Designing of Directive Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna Using

Dielectric Lens and Metasurface

Amit Kumar Shiwani Kumari
Department of Electronics and Communication Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar,
Hazratbal-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India Hazratbal-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India, and CGIU,
[email protected] ORACLE India Pvt. Ltd., India
[email protected]

Rahul Kumar Asmat Ara

Department of Electronics and Communication Department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Srinagar,
Hazratbal-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India, and CGIU, Hazratbal-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
ORACLE India Pvt. Ltd., India [email protected]
[email protected]

ABSTRACT and Data Science (CMLDS 2024), April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore.
In this study, we utilized the CST Microwave Studio Suite to cre- ACM, New York, NY, USA, 6 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3661725.3661773
ate a highly directive microstrip antenna tailored for a diverse
range of wireless applications, including microwave imaging. An- 1 INTRODUCTION
tennas intended for directive purposes necessitate a gain exceed- Modern wireless communication systems depend heavily on devel-
ing 8 dB. Employing Rogers substrates (R3003, 𝜖 r =3) measuring oping and designing directive microstrip antennas. One subcate-
54.41×19.31×0.762 (X×Y×Z) mm3 , we engineered the Anitpodal gory of electromagnetic applications is microwave imaging. The
Vivaldi Antenna (AVA) microstrip antenna. Our research offers considerably shorter wavelengths of microwaves (from meters to
valuable insights and recommendations concerning designing and millimeters) allow them to pass through various things otherwise
deploying high-performance directive microstrip antennas. The impenetrable to light, including biological tissues. Microwave imag-
directivity has been achieved step by step by first introducing slits ing is a non-ionizing, potentially inexpensive imaging method for
in the patch, then a dielectric lens followed by a metasurface made identifying malignant from healthy tissues. It is used to screen for
up of a modified Split-Ring-Resonator (SRR). The proposed design is and diagnose illnesses like other imaging modalities. By employ-
accompanied by a stable and symmetrical radiation pattern featur- ing electromagnetic fields at microwave frequencies, microwave
ing a gain ranging from 8.5 to 13 dB across the 9–41 GHz frequency imaging can be used to observe an object’s dielectric characteristics.
range except 19 GHz. This AVA is suitable for microwave imaging It has become increasingly important for machines to be small
and various mm-wave applications like 5G in FR-2 bands. and light because microstrip patch antennas can be directly printed
on the circuit board. Due to their simplicity in manufacture, these
CCS CONCEPTS devices are commonly used in mobile, satellite, and GPS commu-
• Hardware → Printed circuit boards; Electromagnetic interference nications, as they can be used to monitor objects like automobiles
and compatibility; • Computing methodologies → Modeling and and equipment. As a result, a microstrip patch is an advantageous
simulation; Model development and analysis; Model verification design element for a directive antenna.
and validation; Modeling and simulation; Simulation evaluation. The Vivaldi antenna stands out as the optimal selection for de-
signing ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas due to its inherent benefits,
KEYWORDS which encompass its straightforward construction, minimal physi-
cal profile, and exceptional performance across a broad frequency
Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (AVA), Dielectric lens, Metasurface
spectrum. The Vivaldi antenna (VA), initially invented by Gibson
ACM Reference Format: in 1979 [8], featured a coplanar tapered slot design. VA comes in
Amit Kumar, Shiwani Kumari, Rahul Kumar, and Asmat Ara. 2024. De- various forms, including the coplanar VA, the antipodal Vivaldi
signing of Directive Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna Using Dielectric Lens and antenna (AVA), and the balanced AVA. Each of these types has its
Metasurface. In International Conference on Computing, Machine Learning
own set of advantages and disadvantages. Coplanar VAs are known
for their wide bandwidth, which is directly linked to their radiating
length.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License. Consequently, when a specific application demands a wide band-
width, the size of the VA tends to increase significantly. Compared
CMLDS 2024, April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore to the coplanar VA, the AVA, introduced by Gazit in 1988 [7], has
© 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).
ACM ISBN 979-8-4007-1639-3/24/04 a much wider impedance bandwidth. The literature has proposed
https://doi.org/10.1145/3661725.3661773 many different kinds of AVA configurations [13]. For example, Sun
CMLDS 2024, April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore Amit Kumar et al.

Figure 1: Proposed AVA

et al. [17] presented a fan-shaped antenna built for ultra-wideband 2.1 Radiating Arms
applications, and Alexandre et al. [14] created an AVA inspired by The elongated conducting parts that produce electromagnetic ra-
palm trees to improve radiation patterns. Numerous attempts have diation or receive incoming signals make up an AVA’s radiating
been made over time to increase AVA’s directivity. Among these, arms. The antenna’s radiation pattern and capacity to send and re-
incorporating a parasitic patch has proven successful in using the ceive electromagnetic waves are determined mainly by these arms.
gap between the two flares while preserving antenna compactness An AVA typically has radiating arms parallel to one another and
[1, 12]. Concerning the increasing directivity of AVA at higher tapered in shape. They are made to get narrower and longer as
frequencies, many researchers have employed a dielectric lens as a they go outward gradually. The tapering contour aids in regulating
directing element to make the wave more directive, consequently the antenna’s resistance and radiation properties. On a dielectric
leading to improvement in gain [2, 5, 11]. Another approach for substrate, the radiating arms are often etched or printed. They
enhancing AVA’s gain involves using metamaterial (MTM) [4, 16]. extend from the feeding structure, gradually diminishing in width
Different design techniques are utilized to modify the AVA’s and length as they move away. They are attached to the feeding
geometry to extend the frequency band’s low end [3, 10, 15, 18]. structure at one end.
For instance, Peng Fi et al.[6] have employed tapered slot edges to
enhance lower-end bandwidth and radiation characteristics within 2.2 Designing Approach of Proposed Antenna
the lower frequency spectrum. With a low gain of 3.7 dB at 2.5 GHz
For the proposed design, first of all, a substrate of dimensions
and a maximum gain of 10 dB at 7.5 GHz, their design spans a 2.5–14
54.41×19.31×0.762 mm3 is taken. We have taken Rogers RO3003
GHz bandwidth. Triangle slits were added by Mahdi Moosazadeh et
(lossy) dielectric constant 𝜀𝑟 = 3.0, and the loss tangent is 0.002 as a
al. [11] to enhance gain, back lobe levels (BLLs), and lower cut-off
substrate because of its low-loss tangent. After that, we will take the
frequency.
copper (annealed) radiating arms of dimension 33.33×9.93×0.035
This study presents the successful design of an AVA with trian-
mm3 on both sides of the substrate. The proposed AVA’s geometry
gular slots, a dielectric lens, and a metasurface inspired by meta-
is made up of an elliptical slot, a tapered slot, a dielectric lens, and a
materials. The suggested design yields consistent and symmetrical
metasurface. A 50 Ω microstrip line with a conical-shaped ground
radiation with a high gain of 8.5–13 dB at 9–43 GHz, except for
plane feeds the antenna to achieve good impedance matching over
19 GHz and good impedance matching. Metamaterial showed a
an extensive frequency band. The antenna contains multiple open-
good increase in gain for the 5G bands and various other mm-wave
end triangular slits to improve the impedance matching at the
applications. This antenna can also be used for microwave imaging.
low-frequency band. Finally, a dielectric lens and metasurface are
added to increase directivity.

2.3 Dimensions of Structure

Radiating Arms: The slot’s exponentially tapered shape is intended
2 METHODLOGY: DESIGN PROCEDURE
to emit traveling waves and establish superior impedance matching
To design a directive AVA microstrip antenna, we need to define across an extensive frequency range. Equation (1) below describes
two necessary components, i.e., substrate and two radiating arms. the slot’s exponential curve or E1. Equations define the elliptical
We have reduced the side lobes by cutting notches to the radiating curves E2 and E3 of the antenna (2) and (3), respectively, and shown
arms. We used a metamaterial of negative permittivity and epsilon- in Figure 1(a) and 1 (b).
near-zero/mue-near-zero characteristics to increase the antenna’s
directivity and gain. 𝐸1 : 𝑦 = 𝐶 1𝑒𝑑𝑥 + 𝐶 2 (1)
Designing of Directive Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna Using Dielectric Lens and Metasurface CMLDS 2024, April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore

Table 1: Dimensions of the AVA

Parameters Values (in mm) Parameters Values (in mm) Parameters Values (in mm)
L 43.33 𝑎2 11.0833 𝑊𝑓 0.55
W 20 𝑏2 4.3166 𝐿𝑓 7.5
𝐶1 0.030833 𝑎3 11.0833 𝑟1 0.8
d 0.1733371 𝑏3 7.4166 𝑙4 0.15
𝐶2 0.03833 𝑙1 5.03 𝑙5 0.1
𝑎1 12.83 𝑙2 5.292 𝑙6 2
𝑏1 4.44 𝑙3 6.5 𝑤1 0.707

Figure 2: Stages of progress I–IV to reach the final design

𝑥 2 𝑦2 for directive antenna used for various mm-wave applications and

𝐸2 : + =1 (2)
𝑎1 𝑏1 Microwave imaging.
𝑥 2 𝑦2 The unit cell design of the modified SRR is shown in Figure 3,
+
𝐸3 : =1 (3) and its parametric description is listed in Table 1. The S-parameter
𝑎2 𝑏2
analysis and extraction of effective permittivity and permeability
Metamaterial (MTM): The metamaterial is the shape of modi- [9] are shown in Figure 4. Around 29 GHz, the unit cell will ex-
fied split-ring-resonators (SRRs) with the dimensions r1 and 𝑙 4−6, hibit negative permittivity, and before that, epsilon-near-zero and
as shown in Figure 3. mue-near-zero zone, which helps the polarization of the spherical
Dielectric lens: It is represented by curve E4 and equation (4) wavefronts to planar wavefront and achieving more gain around
and shown in Figure 1 (a). 29 GHz.
𝑥 2 𝑦2
+
𝐸4 : =1 (4)
𝑎3 𝑏3
All the parametric descriptions are listed in Table 1.
As shown in Figure 2, step-by-step evolution to the final de-
sign per the requirements to achieve maximum gain is required
CMLDS 2024, April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore Amit Kumar et al.

Figure 3: Unit-Cell Design of the modified SRR

Figure 4: Results of unit cell of modified SRR (a) S-parameter Analysis (b) 𝜇 r and ɛr

Figure 5: S-parameter Results of the proposed AVA

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION the operating range considered for this proposed AVA is 9–41 GHz
with gain ranging from 8.5 dB to 13 dB except at 19 GHz, where the
3.1 S-parameter Analysis
gain drops, as shown in Figure 6, due to the negative permeability
There is a lower cut-off frequency in the AVA, and for higher fre- of the modified SRR as shown in Figure 4 (b).
quencies, it acts as a traveling wave antenna, as shown in Figure 5.
We have not exceeded 41 GHz as the efficiency drops below 85%. So
Designing of Directive Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna Using Dielectric Lens and Metasurface CMLDS 2024, April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore

Figure 6: Maximum gain over frequency (Stage 1–IV)

3.2 Maximum Gain over Frequency allowing for wave transmission. However, as the wave propagates
Our main objective is to observe the change in the directive gain from one side to the other, the Stage IV antenna transforms spheri-
for all the stages proposed. The simple AVA (Stage I) gain is shown cal wavefronts into planar wavefronts, producing a more limited
in Figure 6 for the frequency band of 9 to 41 GHz. The peak gain of pattern with good directivity. Consequently, Stage IV of Figure 3
10 dB is achieved at 29 GHz in Basic AVA (Stage I). depicts a suggested array of modified SRR cells (Metasurface). We
After adding triangular slots to the basic antipodal Vivaldi design, observed a significant increase in gain for the frequency 27-31 GHz.
i.e., Stage II. We observed the overall increase in gain over frequency, We observed wrong for 19 GHz due to the negative permeability
but we observed a good increase in gain for 9–13 GHz and 27–29 shown in Figure 4 (b).
GHz, as shown in Figure 6—the peak gain increases to 10.68 dB.
As seen in Figure 6, we noticed a noticeable rise in overall fre-
quencies following the addition of the dielectric lens, and the peak 3.3 Radiation Pattern
gain rose to 12 dB. At higher frequencies, there is an issue of wave We can see the directive gain in the end-fire direction at 9 GHz and
tilting and loss in gain as the surface current ceases at the flared 29 GHz in Figure 7.
end of AVA. The dielectric lens helps minimize the problem of wave
tilting and increases the gain at higher frequencies, which can be
seen in Figure 6 for 25 GHz onwards. We used an ellipse form; 4 CONCLUSIONS
this is the substrate area authors have previously utilized to create We have designed an Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (AVA) on a Rogers
an antenna flare that efficiently directs electromagnetic waves to- substrate of dimensions 54.41×19.31×0.762 (X×Y×Z) mm3 , having
ward the end of the fire. Until now, we have used a range of forms a dielectric constant, 𝜖 r =3, and a loss tangent of, 𝛿 =0.002. The
to imitate our idea, such as circular, trapezoidal, and rectangular objective of directive gain has been achieved through four stages.
shapes, but the dielectric lens’s elliptical shape has shown to be Firstly, notches are implemented to reduce the side lobes and hence
the most successful. Lastly, to improve the stability and direction increase the gain from the Basic AVA structure at 9 GHz from 6.21
of the radiating wave, we employed an elliptical-shaped dielectric dB to 7.37 dB and at 27 GHz from 10 to 10.7 dB. After that, an
lens that had the same dielectric constant as the substrate, was elliptical-shaped dielectric lens was introduced to increase the gain
symmetrically positioned between the antenna flares, and had an to 12 dB at 27 GHz significantly. The gain is increased by 1.5–2
optimal size. dB for the frequency range 24–41 GHz and slightly by almost 1 dB
Finally, in Stage IV, a metasurface of modified SRRs is used where in the lower range from 9–24 GHz. Lastly, in stage IV, a modified
permittivity and permeability are almost 0 for the maximum fre- Split-Ring-Resonators (SRRs) metasurface is introduced, and its
quency range. In such a medium, the normalized impedance Zn and negative permittivity at 29 GHz is used to increase the gain to 13
the refractive index n ≈0 are both equal. As a result, the transmis- dB. This highly directive AVA can be used for 5G applications in
sion coefficient at the stage IV interface is zero, virtually ultimately the FR-2 band and microwave imaging.
CMLDS 2024, April 12–14, 2024, Singapore, Singapore Amit Kumar et al.

Figure 7: 3-D Radiation Pattern at (a) 9 GHz and (b) 29 GHz

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS [8] P. J. Gibson. 1979. Vivaldi Aerial. Conf. Proc. - Eur. Microw. Conf. (1979), 101–105.
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The work is supported by the EMEQ project, which has File No: [9] Pawan Kumar Jaiswal, Rajarshi Bhattacharya, and Amit Kumar. 2023. A UWB
EEQ/2023/000776 and is sponsored by SERB, a statutory body under Antipodal Vivaldi antenna with high gain using metasurface and notches. AEU -
Int. J. Electron. Commun. 159, (February 2023), 154473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. aeue.2022.154473
[10] Ali Molaei, Mohsen Kaboli, Seyed Abdullah Mirtaheri, and Mohammad S. Abr-
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