IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO.
6, JUNE 2013
[6] J.-S. Row and M.-C. Chan, “Reconfigurable circularly-Polarized patch
antenna with conical beam,” IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 58,
no. 8, pp. 2753–2757, Aug. 2010.
[7] H. Nakano, H. Oyanagi, and J. Yamauchi, “A wideband circularly po-
larized conical beam from a two-arm spiral antenna excited in phase,”
IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 59, no. 10, pp. 3518–3525, Oct.
2011.
[8] Y.-D. Xu and C.-L. Ruan, “A novel design of circularly polarized
omni-directional antenna for ka band,” in Proc. Millimeter Waves
Global Symp., 2008, pp. 378–379.
[9] A. Nesic, V. Brankovic, and I. Radnovic, “New circularly polarized
planar printed antenna with conical radiation pattern,” in Proc. IEEE
Int. Symp. Antennas Propag., 1998, pp. 1438–1441.
[10] B.-C. Park and J.-H. Lee, “Omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna
utilizing zeroth-order resonance of epsilon negative transmission line,”
IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag., vol. 59, no. 7, pp. 2717–2721, Jul. 2011.
[11] Y.-X. Guo and D. C. H. Tan, “Wideband single-feed circularly po-
larized patch antenna with conical radiation pattern,” IEEE Antennas
Wireless Propag. Lett., vol. 8, pp. 924–926, 2009.
[12] F.-R. Hsiao and K.-L. Wong, “Low-profile omnidirectional circularly
polarized antenna for WLAN access point,” Microw. Opt. Technol.
Lett., vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 227–231, 2005.
[13] S. Silver, Microwave Antenna Theory and Design. New York, NY,
USA: McGraw-Hill, 1949, pp. 336–341.
Control of Higher Harmonics and Their Radiations in
Microstrip Antennas Using Compact Defected Ground
Structures
Sujoy Biswas, Debatosh Guha, and Chandrakanta Kumar
Abstract—Controlling higher order modes up to third harmonic of
the fundamental operating frequency in a microstrip line-fed patch
antenna has been successfully demonstrated. Harmonic rejection in the
antenna has been achieved at its feed level using highly compact design
of defected ground structure (DGS). Rejection characteristics have been
improved adding an open stub to the feed line. All possible higher order
modes occurring in between the fundamental and the 3rd harmonic have
been identified. Relative suppression of radiated fields with and without
DGS-control has been quantitatively measured and effective control of
harmonics has been experimentally ensured. The area occupied by the
proposed DGS has been compared with earlier designs and over 40–90%
reduction in size has been documented.
Index Terms—Harmonic control, higher order mode radiations, mi-
crostrip antenna.
I. INTRODUCTION
Harmonic radiations from an integrated antenna is not desirable in
order to meet EMI/EMC requirements [1]. Additional filter circuit to
suppress the harmonics is not a suitable solution as it makes the feed
Manuscript received August 31, 2012; revised December 03, 2012; accepted
February 23, 2013. Date of publication March 07, 2013; date of current version
May 29, 2013.
S. Biswas is with the Department of ECE, Institute of Technology and Marine
Engineering, Jhinga, WB 743 368, India (e-mail: sbiswas@ieee.org).
D. Guha is with the Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics, University of
Calcutta, Kolkata 700 009, India (e-mail: dguha@ieee.org).
C. Kumar is with Communication Systems Group, ISRO Satellite Centre,
Department of Space, Government of India, Bangalore 560017, India (e-mail:
kumarchk@ieee.org).
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.2013.2250240
0018-926X/$31.00 © 2013 IEEE
3349
network bulky. In 1999, Horii and Tsutsumi explored a technique to
reduce the harmonic radiations from a rectangular microstrip patch [2]
using two dimensional photonic band gap (PBG) structure and demon-
strated suppression up to the second harmonic. In [2], an array of cir-
cular holes was etched on the ground plane beneath the antenna and
the feed line. The stop-band property exhibited by the PBG was used
to filter out the harmonics [2]. It was a simple solution involving no
additional circuitry or complexity.
In subsequent years, PBG etched on grounded substrate turned to
limited number of defects, commonly termed as defected ground struc-
ture (DGS) [3]. DGS-integrated planar feeds were explored to suppress
higher harmonics in [4]–[8]. Square-headed dumbbell shaped DGS [4]
was demonstrated to address up to the second harmonic. Further im-
provement in terms of the number of suppressed harmonics was made
in [8]. To suppress up to the third harmonic, a pair of dumbbell-DGSs
were employed beneath a stub-loaded microstrip feed [8].
From the design point of view, the physical area of the defect ap-
pears to be an important aspect, especially in the microwave integrated
circuits. Smaller defect in terms of the operating wavelength is always
preferred to make the design compact leaving maximum area for inte-
grating other devices. This aspect has been considered in our present
study.
This communication, therefore, is aimed to explore an improved de-
sign which can replace earlier ones for a couple of advanced features:
(i) compact DGS-integrated feed occupying much smaller space and
(ii) controlling up to the third harmonic of the fundamental resonance
in a square microstrip patch. Thorough experiments have been exe-
cuted to verify the design along with the antenna characteristics ob-
tained using [9].
Harmonics in a microstrip patch indicate the multiples of the fun-
damental frequency and they belong to the category of higher order
modes, excited in the radiating patch depending on its geometry. In be-
tween the harmonics and the fundamental resonance, few other higher
order modes may exist. In this study, we have addressed all the higher
order modes appearing in between the fundamental and third harmonic
frequency: their excitations, identifications, suppressions, and radia-
tions under both normal and suppressed conditions. Suppression of ra-
diation by 10–17 dB at harmonic frequencies has been experimentally
demonstrated. To the best of our knowledge, harmonic control of an-
tennas in term of quantitative suppression of radiated fields has been
experimentally studied in here, for the first time.
This investigation has also been successful to reduce the DGS size
significantly and compared to most compact design known so far, pro-
posed structure is smaller by about 40%.
II. DGS-INTEGRATED FEED DESIGN AND SUPPRESSION OF
HARMONICS
A square patch at S-band fed by a conventional microstrip line and its
input reflection coefficient are shown in Fig. 1. This resonates around
3.1 GHz with its fundamental mode and first six higher order modes
including first, second and third harmonic appear between 6 GHz and
12.5 GHz. The modes have been primarily identified using computed
values of resonant frequencies [10] and those are compared in Table I.
Further verification has been done using simulated fields obtained using
[11] and those have been discussed in Section III.
To control all these harmonics over such a wide frequency range, a
wide stop band is needed in the feed network. A compact DGS beneath
the feed line has been examined to achieve the aim.
Instead of dumbbell and/or circular holes in the ground plane, the
DGS explored in the present design looks like partial ring as shown in
Fig. 2(a). This DGS shape is generated by truncating a ring at a distance
3350 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 6, JUNE 2013

Fig. 2. (a) Geometry of a partial-ring DGS placed beneath a microstrip line;

Simulated versus frequency of a microstrip line integrated with single DGS.
, and . Parametric studies: (b) is
varied keeping ; (c) is varied keeping and
.

One side of the defect being air, its resonant dimension is determined
Fig. 1. (a) Schematic diagram of microstrip fed square patch. ,
in terms of the wavelength in free space as follows:
, and ; (b) Simulated versus
frequency indicating fundamental resonant frequency and higher harmonics.
(1)
TABLE I
RESONANT FREQUENCIES OF FIRST FEW MODES EXCITED IN A SQUARE For the present design with and
MICROSTRIP PATCH SHOWN IN FIG. 1 (50 transmission line using , ), the value
of is approximately estimated as . The width of
the defect is estimated as ( ). The values are
finally adjusted and fine tuned using parametric studies as shown in
Fig. 2(b), (c). Increase in value shifts the resonance towards the
lower side of the spectrum. The parameter shows reso-
nance near 9.5 GHz. Practical value of is chosen as 0.5 mm. Fig. 2(c)
shows final tuning by choosing appropriate value. Smaller values of
brings the ring mouth (of width ) closer to the microstrip line and
improves the coupling. This is evident by the values of minima
in Fig. 2(c). For this design, ( ) offers de-
sired tuning. The simulated data predict a stop-band ( )
extending from 8.6 GHz to 11.2 GHz. But the specified stopband is
6–13 GHz, as discussed earlier. Therefore, to improve the bandwidth
response, we have cascaded two DGS sections separated by a distance
and the characteristics are shown in Fig. 3. This depicts improved
bandwidth as a function of . Optimum value of ( ) is
from its outer boundary. Other parameters include outer radius , found to provide the stop-band over 7.1 to 11.8 GHz. But a ripple of the
inner radius , width , and mean ring radius ( ). The order of 0.8 dB is found to appear around 3 GHz, which is detrimental
parameter indeed controls the ring opening and hence the reso- in feeding the antenna with its fundamental frequency. Furthermore,
nant length of the slot ring. This in turn controls the slot resonance and widening of stop-band towards the lower side of frequency is another
influences the coupling between the line (width ) and the ring. In the important requirement.
proposed design, . These issues have been resolved following the design approach of
Designing such a DGS may start from a basic consideration, that its [8]. In [8], a single open-ended stub was used along with a pair of dumb-
optimum length ( ) resonates at a frequency ( ), bell DGS to achieve a wide stop-band. In here also, a round headed
which falls around middle of the specified stop-band. Here, is the stub attached to the feed has been placed in between two DGS units
velocity of light in free space and is corresponding wavelength. as shown in Fig. 4(a). This helps in improving the stop-band response
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 6, JUNE 2013
Fig. 3. Simulated transmission characteristics of a 50 microstrip line for
varying separation between cascaded partial ring DGS (Inset). Inset: cascaded
DGS sections integrated with a microstrip line. Parameters:
, , , and
Substrate thickness and .
Fig. 4. (a) DGS-integrated antenna feed with an open-ended stub. Parameters:
, , and other parameters as in Fig. 3; (b) simulated
characteristics compared for different DGS and stub configurations.
with 3 dB cutoff near 4 GHz, as is shown by the solid line in Fig. 4(b).
This ensures the suppression of the first harmonic leaving the funda-
mental frequency unaffected. The response due to the stub alone is also
incorporated in Fig. 4(b) and this clearly indicates its role in widening
the stop-band property of cascaded DGS units.
III. EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS
Schematic view of the antenna is shown in Fig. 5. The parameter
indicates separation between DGS and the nearest radiating edge and
is the location of the inset feed. A prototype etched on a RT-Duroid
substrate with and is shown in Fig. 6.
An identical prototype using conventional ground plane has also
been fabricated and measured for comparison. They were measured
3351
Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of inset fed square patch antenna fed by a DGS-
integrated microstrip line. , , .
DGS and stub parameters as in Fig. 4(a).
,
.
Fig. 6. Photograph of the fabricated microstrip square patch fed by microstrip
line integrated with DGS. Inset: Back View showing the cascaded ring DGS.
Parameters as in Fig. 5.
Fig. 7. Measured versus frequency of the square microstrip patch com-
pared with simulated data: (a) using conventional ground plane; (b) using DGS-
integrated feed. Parameters as in Fig. 5.
using Agilent’s E8363B network analyzer and an automated anechoic
chamber equipped with Scientific Atlanta’s 53300B-15-18 positioner,
MI-4190 controller, MI-1797 receiver, and MI3000 software used in
data acquisition.
Fig. 7 shows measured characteristics of both the prototypes
using conventional ground plane and that with DGS. Simulated data
are also shown for comparison. Experiment shows excellent agree-
ment with the simulated results. Fig. 7(b) is quite significant indicating
mismatch in input impedance over the target frequency range covering
6–13 GHz. This ensures suppression of all higher order modes up to the
third harmonic of the fundamental. This should significantly reduce ra-
diations at those frequencies, which have been addressed extensively.
Following investigations are aimed to experimentally examine the
radiated fields for first few modes and their changes or suppression
caused by the DGS-integrated feed. The three-dimensional radiation
3352 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 6, JUNE 2013

Fig. 8. Simulated electric fields on the patch and respective 3D radiation patterns for first few higher order resonant modes in a square microstrip patch: (a)
( ); (b) ( ); (c) ( ); (d) ( ); (e) ( ); (f)
( ).

Fig. 9. Measured radiation patterns with and without DGS-integrated feed. Fre- Fig. 11. Measured radiation patterns with and without DGS-integrated feed for
quency: 3.11 GHz. Parameters as in Fig. 5. (a) -plane, (b) -plane. ( ); (a) -plane, (b) -plane. Parameters as in Fig. 5.

Fig. 12. Measured radiation patterns with and without DGS-integrated feed (a)
Fig. 10. Measured -plane and -plane radiation patterns with and without at ( ); (b) at ( )
DGS-integrated feed for ( ). Parameters as in Fig. 5. Parameters as in Fig. 5.

patterns caused by the higher order modes can be visualized by case of the second harmonic as shown in Fig. 11. Both -and -plane
studying the modal fields as is shown in Fig. 8. radiations measured at have been compared and near
Fig. 9 shows radiation characteristics of the fundamental mode with 15 dB relative suppression is revealed.
and without DGS. Simulated data are used to compare with measure- In between 6.11 GHz ( mode) and 9.26 GHz ( mode),
ments, which show very close mutual agreement. Presence of DGS two more modes exist (Fig. 1(b)) and the suppression in radiated fields
shows no significant effect on the radiation, considering both co-po- at those frequencies are also examined in Fig. 12. From the 3-D pat-
larized and cross-polarized fields. Measured peak gain was obtained terns shown in Fig. 8(b) and (c), it is clear that the measurement of
around 5 dBi for both the configurations. No trace of backward radia- radiation characteristics for these modes would be bit tricky and thus
tion or leakage through the defects is revealed. both measurements were taken for plane. Fig. 12(a) depicts
Radiation characteristics at the first harmonic, i.e., mode oc- the measured values for mode and the order of suppression is
curring at are investigated in Fig. 10. Peak gain is found significantly high. Those due to mode are shown in Fig. 12(b).
to be reduced by nearly 10 dB. The order of suppression improves in Suppression of radiated fields up to about 10–12 dB is evident.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 6, JUNE 2013 3353

pactness without compromising in performance. This would find prac-

tical applications in microwave integrated circuits, especially where a
single substrate is used for implementing printed antennas along with
active devices and circuits.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the reviewers for very constructive
suggestions. They also acknowledge help received from their colleague
Dr. S. Chattopadhyay of SIT, Siliguri, WB, India.

Fig. 13. Simulated versus frequency of DGS-integrated patch for different
values. Other parameters as in Fig. 5.
TABLE II
DGS AREA DUE TO DIFFERENT DGS SHAPES AND NUMBER OF HARMONICS
SUPPRESSED: A COMPARATIVE STUDY
In here, we refrain from presenting measured results for and
modes because of technical limitations. Radiation patterns are
complicated and fields are comparatively weak. We failed to obtain
reliable data in those cases.
Deployment of the DGS near patch edge, determined by , is an
important design issue. Minimum value is ideal in consideration
of the compactness of the design, but its proximity towards the patch
edge degrades the impedance matching of the feed, as is examined
in Fig. 13. For the present study, minimum possible value is
found to be around 11.625 mm, i.e., 0.12 . This distance from
patch edge is sufficiently safe for the dominant mode in terms of any
perturbation of fringing fields across the radiating apertures. This is
already ensured in Fig. 9, which shows no major changes in radiation
due to the DGS.
Finally, we have compared the present design with the earlier ones in
terms of the area required to implement the defect on ground plane. The
comparison is furnished in Table II, which shows a very wide range of
variation. First four investigations can suppress up to the second har-
monic and out of these, [4] is found to be most compact. Last two
studies including the present one can address up to third harmonic.
However, the size of the present design is reduced by almost 40% com-
pared to the nearest earlier design [8]. If we compare the present one
with [2], the order of reduction reaches 90%.
REFERENCES
[1] K. C. Gupta and P. S. Hall, Analysis and Design of Integrated Circuit
Antenna Modules. New York, NY, USA: Wiley, 2000.
[2] Y. Horri and M. Tsutsumi, “Harmonic control by photonic bandgap on
microstrip patch antenna,” IEEE Microwave Guided Lett., vol. 9, pp.
13–15, Jan. 1999.
[3] D. Guha, S. Biswas, and Y. M. M. Antar, “Defected ground structure
for microstrip antennas,” in Microstrip and Printed Antennas: New
Trends, Techniques and Applications, D. Guha and Y. Antar, Eds.
Hoboken, NJ, USA: Wiley, 2010, ch. 12.
[4] I. Chang and B. Lee, “Design of defected ground structures for har-
monic control of active microstrip antenna,” in Proc. IEEE Antennas
and Propagation Soc. Int. Symp., 2002, vol. 2, pp. 852–855.
[5] H. Liu, Z. Li, X. Sun, and J. Mao, “Harmonic suppression with
photonic bandgap and defected ground structure for a microstrip
patch antenna,” IEEE Microw. Compon. Lett., vol. 15, no. 2, pp.
55–56, Feb. 2005.
[6] Y. J. Sung and Y. S. Kim, “An improved design of microstrip patch
antennas using photonic bandgap structure,” IEEE Trans. Antennas
Propag., vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 1799–1803, May 2005.
[7] Y. J. Sung, M. Kim, and Y.-S. Kim, “Harmonic reduction with defected
ground structure of a microstrip patch antenna,” IEEE Antennas Wire-
less Propag. Lett., vol. 2, pp. 111–113, 2003.
[8] M. K. Mandal, P. Mondal, S. Sanyal, and A. Chakrabarty, “An
improved design of harmonic suppression for microstrip patch an-
tennas,” Microwave and Opt. Tech. Lett., vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 103–105,
Jan. 2007.
[9] High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS), 11.1 ed. Ansoft.
[10] S. Chattopadhyay, M. Biswas, J. Y. Siddiqui, and D. Guha, “On the
resonance of rectangular microstrip patches with variable air gap and
varying aspect ratio,” Microwave Opt. Technol. Lett., vol. 51, no. 1, pp.
169–173, Jan. 2009.
[11] CST Microwave Studio2012 ed. .

IV. CONCLUSION
Control of higher order modes up to the third harmonic in a square
patch has been successfully achieved. The DGS, used in the antenna
design, is much improved compared to earlier ones in terms of its com-