Design and Simulation of a Compact Metal-Graphene Frequency Reconfigurable Microstrip Patch Antenna with FSS Superstrate for 5G Applications
Hamzah M. Marhoon, Nidal Qasem, Noorulden Basil, Ahmed R. Ibrahim
Abstract
Microstrip patch antennas are a very popular type of antenna due to their light weight, small size, and low manufacturing cost. However, they suffer from many disadvantages, such as poor gain and tuning difficulties, due to their narrow bandwidth. Graphene is a material that comprises a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. One of the most useful features of graphene is its variable surface electrical conductivity, which can be altered by varying the DC voltage applied to the material. This method can be employed as a substitutional technique to construct tunable antennas. In this work, a compact tunable Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antenna (RMPA) is designed and modeled using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio (MWS). The RMPA is optimized to work within two operating frequency bands of the fifth-generation communication system. The proposed antenna includes a copper radiating patch with two graphene layers inserted inside it, which are used for tuning. In order to enhance the parameters of the proposed antenna, such as gain and return loss, a frequency selective surface is utilized as a superstrate for 28 GHz band applications.