Miniaturized Dual-Band Metamaterial-Loaded Antenna for Heterogeneous Vehicular Communication Networks
E. M. Malathy, Praveen Joe I R, P. Ajitha
Abstract
The design of a dual-band monopole antenna exploiting the concepts of metamaterial loading is presented in this paper. A left-handed metamaterial (LHM) is designed to reduce the size of a simple monopole antenna and realize multiple resonance characteristics. The proposed LHM-loaded monopole antenna operates at two distinct frequencies, viz. 2.45 and 3.6 GHz making the antenna suitable for ISM and WLAN/WiMAX communications in an automotive environment. Furthermore, the proposed LHM offers at least 19% frequency reduction in comparison with the reference monopole antenna. The measured reflection coefficient bandwidth is 10 and 8% at both the frequency bands with a positive gain greater than 3 dBi. The suitability of the proposed antenna for heterogeneous vehicular communications is verified in simulation using a 3D car model. The effect of the vehicle’s body on the radiation pattern is studied. The prototype antenna is fabricated, and the simulation results are validated using experimental measurements.