Numerical and Experimental Analysis of Microstrip Antennas Loaded with a Single DNG Resonator

This paper deals with the numerical and experimental analysis of the effects of non-conventional materials on antenna performance. The paper is divided into two main sections: numerical simulations and experimental characterization. First, a microstrip antenna loaded with a Double-Negative (DNG) substrate is numerically simulated to study its effect on size and performance. Then the same antenna using conventional substrate is top loaded with a novel single-sided resonator (referred as diamond dipole resonator or DDR) showing DNG behavior. The antenna is manufactured and measurements are performed. The results show that the use of the DDR produces a dramatic 73.9% return loss improvement as well as a frequency shift. Issues about size reduction and negative refractive index effects are further presented and discussed.