Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
Design and Performance Analysis of 2x2 and 4x1
array antennas for Wireless Applications
Malati Seelam*1, T. Sai Harshitha*2, S. Chandana Priyanka*3, T. Sunitha*4, S. Hemasree*5
1,2,3,4,5
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Vignan’s Institute of Engineering for Women,
Visakhapatnam-530046, Andhra Pradesh.
malati.bommali@gmail.com,harshini1099@gmail.com,sanivadachandana@gmail.com,
thadisunitha1998@gmail.com,hemasree899@gmail.com
Abstract— This paper mainly focuses on designing an array antenna for wireless applications namely satellite applications,
Radar applications within the frequency range of 5G. Our objective is to design a 2x2 and 4x1 array which operates at different
frequencies. For designing, FR4 epoxy substrate with 1.6mm thickness is employed and antennas are fed by microstrip line. The
Various antenna parameters namely S11, VSWR, Gain are calculated and compared for single patch, 2x1 array antenna, 2x2
array antenna and 4x1 array antenna. The designs are simulated using ANSOFT-HFSS.
Keywords: 5G, array antenna, microstrip line, Gain.
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent times, the significance of wireless communication has been improved which results in miniaturization of electronic
circuits. In past times, the wireless communication has experienced various generations from 1G to 4G technology[1]. Voice
communication took place by using analog signals in first-generation system.. Later, from 2G digital techniques are evolved and
implemented which resulted in the transmission of digital information. 5G provides a good range of advantages over the present
4G technology. Some of the advantages of 5G technology include a lower latency, increase in data throughput [3] etc. It also
provides huge coverage area. This leads to the automation in various sectors like production, health care.
In telecommunications, to fabricate a microstrip antenna Printed Circuit Board(PCB) is used. Microstrip antennas are
usually operated at microwave frequencies. Microstrip antennas are used for wireless applications because it offers a lot of
benefits. Microstrip patch antennas are compact in size, lightweight. It provides high gain but provides narrow bandwidth which
is a limitation. This limitation can be overcome by keeping multiple slots in antennas[5]. In pursuance of improving the
bandwidth, the dielectric constant of the substrate should be minimized as mentioned in [6]. The antenna parameters are to be
taken into consideration while estimating antenna performance. Return loss(S 11), VSWR, Gain are some of the parameters of an
antenna which are considered in our work.
An array antenna is nothing but a combination or a group of antennas which work as a single antenna to transmit and
receive radio waves. As the number of antennas increases in an array, the performance of array antenna increases. An array
antenna can be used to improve overall gain, provide diversity reception, eliminate interference from a particular direction.
This paper primarily intensifies on enhancing the rectangular patch array antenna gain. It deals with the way to enhance
the gain of 2x2 and 4x1 rectangular patch array antenna that operates at different 5G frequencies.
At the outset, we describe how the single rectangular patch antenna is designed and operated at 24GHz. The design of
single rectangular patch antenna is simulated and results are observed. Later, we describe the designs of 2x1, 2x2 and 4x1 array
antennas which are fed by inset feed[2]. Finally, the simulation results of a single patch, 2x1, 2x2, 4x1 array antenna are
compared. The development in technology and enhancement in features from 1G to 5G can be seen in Fig. (a).
Page | 72
Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
Fig. (a) Review of generations in wireless communication
II. ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
A. Design I
The dimensions of the single rectangular patch antenna is calculated using the below formulae

The Patch width is given by
Wp 

c
2 fr
2
r 1
(1)
The Patch length is given by
LP  Lreff  2L
Lreff 
 reff
(2)
c
2 f r  reff
(3)


 r 1  r 1 
1


2
2 
12h
 1
Wp







(4)

The Extension Length of the Patch is given by
L  0.412h




reff

reff
W

 0.3  p  0.264 
 h

 Wp

 0.258  
 0.8 
 h

(5)
The Length of the Substrate can be calculated by
Lg  L  6h
(6)
Wg  W  6h
(7)
The width of the Substrate can be calculated by
The Inset Feed Depth can be calculated by
H
0.822* L
2
(8)
Where Wp is the Patch width, Lp is the Patch length, ɛr is the dielectric constant of substrate(FR4 epoxy) and the value of ɛr is 4.4
for FR4 epoxy, ɛreff is the effective dielectric constant, H is inset feed depth, c is the velocity of light. A microstrip line feed of
50ohm is provided to antenna with the feed length and width as 1x0.955mm.
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Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
A microstrip patch antenna is placed on FR4 epoxy substrate which is of thickness 1.6mm and the antenna dimensions are
calculated from the above formulae. The calculated dimensions are mentioned in TABLE I. A slot is made on the patch with
inset feed depth ‘H’ as 0.863mm and with width as 1.3mm. The Inset feed gap is taken less than or equal to half of the feedline
width ‘Wf’. The design of the proposed antenna for future 5G wireless communications is shown in Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. Single rectangular patch antenna structure
TABLE I
DIMENSIONS OF PROPOSED ANTENNA
S.NO.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
ANTENNA
PARAMETERS
Length of substrate
Width of substrate
Height of substrate
Length of patch
Width of patch
Inset gap
Inset feed depth
VALUES(mm)
11.702
13.403
1.6
2.102
3.803
0.3
0.863
Fig. 2. Return loss of single rectangular patch antenna
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Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
Fig. 3. VSWR of single rectangular patch antenna
The design shown in Fig. 1 is simulated and the results are obtained for single rectangular patch antenna as shown in Fig. 2, Fig.
3, Fig. 4 respectively.
Fig. 4. Gain of single rectangular patch antenna
B. Design II
A T-junction is used for designing 2x1 array antenna. A 2x1 array antenna consists of two patches separated at a distance ‘d’
and the array is fed by a 50ohm feed for matching the impedance. A single feed line is used to join the feedlines of both the
patches and a common feed is given.
A 2x1 array antenna (Design II) is designed as shown in Fig. 5. Substrate length and width is 11.702x13.403mm, the
substrate thickness is 1.6mm.
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Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
Fig. 5. 2x1 Array antenna structure
Where d is the inter-element spacing between two antennas. Generally, inter-element spacing varies from
0
2
to
0 .
Fig. 6. Gain of 2x1 Array antenna
C. Design III
The 2x2 array antenna (Design III) design is shown in Fig. 7. It consists of four patches which are separated by a distance
‘d’. The length and width of the substrate is 15.5x14.403mm, the thickness of the substrate is 1.6mm.
Fig. 7. 2x2 Array antenna structure
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Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
Fig. 8. Gain of 2x2 Array antenna
D. Design IV
A 4x1 array antenna (Design IV) is designed and shown in Fig. 9. It consists of four patches which are placed linearly and
are separated by a distance ‘d’. The length and width of the substrate is 14x29.758mm and the thickness of the substrate is
1.6mm.
Fig. 9. 4x1 Array antenna structure
Fig. 10. Gain of 4x1 Array antenna
III. DISCUSSIONS
The simulated gain of single patch, 2x1, 2x2 and 4x1 array antenna are 7.865dBi, 9.0063dBi, 9.9743dBi and 10.4557dBi
respectively as shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 6, Fig. 8, Fig. 10. The 4x1 array antenna achieved higher gain when compared to other
designs. The antenna parameters namely S11, VSWR, Gain are compared and can be observed from the below TABLE II.
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Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
TABLE II
COMPARISON RESULTS OF SINGLE RECTANGULAR PATCH, 2X1, 2X2, 4X1 ARRAY ANTENNA USING INSET FEED
ANTENNA
PARAMETERS
SINGLE
PATCH
ANTENNA
2x1
ARRAY
ANTENNA
2x2
ARRAY
ANTENNA
4x1
ARRAY
ANTENNA
S11(dB)
-25.0183
-13.1163
-17.0872
-21.1777
VSWR
1.1189
1.5670
1.3252
1.1913
Gain(dBi)
7.865
9.0063
9.9743
10.4557
From the Fig. 11, it can be noticed that the single patch antenna is operated at 25GHz and has a return loss(S11) of -25.0183dB.
The 2x1, 2x2 and 4x1 array antennas are operated at 20GHz, 19GHz and 15GHz respectively and have a return loss(S11) of 13.1163dB, -17.0872dB, -21.1777dB.
From the Fig. 12, it can be observed that the VSWR(Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) of a single patch antenna is 1.1189. The
VSWR of 2x1, 2x2 and 4x1 array antennas are 1.5670, 1.3252, 1.1913 respectively.
The comparison graphs of S11 and VSWR of proposed designs are shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12.
Fig. 11. Comparison of S11(dB) for proposed designs
Fig. 12. Comparison of VSWR for proposed designs
IV. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a single patch antenna, 2x1, 2x2 and 4x1 patch antenna array are designed for wireless applications on an FR4
substrate. The gain, return loss, VSWR for single patch antenna, 2x1, 2x2, 4x1 array antenna are observed. The antenna designs
are simulated and are operated at different frequencies. A high gain is achieved which is an important criteria for wireless
communications namely Satellite communications, Radar applications. The antenna performance parameters of these designs
are compared. Generally, VSWR should be within the range of 1-2 and return loss should be below -10dB for good performance
of an antenna. We have achieved it through these designs with high gain.
Page | 78
Copyright @ 2020 Authors
Dogo Rangsang Research Journal
ISSN : 2347-7180
UGC Care Group I Journal
Vol-10 Issue-07 No. 11 July 2020
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