.
The simulated and measured reflection coefficients of the two antennas
are given in Fig. 7. For the unloaded case, the simulated and measured
010-dB return loss bandwidths are 39.2% and 47.7% respectively at
the center operating frequency of about 6.5 GHz. For the loaded case,
the impedance bandwidths are 42.4% and 47.0% respectively at the
center frequency of about 6.6 GHz. Since the resonant frequency of
the Type A SRR structure is lower than the working band of the an-
tenna, the loaded SRR has little effect on the impedance matching.
Fig. 8 shows the simulated and measured gain of the two antennas
at the endfire direction (+y axis). When no SRR is loaded, measured
3516 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 60, NO. 7, JULY 2012
gain, varying in a range of 4.1~6.2 dB is obtained. While loaded an-
tenna presents gain of about 6.2~9.9 dB in the whole working band
(5.1~8.2 GHz), which is about 1.3~4.2 dB more than the unloaded one.
It shows that gain drop exists at the SRR’s resonant frequency. Mea-
sured gain of the antennas is a little lower than the simulated ones.
As is shown in Fig. 9, measured radiation patterns were taken at
6 GHz, 7.6 GHz, and 8.2 GHz for both E-plane (XY plane) and
H-plane (YZ plane).  = 0 is the +y axis. We can find that the
Type A loaded antenna owns narrower radiation patterns and stronger
directivity in the whole working band, especially in higher band.
The half-power beamwidth (HPBW) has been decreased for about
15 40 in the H-plane. Small grating lobes are introduced at the
high operating frequency of the antennas for both unloaded and loaded
cases as illustrated in Fig. 9(c1).
This may be attributed by the leaky-wave effect at high frequencies
for the periodic endfire antenna which can also be seen in [4] though
not very obviously. It is found that the grating lobe can be weakened
by the SRR loading structures (in Fig. 9(c1)). It is expected that more
layers of SRRs may lead to better performance.
IV. CONCLUSION
A broadband and high gain periodic endfire antenna is proposed
in this communication. Gain enhancement is achieved by loading
SRR structure in the endfire direction while maintaining the wide-
band performance. Both unloaded and SRR-loaded antennas are
fabricated for verification. The measurements show that SRR-loaded
antenna presents gain of about 6.2~9.9 dB in the whole working band
(5.1~8.2 GHz), which is about 1.3~4.2 dB more than the unloaded
one. The advantages of broad bandwidth and high gain make this
antenna valuable in wireless communication systems.
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Rule of Thumb for Cloaking Bandwidth Based on a
Wave-Packet Argument
Christophe Craeye and Arnab Bhattacharya
Abstract—A simple rule is provided for the upper-bound bandwidth of
2-D invisibility cloaking in a free-space environment. The rule is based on a
group-delay argument and avoids any dependence on material character-
istics. It is found that the upper relative bandwidth is proportional to the
ratio between wavelength and extra propagation length around the object
to be cloaked. An analytical model is provided for fields on an equivalence
plane just behind the cloak. In order to arrive at an upper-bound estimate
for the bandwidth, the model is based on several key optimistic assump-
tions. The model provides an idea of the least-perturbed fields that may be
expected for different quality factors.
Index Terms—Bandwidth, cloaking, invisibility, metamaterial.
I. INTRODUCTION
Since theoretical papers [1] and [2] and initial experimental demon-
strations [3], [4], invisibility has gained very high interest. The idea
consists of channeling light around an object by enveloping it in a
specifically tailored material, often named “metamaterial.” If, besides
this, the object is concealed from incident fields, then we speak about
cloaking [5]–[7].
One of the main limitations of cloaking is its narrow bandwidth, es-
pecially if it has to be realized in a low refractive-index host medium,
like free space [2]. Let us assume that the phenomenon is effective over
a (small) non-zero bandwidth. This means that a signal, in the form of a
modulated carrier, can be transferred through the metamaterial, around
the concealed object (see sketch in Fig. 1). The modulated pulse carries
a certain power, at a velocity corresponding (in the case of small disper-
sion and small losses [8]) to the group velocity of the wave packet. On
the backside of the cloak (as well as all around its external surface), the
fields must correspond to the incident fields. As mentioned by several
authors [9]–[12], broadband invisibility poses an important problem in
terms of causality: this would require the power to be channeled around
Manuscript received March 15, 2011; revised November 09, 2011; accepted
January 21, 2012. Date of publication April 30, 2012; date of current version
July 02, 2012.
The authors are with the Institute of Communications and Information Tech-
nologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics, Université catholique de Lou-
vain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (e-mail: christophe.craeye@uclouvain.
be).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this communication are avail-
able online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TAP.2012.2196921