Aperture and Mutual Coupled Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array

A 1 x 3 element linear array using cylindrical dielectric resonator antennas (CDRAs) is designed and presented for 802.11a WLAN system applications. The top and bottom elements of CDRA array are excited through the rectangular coupling slots etched on the ground plane, while the slots themselves are excited through the microstrip transmission line. The third element (i.e., central CDRA) is excited through the mutual coupling of two radiating elements by its sides. This mechanism enhances the bandwidth (96.1%) and gain (14.3%) as compared to aperture coupled technique. It is also observed that the side lobe levels are reduced over the designed frequency band. Using CST microwave studio, directivity of 10.5 dBi has been achieved for operating frequency of 5.6 GHz. Designed antenna array is fabricated and tested. Simulated and measured results are in good agreement. The equivalent lumped element circuit is also designed and presented using Advanced design system (ADS) for this proposed array.