Tunable Array Antenna with CRLH Feeding Network Based on Graphene

Abstract

This paper introduces a novel design of compact tunable monopole antenna array, employing composite right/left handed (CRLH) feeding network. The feeding network configuration is coplanar waveguide (CPW). A graphene sheet is placed beneath the CRLH cell to achieve the tunability behavior in the antenna design. The antenna array configuration achieves the tunability function with an accepted gain. The surface conductivity of the graphene sheet is tuned by changing the applied DC bias voltage. The DC voltage changes the chemical potential of the graphene sheet. The antenna array is tuned from 2.5–2.46, 2.43, and 2.42 GHz when the chemical potential of graphene is changed from 0.0, 0.15, and 0.2 eV, respectively. The array antenna has a reasonable gain of 5.34 dB without placing the graphene sheet. By placing the graphene and changing the chemical potential, the array gain values become 4.42, 3.82, and 3.74 dB at the specified chemical potential. The radiation properties of the array are studied at the desired resonant frequency. The proposed design can be fabricated by using the transparent transfer process. All the presented designs are verified using the electromagnetic solver CST Studio.

KEYWORDS:

• CRLH
• Graphene
• Metamaterial
• Tunable arrays
• Monopole

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ahmed A. Abdel Aziz

Ahmed A Abdel Aziz received the BSc degree, with grade of excellent with honors, in electrical engineering from the Avionic Engineering Department, Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt in 2014. He is currently pursuing the MS degree in graphene-based metamaterial microwave components/antenna from Military Technical College. From 2014 to 2016, he was a research assistant with AF Research Center in design of microwave communication systems. His research interests include microwave components, antennas, metamaterial structures, graphene RF applications. Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Ahmed A. Ibrahim

Ahmed A Ibrahim was born in 1986. He received the BSc degree, with grade of excellence, in electrical engineering from the Electronic and Communication Engineering Department, Elminia University, Elminia, Egypt in 2007. He was awarded the MSc degree in electronic and communication engineering from Elminia University in 2011 and the PhD degree from electronic and communication engineering from Minia University in 2014. He is a lecturer in Electronic and Communication Engineering Department. His research focused on the design and analysis of microstrip antennas, microstrip filters, and its application in wireless communications, metamaterial MIMO antennas, and different metamaterial applications in microwave bands. Email: [email protected]

Mahmoud A. Abdalla

Mahmoud A Abdalla was born in 1973. He received the BSc degree, with grade of excellence with honours, and MSc in electrical engineering from the Electrical Engineering Department, Military Technical College, Cairo, Egypt in 1995 and 2000, respectively. He was awarded the PhD degree from the School of Electrical Engineering, Manchester University, UK, in 2009. He has been with Military Technical College since 1996 where he is an associate professor and head of electromagnetic waves group. He has been a visiting professor in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Canada since 2017. Dr Mahmoud was the recipient of Egyptian encouragement state prize for engineering sciences in 2014. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journals and conference papers. His research has focused on miniaturized multiband antennas/wideband, microwave/millimeter components. Also his research includes MIMO antennas and energy harvesting systems. Dr Mahmoud Abdalla is a senior member of the IEEE and the European Microwave Association EuMA. He is currently a reviewer in Scientific Reports, IEEE Transaction on Antenna and propagation, IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, IEEE in Microwave and theory techniques, IEEE Microwave Wireless Components, IEEE transaction in Magnetics, IEEE transaction on Plasma Science, IET Microwave, Antenna and Propagation, IET Electronics Letters, IET Communications, and many others. Email: [email protected]