CHAPTER 4

BAND-REJECTED ANTENNA WITH

INTEGRATED BLUETOOTH BAND

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Announcement of Federal Communication Commission regarding the commercial use of un-

licensed UWB frequency band from 3.1-10.6 GHz, has uncovered many opportunities and
challenges for the antenna designers. UWB antenna has many potential applications in mul-
timedia devices such as PCs, wireless personal area network (WPAN), wireless local area

network (WLAN) etc. due to its high data rate, low power consumption, and large band-
width [141–145]. Furthermore, in the US-FCC frequency band allocated for UWB appli-
cations there exist many narrowband applications such as WiMAX (3.3-3.7 GHz), WLAN
(5.15-5.8 GHz), and other communication systems in C-band. Therefore, it is necessary to

reject the interfering bands to avoid the UWB receiver saturation. Therefore, it is necessary
to reject the interfering bands. In the literature, various antenna designs were proposed for
interference suppression of these bands [130, 146–149].

Bluetooth technology operates in 2.4-2.485 GHz frequency band, and is in huge demand
due to its small form factor and low-cost radio solution. Bluetooth provides link between
computers, mobile phones, other portable handheld devices. Use of an integrated antenna for
Bluetooth and UWB applications, without compromising on the performance, makes the sys-

tem design more compact [150–155]. A microstrip-fed antenna with folded strips is proposed
for WLAN/Bluetooth and ultra wideband (UWB) applications [150]. In [151], a fork-shaped
radiating patch with a rectangular ground plane is used to achieve the dual-band operation that

covers Bluetooth and UWB frequency bands. A modified ACS-fed structure and a staircase-
shaped patch for the UWB band, and a snake-shaped slot for bluetooth are used in [152].
An elliptical slot fed by a fork-shaped microstrip transmission line along with three stubs to
cover Bluetooth, WiMAX, WLAN, and ITU standards have been proposed in [153]. A low

profile antenna with an octagonal-shaped slot fed by a bevelled and stepped rectangular patch
for covering UWB band, and three inverted U-shaped strips in the ground slot to cover the
GPS, part of GSM, and Bluetooth bands is proposed in [154]. In [155], a printed elliptical
monopole with a ground plane having triangular shaped groove is proposed for Bluetooth and

UWB applications. However the above proposed designs are large in dimensions.

Table 4.1: Comparison of Various Antennas for UWB Applications with Integrated Bluetooth Band

Refrence Size (mm3 ) Bands covered (GHz)

[150] 20×40×1 2.4-2.484/4.5-11
[151] 42×24×1.6 2.3-2.5/ 3.1-12
[152] 10×32.5×1.6 2.37-2.53/3.2-10.82
[153] 29×26.5×0.8 2.4-2.484/ 3.1-3.6
[154] 25×28×0.8 1.52-1.59/1.77-1.84/2.38-2.49/3.1-11
[155] 44×55×0.65 2-11
Proposed antenna 13×24×1.6 2.3-2.5/3.1-24.5

In this chapter, a simple and compact triangular shaped ultra wideband antenna with in-
tegrated Bluetooth band and band-notched characteristic at IEEE INSAT/Super-Extended C-
band from 6.7-7.1 GHz is studied. The UWB performance of the present design is obtained by
a simple triangular shaped patch fed by tapered shaped feed line and L-shaped ground plane.

Further, an L-shaped strip is added to the radiator to excite the Bluetooth band. Finally, a
C-shaped slit is etched in the radiator to achieve band-notched characteristic. The proposed
antenna has smallest dimensions in comparison with all the reported UWB antennas with an
integrated Bluetooth band to date, which are shown Table 4.1. Prior to the fabrication of the

design, the antenna was optimized using computer simulation technology (CST) Microwave
Studio (MWS) software [140]. The detailed dimensions of the proposed UWB antenna with

46
integrated Bluetooth band and band-notch characteristics are listed in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2: Optimized Parameters (in mm) of the Designed Antenna

Parameters Unit (mm) Parameters Unit (mm)

L 24 W p1 11.5
L p1 14 W p2 2
L p2 2.3 W p3 0.9
L p3 5.5 W p4 3
L p4 11.6 W p5 4.1
Ls 3.2 Ws 4.8
Lg1 6.8 Ws1 1.5
Lg2 3.3 Wg1 4.9
W 13 Wg2 1.5

4.2 ANTENNA DESIGN AND CONFIGURATIONS

4.2.1 UWB Antenna Design

W p1 W g2

X
Lp4 Z

Dielectric substrate
Ground plane
Lp1 L
Ws
Radiator

Ls

W p5 W s1 W p2

Lp2
W g1

Lp3 Lg2
Lg1

W p3 W
W p4
(a) Top view (b) Bottom view (c) Side view

Figure 4.1: Configuration of the Proposed Antenna

Different geometries used in the evolution of the final design are shown in Fig. 4.2. In
antenna1, a linear tapered feedline with a simple triangular-shaped radiator on one side of the

47
 Antenna1 Antenna2 Antenna3
(a)

Figure 4.2: Geometry of Three Different Antennas

substrate and L-shaped ground plane on the other side of the substrate are proposed to get the

UWB performance. After achieving the UWB performance the antenna is further modified to
integrate the Bluetooth band. A simple L-shaped strip is attached to the radiator to excite the
Bluetooth band (2.4–2.48 GHz) as shown in Fig. 4.2 [see antenna2]. The width of L-shaped
strip added to the radiator and the ground is 0.5 mm. The antenna2 successfully integrates the

Bluetooth band with UWB band as shown in Fig. 4.2. Finally to restrict the interference at
higher frequencies of IEEE INSAT/Super-Extended C-band (6.7–7.1 GHz), a C-shaped slit is
etched in the radiator as shown in Fig. 4.2 [see antenna3].The width of the C-shaped slit used
to achieve band-notched characteristics is chosen as 0.2 mm. Fig. 4.3 shows the simulated

return loss for all the geometries used in the evolution of the final design.

0
UWB Antenna
5 UWB Antenna with bluetooth band
UWB Antenna with bluetooth and notch
10
Return Loss [dB]

15

20

25

30

35

40
2 6 10 14 18 22 24
Frequency [GHz]
(b)

Figure 4.3: Simulated Return Loss against Frequency for the Antenna1, Antenna2 and Antenna3

48
Figure 4.4: Simulated Current Densities on the Antenna Structure at (a) 2.41 GHz; (b) 6.9 GHz; (c)
12.8 GHz; and (d) 20.8 GHz

To know the behaviour of the proposed antenna, the simulated current distribution at dif-
ferent frequencies are plotted in Fig. 4.4. From Fig. 4.4(a) it is clear that at 2.41 GHz the
current is mainly concentrated on the hypotenuse and L-strip that excites the Bluetooth band.
In Fig. 4.4(b) the surface currents are mainly concentrated in the C-shaped slit of the patch

at the 6.9 GHz; but at this frequency, the current direction oppose each other in the C-shaped
slit. Therefore, antenna will not radiated at this frequency. At the other passband frequencies
of 12.8 GHz and 20.8 GHz, the current is distributed over ground plane, radiator and feedline
of the antenna, which confirms the UWB performance over the entire band [4.4(c) and (d)].

10
Return Loss [dB]

15

20

25 0.5 mm

30 0.9 mm

1.3 mm
35

40
2 6 10 14 18 22 25
Frequency [GHz]
(a)

Figure 4.5: Simulated Return Loss versus Frequency for Different Wp3

Fig. 4.5 shows the simulated return loss for different values of the width Wp3 of the

49
feedline. From this figure, it is clear that all the frequency bands get affected by changing

the value of Wp3 , which indicates that the impedance matching of the antenna depends on the
width of the feedline. Therefore, the final value of Wp3 is chosen as 0.9 mm. The simulated
return loss for different values of the length Lg1 of L-shaped ground plane is depicted in the
Fig. 4.6. The impedance matching over entire frequency bands is achieved for Lg1 = 6.8 mm.

Therefore, 6.8 mm is selected as an optimized value for Lg1 .

−5

5
Return Loss [dB]

10

15

20

25
7.8 mm
30 6.8 mm
5.8 mm
35

40
2 6 10 Frequency
14 [GHz] 18 22 25
(b)

Figure 4.6: Simulated Return Loss versus Frequency for Different Lg1

4.2.2 UWB Antenna with Integrated Bluetooth Band

The resonance for Bluetooth band is achieved through an additional L-shaped strip that at-
tached to the triangular radiating patch. Current distribution from Fig. 4.7 indicates that the
resonating length includes the hypotenuse of the radiating patch and the strip attached. The
current distribution shows, in Fig. 4.7(a)-(d), the current path on the hypotenuse also changes

with the strip length. At the resonant frequency this length should be half of the guided wave-
length for the Bluetooth frequency. Therefore, the resonating length can be written as

q
Lb = 2 + L +W
L2p1 +Wp1 p1 p1 (4.1)

The resonant frequency fb may be empirically approximated by

50
 Figure 4.7: Surface Current Densities over the Proposed Antenna for Various Wp1

10
Return Loss [dB]

15

20

25 8 mm
9 mm
30 10 mm
11 mm

35

40
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency [GHz]

Figure 4.8: Simulated Return Loss versus Frequency for Different Wp1

c
fb ≈ √ (4.2)
2Lb εre f f

where εre f f is the effective dielectric constant, and c is the speed of light. The effective

dielectric constant, due to the lack of ground plane, is found to be half of the dielectric constant
of the substrate. Hence the effective dielectric constant is approximated as 2.2. Thus, for the
Bluetooth band, the calculated length Lb is 42.8 mm. The design equation is also verified by
calculating the Bluetooth resonance frequency for the values given in Fig. 4.8. In Table- 4.3,
Bluetooth frequency for different values of Wp1 of the L- strip is compared with the design

equation values.

It is clear from Fig. 4.8 that the resonant frequencies calculated using the design equation

51
Table 4.3: Comparison of Design Equation Resonant Frequency with Full-wave Simulation Data as a
Function of Wp1

Wp1 Lb Resonant frequency (GHz)

(mm) (mm) Design equation Full-wave simulation
8 38.1 2.65 2.91
9 39.6 2.55 2.73
10 41.2 2.45 2.57
11 42.8 2.36 2.41

are similar to the simulated values. For the case of Wp1 = 8 mm, though the resonance at 2.91
GHz is not developed well, but it has a resonance.

4.2.3 Band-notched Design

The band-notched characteristics centred at 6.9 GHz of the antenna is produced by C-shaped
slit etched in the radiator. This C-shaped slit introduce impedance mismatch between the
feed line and radiating patch due to which band notch is created. The boundary condition
for the band-notch resonance can be seen from Fig. 4.4(b), in which the whole current is

concentrated around the C-shaped slit. For the band-notched design, this slit acts as a half-
guided-wavelength resonator, the length of C-shaped slit can be calculated as

Ln = Ws + 2Ls + 2Ws1 (4.3)

The centre-notch frequency fn can be calculated as

c
fn ≈ √ (4.4)
2Ln εre f f

Where εre f f is the effective dielectric constant and c is the speed of the light in free space. For

notch band the length of C-shaped slit is 14.2 mm. The length of C-shaped slit is optimized
to achieve the band notch characteristic at INSAT/Super-Extended C-band. The return loss

52
 0

10

Return Loss [dB]

20

0.5 mm
30 1.0 mm
1.5 mm
2.0 mm
40 2.5 mm

50
2 6 10 14 18 22 25
Frequency [GHz]

Figure 4.9: Simulated Return Loss versus Frequency for Different Ws1

graph for different values of the Ws1 is depicted in Fig. 4.9. From the fig. it is clear that
the center frequency of the reject-band can be controlled by the Ws1 . Therefore, to obtain the

desired band notch characteristic Ws1 is chosen as 1.5 mm. In Table- 4.4, the notch frequency
for different values of Ws1 is compared with the designed equation data.

Table 4.4: Comparison of Design Equation Resonant Frequency with Full-wave Simulation Data as a
Function of Ws1

Ws1 Ln Resonant frequency (GHz)

(mm) (mm) Design equation Full-wave simulation
0.5 12.2 8.28 8.12
1.0 13.2 7.66 7.45
1.5 14.2 7.12 6.96
2.0 15.2 6.65 6.5
2.5 16.2 6.249 6.05

From Fig. 4.9, it is observed that the frequencies calculated using the design equation are
in agreement with the simulated data.

53
4.3 TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS

Time domain analysis is carried out by placing two identical antennas (one as a transmitter and
the other as a receiver) in the far-field region. The input and received signals in side-by-side
y-direction, side-by-side x-direction and face-to-face are shown in Fig. 4.10. Fidelity factor is

a measure for degree of similarity or correlation between the transmitted and received pulses.
It is also used to confirm low-distortion of the signal in time domain and can be calculate as
follows,
R∞
st (t)sr (t + τ )dt
F = max q R −∞ (4.5)
∞ 2

R∞
2


−∞ st (t) dt −∞ sr (t) dt

where st (t) and sr (t) are the input and received signals. The fidelity factors in the case of
face-to-face, side-by-side y-direction and side-by-side x-direction are obtained as 54%, 77.5%

and 67.5%, respectively.

1
Input
Side by side−x
0

−1
Normalized Amplitude

0 0.5 1 1.5 2
1
Input
Face to face
0

−1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
1
Input
Side by side−y
0

−1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Time [ns]

Figure 4.10: Input and Received Pulses in Different Directions of the Proposed Antenna

Group delay gives an indication of the time delay that the impulse signal suffers while in
propagation through the dimensions of the antenna. Group delay is calculated by placing two
identical antennas at 30 cm apart in different directions namely side-by-side and face-to-face

directions. For the each case, simulated group delay variation are shown in Fig. 4.11. Fig. 4.11
shows that the group delays are stable in both the configurations except at the band-notched

54
 1

0.5

Group delay [ns]

0

Side to side
−0.5 face to face

−1
2 6 10 14 18 22 25
Frequency [GHz]

Figure 4.11: Group Delay for the Proposed Antenna in Different Orientations

frequency. The deviation in the group delay for the frequencies other than the notch frequency
remains low, whereas at notch characteristic it is beyond 0.5 ns. It can be concluded that the
designed antenna displays the phase linearity at desired UWB frequencies. It is also indicated
from the above studies that the antenna has low distortion in the UWB frequency band.

4.4 MEASURED RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The antenna was fabricated after optimizing the parameters using the MITS-Eleven Lab PCB
machine. As it is a known problem that the dielectric constant of FR4 varies from 4.4 to 4.7.
Each batch of sheets will have slightly different dielectric constant. For an accurate value of
dielectric constant of each FR4 sheet, it needs to be measured. We purchase these FR4 sheets

and validate their dielectric constant using measurements carried out at NAL, CSIR lab. These
measurements confirmed the dielectric constant of 4.4. Then to validate simulation results, the
antenna parameters are measured by an Agilent N5230A vector network analyser. Fig. 4.12
shows, the simulated and measured return loss of the proposed antenna. The antenna suc-

cessfully exhibit band-notch between 6.3-7.2 GHz, otherwise sustaining ultrawide bandwidth
from 3.1 to 24.5 GHz with an integrated Bluetooth band.

55
 0

5 Measured
Simulated
10

Return Loss [dB]

15

20

25

30

35

40
2 7 12 17 22 25
Frequency [GHz]

Figure 4.12: Measured and Simulated Return Loss versus Frequency for the Proposed Antenna

The gain and efficiency of the proposed antenna are shown in Fig. 4.13. It is found that
the gain of the antenna varies from 1 to 6 dB over the Bluetooth and UWB frequency range
except at the notch band. The reduction in gain of the antenna at stop band confirms the
notched operation. The fig also shows that the efficiency of the proposed antenna is more than

50% for the Bluetooth and UWB band, while in notch band the antenna shows efficiency less
than 30%.

10 100

80
5
Efficiency [%]
Gain [dB]

60
0
40
Efficiency
−5 Simulated gain
Measured gain 20

−10 0
2 6 10 14 18 22 24
Frequency [GHz]

Figure 4.13: Gain and Efficiency of the Designed Antenna

56
Figure 4.14: Radiation Pattern for Various Resonance Frequency for the Proposed Antenna at (a) 2.41
GHz (b) 6.9 GHz (c) 14 GHz (d) 20.5 GHz
57
 The measured and simulated radiation patterns of the UWB antenna with Bluetooth band

and a band-notch characteristic, in the xy- and the yz- planes at (a) 2.41 GHz (b) 6.9 GHz
and (c) 14 GHz (d)20.5 GHz, are depicted in Figs. 4.14, respectively. It is found that the
UWB antenna has consistent radiation pattern at all the operating frequencies of Bluetooth
band and UWB band in the xy-plane and the yz-plane [see Fig. 4.14 (a),(c) and (d)]. Close

observation of the radiation patterns at Bluetooth band (2.4 -2.48 GHz) suggests the possibility
of having circularly polarized radiation. Further studies on current distribution and axial ratio
of the antenna at these frequencies confirm the left hand circular polarization (LHCP) of the
antenna. whereas an unstable radiation patterns for the notched band frequency, in the xy- and

the yz- planes [see Fig. 4.14 (b)].

4.5 SUMMARY

A compact triangular shaped UWB monopole antenna with integrated Bluetooth band and a
band-notched characteristic is proposed and implemented. The Bluetooth band was realized

by adding an L-shaped strip to the radiating patch and C-shaped slit was etched out from the
radiator to get a band rejection for INSAT/Super-Extended C-band. Surface current distribu-
tions were used to analyse the influence of C-shaped slit in achieving the band notched. The
time domain characteristics of the antenna were studied to validate the UWB performance of
the antenna. The antenna has a wide bandwidth of 21.4 GHz, from 3.1 to 24.5 GHz, with

integrated Bluetooth band and notched band from 6.3-7.2 GHz. However the present design
successfully reject the INSAT/Super-Extended C-band in the next chapter a lamp-shaped an-
tenna with dual band-notched function is discussed.

58