This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been
fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information:
DOI 10.1109/TAP.2019.2894319, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
Highly Efficient, Wide-Band Microstrip Patch
Antenna with Recessed Ground at 60 GHz
Anushruti Jaiswal, Student Member, IEEE, Mahesh P. Abegaonkar, Senior Member, IEEE,
and Shiban K. Koul, Fellow, IEEE

Abstract—The effects of finite air filled recessed ground on
reflection and radiation characteristics of a microstrip patch
antenna at 60 GHz are investigated. The recessed ground patch
antenna is analyzed using 2-D capacitance model to understand
the effect of dimensions of the recessed ground plane on effective
dielectric constant. Detailed parametric study of dimensions of
the recessed ground plane is carried out to optimize the
performance of the patch antenna at 60 GHz. Prototypes of a
conventional and optimized recessed ground patch antenna at 60
GHz are fabricated on alumina ceramic substrate of height 0.127
mm with εr = 9.8. Measured results indicate that with recessed
ground plane, an enhancement in -10 dB impedance bandwidth
by 9.48% (58.2 to 65 GHz) and in radiation efficiency by 24.97%
over conventional patch antenna can be achieved at 60.1 GHz.
Gain enhancement of 2.64 dB is achieved with recessed ground
plane in the measurements. A good agreement between
theoretical and measured results confirms the advantage of using
recessed ground plane.
Index Terms—60 GHz, microstrip patch antenna, radiation
efficiency, recessed ground, Wheeler cap method, Wide-band
antenna.
I. INTRODUCTION
T HE unlicensed bandwidth of 9 GHz around 60 GHz is a
good candidate for short-distance radar and Gbps speed indoor
wireless communications including WPAN (wireless personal
area network) and WLAN (wireless local area network) [1].
High atmospheric oxygen attenuation of 10-15 dB/Km makes this
frequency span limited for short distance communications.
Therefore, high radiation efficiency and wide bandwidth
antennas are desirable in this frequency range
[2]. There are various existing techniques to improve the
bandwidth and efficiency of antenna at 60 GHz, reported in
literature. Micromachining [3] is one of the traditional
methodology. It is introduced in foam [4], silicon based
aperture coupled and microstrip fed patch antenna [5]. In [6], a
dielectric resonator antenna is presented by using
micromachining in silicon substrate. A micromachined air
filled slot antenna is developed by bonding three gold plated
silicon layers [7]. Cavity backing using SIW (substrate-
integrated waveguide) technique is also a popular method. It is
employed in T shape planar slot [8] and rectangular slot [9]
Anushruti Jaiswal, Mahesh P. Abegaonkar and Shiban K. Koul are with
Centre for Applied Research in Electronics, Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India. (e-mail: anushruti88jaiswal@gmail.com,
mpjosh@care.iitd.ac.in, shiban_koul@hotmail.com).
0018-926X (c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
patch antenna. Air filled metallic cavity is one more method
used in [10] to design a fully packaged wide bandwidth patch
antenna at 60 GHz using fused silica as superstrate. The use of
micromachining and SIW based cavities are limited due to
their time-consuming fabrication procedure and complex
multi-layer structures, resulting in higher fabrication cost.
However, recessed ground technique (also called air filled
metallic cavity) is much simpler to design and has a lower
fabrication cost. Hence, this method is chosen over others to
represent the proposed work.
A lot of other research works are also published on metallic
cavity backed patch antenna handling various issues such as
understanding the effects of height of air gap on resonance
frequency [11] and input impedance [12] at 2 GHz. Yet, no
significant work has been done on understanding the effects of
different parameters of recessed ground on reflection and
radiation characteristics of patch antenna and its related
theoretical analysis at 60 GHz.
In this paper, a quasi-static capacitance model of recessed
ground patch antenna is used to predict the reduction in
effective dielectric constant of the overall structure. A series
of full wave simulations (using HFSS) are done by varying
different parameters of recessed ground of the patch antenna.
Characteristics of patch antenna including resonance
frequency, bandwidth, efficiency and gain are studied.
Multiple antennas with different recessed ground parameters
are developed and tested to check the validity of the concept.
Furthermore, the recessed ground parameters of patch antenna
are optimized to obtain higher bandwidth and improved
efficiency in comparison to conventional patch antenna at 60
GHz. In contrast to other works reported, compared in Table I,
this work has achieved a maximum measured fractional
bandwidth and efficiency. The efficiency of antenna is
measured using wheeler’s cap method. The manuscript is
divided into four sections. Section II presents the design of the
proposed antenna. Section III illustrates the effects of recessed
ground parameters on performance of antenna and Section IV
details the fabrication and measurement results.
II. ANTENNA DESIGN
The geometry of the proposed design is shown in Fig. 1. It
consists of a microstrip inset fed rectangular patch, substrate
and a recessed ground. The patch dimensions L×W is
optimized to 0.745 mm ×1.1 mm to resonate at 60 GHz with
conventional ground plane on a 0.127 mm (tsub) thick alumina
ceramic with relative permittivity of 9.8. The dimensions of
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DOI 10.1109/TAP.2019.2894319, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation

TABLE I
10 COMPARISONcasea OF PROPOSED WORK WITH REPORTED WORK
Ref. Substrate properties Total height
case b Antenna Technique Fractional Efficiency
con sta nt [4] 1.07, 0.20 0.60 ACM PA micromachining 6.11% 73.00% (s imu lation)

case c
8 (εr, h = tsub in mm) (t = tsub + tair) mm type bandwidth
diele ctr ic 4
[5] 11.9, 0.40 0.40 MPA micromachining 4.83% -
6

[6] 11.9,0.275 0.675 DRA micromachining 3.78% 79.35%

[7] 11.9, 0.80 1.20 Slot micromachining 7.10% 95.00% (simulation)
EffectiveThis
[8] 2.2, 0.508
9.8, 0.127
0.508
0.377
Slot
MPA
SIW recessed ground
8.40% (simulation)
11.33%
94.00% (simulation)
87.44% (measured)

[9] 6.15, 0.635 0.635 Slot SIW 11.60% (simulation) -

[10]2 3.80, 0.30 0.80 CPMPA metallic cavity 9.90% 90.00% (simulation)

work
0 0 127 254 381
Recessed g round d epth,=d epthair (m)

h = tsub = height of substrate, tair of air-filled recessed ground, t = tsub + tair = total height of mixed air-substrate, ACMPA-Aperture coupled
microstrip patch antenna, MPA-Microstrip patch antenna, DRA-Dielectric resonator antenna, and CPMPA-circularly polarized microstrip patch antenna

III. EFFECTS OF RECESS GROUND PARAMETERS ON

PERFORMANCE OF PATCH ANTENNA

A. Reduction in effective dielectric constant

Fig. 2 represents a quasi-static capacitance model based on
series capacitance between patch and recessed ground. Fig.
2(a) describes the case when only depth of the recessed
ground is varied whereas the length and width are kept equal
to the size of patch. Total capacitance C is a combination of
fringing capacitance, cf and mixed air-substrate region
capacitance, cm and is, calculated as
C  eff .A t  c f  cm  cf . (1.1)
Fig. 1. Top and side view of recessed ground patch antenna. Effective dielectric constant (εeff) of the overall structure is estimated by following expression:

air filled recessed ground includes length b, width a and depth  1    f .L  
tair. It extends beyond the size of patch with one of its width eff   2  m .L , (1.2)
edge fixed and aligned parallel to the radiating edge of the 2L  L   1 xf  
   
patch, along which it is fed. It controls the reflection and   ( . )
m sub air ( xair ( sub   air )  air ) and (1.3)
radiation characteristics of patch antenna. The size of patch
does not alter with change in recessed ground parameters. The tair
x f  xair  t in fringing and mixed fields region respectively.
inset length il changes when the size of the recessed ground is
changed. It is optimized to 50- point according to the change In the above equations, relative dielectric constant in fringing
in input impedance. The total height of mixed air-substrate is t region, εf and extended electrical length, ∆L are determined
= tair + tsub. The overall size of the ground plane is lg ×wg. from [13]. Permittivity εf is used for calculation of ∆L. Due to
absence of recessed ground in fringing region, xf = 0. Relative
dielectric constant in mixed region, εm is calculated from
equation (1.3), reduces exponentially with increase in tair and
saturates after tair ≥ tsub. It reduces to value 2 at tair = tsub.
The reduction in εeff using equation (1.2) is illustrated as
case a in Fig. 3. It reduces sharply from 9.8 to 3.45 at tair= tsub
(a)
and then increases subsequently. The gradual increase is due
to saturation in εm and linear increase in value of ∆L in
equation (1.2). Fig. 2(b) demonstrates the case when the
length of recessed ground is extended along one side only
whereas in Fig. 2(c) it is extended along both sides
symmetrically. εeff is derived for both the cases. Total
capacitance is
(b) (c) C  c f 1  cm  c f 2 (1.4)
Fig. 2. Capacitance model of recessed ground patch antenna (a) when b=L, (b)
when b is extended beyond the physical length of patch antenna along one
side and (c) both sides symmetrically.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information:
DOI 10.1109/TAP.2019.2894319, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation

5.5
10 case a tair (m)

const
ant
dielectri constan case b
63.5

5.0 15.87
case c 31.75
t
8
4.5

dielectric
4 120
c

6 4.0
190
3.5 250

Effectiv
Effective

381
3.0

e
2 2.5

2.0
0
0 127 254 381 1100 1608 2116 2624 3132
Recessed ground depth, tair (m) Recessed ground width, a (m)
Fig. 3. Effective dielectric constant of overall structure as a function tair. Fig. 5. Variation of effective dielectric constant with increase in a and tair at b
= L.

For case b,
 eff 
 L1  L L2
 f 1   f ,  f 2  ( f . air ) ( x f 2 .( f   air )  air ) ,
xf2
For case c,
 
eff
εf1 = εf2 and x f 1  x f 2  xair . (1.9)
In case b, only radiating edge 2 of patch (i.e. along ∆L2) is in
mixed air-substrate region and therefore, due to more fringing
along this edge, εf2 is smaller than εf1 and ∆L2 is larger than
∆L1. This can be seen from Fig. 4. In case c, both the radiating
edges of patch are in mixed air-substrate region, and will lead
to equal fringing along both the edges with ∆L1 = ∆L2 and εf1=
εf2. The variation in εeff for both the cases are compared in Fig.
3. It is observed that the value of εeff reduces with increase in
tair and is much smaller for case c than case b. The minimum
value achieved is 1.43 at tair = 381μm (3tsub). It can also be
concluded that the εeff reduces more when length of recessed
ground is extended beyond the physical length of patch
antenna and includes the fringing fields in mixed air-substrate
region.
The increase in the width of recessed ground enhances the
fringing from edges separated by width of the patch. However,
since they are the non-radiating edges of the patch, fields
cancel. Therefore, the capacitance model does not change with
the increase in width.
300
Additionally, the change in εeff is also analyzed by
1   f .L1 
   m . L   f 2 .L2  , (1.5)
transmission line model of recessed ground patch antenna with
 
1 xf 1  width (a) as a variable. A transmission line of size equal to
 
patch antenna with varying a (extends both side
(1.6) symmetrically) at several values of tair is simulated in HFSS at
 xair and x f 1  x f = 0. (1.7) solution frequency of 60 GHz. The length of recessed ground
b is kept constant to L. Fig. 5 shows the reduction in εeff from
1 5.5 to 2.2 with increase in a for tair = 120µm (≈tsub) and
 . L  2( .L  , ) (1.8) remains constant for tair > 120µm. It reduces initially along a
2.L  L  m f2 1 
1 due to increase in the electromagnetic volume of air [14] and
then saturates due to no further change in capacitance.
B. Resonance Frequency
The change in resonance frequency (f0) of patch antenna by
varying the recessed ground parameters (length (b), width (a)
and depth (tair) are illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, and the
significant observations are briefly described here. For all
values of b ≥ 1253 μm (Fig. 6) and a (Fig. 7), f0 increases with
increases in tair initially (until tair ≤ 31.75 μm), and then starts
decreasing (for tair > 31.75 μm). However, for b < 1253μm,
the f0 increases up till tair ≤ 15.87 μm as highlighted in Fig. 6.
In addition, f0 increases with an increase in b along one edge
(as shown in Fig. 2 (b)), at all the values of tair.
Furthermore, f0 continually increases with increase in a for
tair ≤ 120 μm as highlighted in Fig. 7. However, for tair > 120
μm, f0 increases initially and then decreases with an increase in
a. This range of tair until when f0 increases with a is dependent
on b. As εeff reduces with increase in b, the range of tair
increases. The variation in f0 observed in all the cases, can be
justified by the predicted trend of εeff, with all the dimensions
of recessed ground.
72
(GHz

tair (m)
Extended electrical length  (m)

68
)

15.87
frequen

64 31.75
cy

200 63.5
60 120
190
56
250
Resona
nce

100 52 381

48
L1
L2 44
0 40
0 127 254 381 745 1253 1761 2269
Recessed ground depth, tair (m) Recessed ground length, b (m)
Fig. 6. Variation of resonance frequency with increase in b and tair ; a = 3132
Fig. 4. Comparison of extended electrical length as a function tair. µm.

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TABLE II
70 tair (m) COMPARISON OF FRACTIONAL BANDWIDTH BETWEEN RECESSED
GROUND AND CONVENTIONAL PATCH ANTENNA
(GHz)
15.87
31.75
tair t=tsub + tair Fractional Bandwidth (%)
frequenc

65 63.5
120
(µm) (µm)
y

190 tsub=127 µm Recessed ground Conventional

60 250 patch antenna patch antenna
Resonance

381 15.87 142.87 2.55 2.05

31.75 158.75 3.27 2.21
55
63.5 190.5 4.51 2.71
120 254 6.88 3.63
50
1100 1608 2116 2624 3132 190 317 9.11 4.41
Recessed ground width, a (m)
250 377 10.95 6.47
Fig. 7. Variation of resonance frequency with increase in a and tair ; b = 2269 381 508 13.33 8.41
µm.

C. Bandwidth In addition, the improvement in bandwidth of air-filled

Figs. 8 and 9 represents the variation in fractional bandwidth recessed ground patch is compared with conventional patch
with increase in b and a for different values of tair at a =2624 antenna for substrate thickness (tsub) = t, shown in Table II. tsub
µm and b=2269 µm (equal extension of 1524 µm beyond W of conventional patch antenna is varied as t. The lateral
and L) respectively. The bandwidth enhances with an increase dimensions of air-filled recessed ground patch antenna while
in the volume of recessed ground [14] and henceforth, it varying tair are kept constant as a = 3132 µm and b = 2269 µm.
increases with its corresponding parameters. Regardless of From Table II, it can be noticed that the bandwidth
equal extension of a and b (in Figs. 8 and 9), the bandwidth enhancement is more for air-filled recessed ground patch
increases more with b than a. It is because of significant antenna than the conventional patch antenna at any value of t.
fringing along the length of recessed ground than width. A maximum of 4.92 % of additional bandwidth is attained
Maximum of 9.5 % and 13.5 % of bandwidth is realized at b = using recessed ground at t = 508 µm. This signifies the
2269 µm (Fig. 8) and a = 3132 µm (Fig. 9) at tair = 381 µm. additional advantage of using recessed ground below patch
An equal increase in the bandwidth is observed when a is antenna.
extended twice that of b. For example, approximately 7 % D. Efficiency and Gain
bandwidth is achieved at a = 2116 µm (for b = 2269 µm) and Fig. 10 represents the variation in efficiency with an increase
b = 1253 µm ( for a = 3132 µm) for tair = 381 µm. in a for different values tair (at constant b = 2269 µm). The
10 efficiency increases linearly with tair for a ≥ 1608 µm.
tair (m)
9 15.87 However, for a < 1608 µm as highlighted, it increases until tair
Fractional bandwidth (%)

8
31.75 < 31.75µm and then it reduces further. The efficiency also
63.5
7 120
increases with increase in a, at all the values of tair. An
190 analogues behavior is observed with the change in parameter b
6 250
381
also. The increase in the efficiency is approximately same for
5 equal extension along a and b.
4 In addition, the antenna gain follows the same trend as
3 efficiency. Both the parameters are improved due to fringing
fields and reduced losses in antenna because of presence of
2 745 1253 1761 2269
Recessed ground length, b (m) recessed ground. The efficiency of antenna is improved by 31
% (from 67% to 98%) and gain by 1.67 dB (from 4.95 dB to
Fig. 8. Variation in fractional bandwidth with increase in b and tair ; a = 2624 6.62 dB) at b= 2269 µm, a= 3132 µm at tair=381µm.
%

µm.
(

16
98
14 tair (m) tair (m)
15.87 96
15.87
w
b

n
d

h
a

12 31.75
t
i

94 31.75
63.5
92 63.5
(%)

10 120
120
190
Effic
ienc

90
y

381
8 250
F

o
n

86
a
c

190
r

t
i

381 88 250
6

4
84
2 82
80
1100 1608 2116 2624 3132
Recessd ground width, a (m) 1100 1608 2116 2624 3132
Recessed ground width, a ( m)
Fig. 9. Variation in fractional bandwidth with increase in a and tair ; b=
2269µm. Fig. 10. Variation in efficiency with increase in a and tair ; b=2269 µm.

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Table. III. COMPARISON OF SIMULATED AND MEASURED RESULTS OF RECESSED

GROUND PATCH ANTENNA VARYING tair , KEEPING a = W AND b=L AS
CONSTANTS.
tair Simulated Measured Error Simulated Measured
(µm) f0 (GHz) f0 (GHz) (%) FBW (%) FBW (%)
60 61.20 61.10 0.16 2.17 1.80
120 55.00 53.20 3.38 2.04 1.71
190 53.60 53.40 0.37 2.04 1.78
380 48.90 47.20 3.60 2.03 1.46
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 11. (a) Top view of through slot and plain brass ground, (b) fabricated Table IV. COMPARISON OF SIMULATED AND MEASURED RESULTS OF RECESSED
image of recessed ground patch antenna with a = 3132 µm, b = 3031 µm and GROUND PATCH ANTENNA VARYING b, KEEPING a = 3132 µm AND tair = 250
tair = 250 µm, (c) fabricated image of conventional patch antenna. µm AS CONSTANTS.
b Simulated Measured Error Simulated Measured
(µm) f0 (GHz) f0 (GHz) (%) FBW (%) FBW (%)
IV. FABRICATION AND MEASUREMENT 745 43.30 42.60 1.64 2.68 2.18
A 0.127 mm thick alumina substrate with r = 9.8 is used to 1253 54.60 53.80 1.49 6.52 5.58
verify the above results. It is coated with 3µm of gold on one 1761 57.30 56.60 1.24 9.89 9.45
2269 58.10 58.50 0.68 10.95 10.51
side. The fabrication of antenna is done using Maskless
lithography. Laser machining is used to create through slots in Table V. COMPARISON OF SIMULATED AND MEASURED RESULTS OF
brass sheets. The slotted brass sheet is attached with another RECESSED GROUND PATCH ANTENNA VARYING a, KEEPING b = 2269 µm AND
plain brass sheet using silver solder wire and this together tair = 250 µm AS CONSTANTS.
forms a recessed ground. Fig. 11 (a) shows the top view of the a Simulated Measured Error Simulated Measured
(µm) f0 (GHz) f0 (GHz) (%) FBW (%) FBW (%)
through slot and plain brass sheet. Lastly, the printed substrate
1100 59.70 59.00 1.17 2.87 2.35
is glued with the recessed ground using silver conductive 1608 59.00 58.20 1.35 4.85 4.28
paint, shown in Fig. 11 (b). The effect of recessed ground on 2116 57.40 57.00 0.70 7.35 6.99
resonance frequency and fractional bandwidth of patch 3132 58.10 58.00 0.17 10.95 10.51
antenna is verified. Three sets of four antennas are fabricated
with different dimensions of depth, length and width of Figs. 12 and 13 depict a comparison of simulated and
recessed ground. While varying one parameter, the other two measured return loss of both the antennas respectively. The
are kept as constants. For illustration, a photograph of a simulated return loss result of conventional patch antenna with
fabricated recessed ground patch antenna is shown in Fig. 11 extended ground is also included in Fig. 12 to prove that the
(b). The extended ground plane is used to screw the end- bandwidth enhancement is purely due to recessed ground. The
launch connectors (it is difficult to make holes in 0.127 mm measurement results of both the antennas matches well with
ceramic substrate). Southwest made 67 GHz end launch their simulated results. Measured reflection coefficient of -30
connectors are used for antenna measurements. dB and - 40 dB with fractional bandwidth 1.83% and 11.3%
Comparison of simulated and measured results of three sets are obtained with conventional and recessed ground patch
of antennas with varying tair, a and b are tabulated as Table III, antenna at 60.1 GHz respectively.
IV and V respectively. From these tables, it can be estimated
that the measured response agrees well with the simulated
results. The percentage error between simulated and measured
resonance frequency is higher in Table III compared to Tables
IV and V. A maximum error of 3.6% is found at tair = 381µm
in Table III and can be accounted to undesirable residue of
silver conductive paint below the slot due to relatively small
lateral dimensions of recessed ground. And thus it makes the
resonance frequency to offset. The agreement between
simulated and measured results validates the capacitance and Fig. 12. Simulated return loss of conventional and recessed ground patch
transmission line model analogy of recessed ground patch antenna.
antenna.
Based on the theoretical and parametric analysis in section
III, the recessed ground dimensions are optimized with a =
3132 µm, b = 3031 µm and tair = 250 µm to obtain a high
bandwidth and improved efficiency patch antenna at 60 GHz.
The performance of recessed ground patch antenna is
compared to conventional patch antenna at 60 GHz. The
photograph of a fabricated conventional patch antenna is
shown in Fig. 11 (c) and whereas recessed ground patch
antenna is shown in Fig. 11 (b).
Fig. 13. Measured return loss of conventional and recessed ground patch
antenna.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information:
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0 0
330 30 330 30
0
0

300 60 300 -10 60

-10
-20
-20
270 90 270 -30 90
-20
-20
-10
240 120 240 -10 120
0 0
Fig. 14. Radiation pattern measurement set up where the AUT is in receiving 210 150 210 150
180 180
mode [15].
(a) (b)
0 0
A shift of 100 MHz in resonance frequency is may be due 330 30 330 30
0
to the thickness of silver conductive paste between brass sheet 0
-10
and substrate. An improvement in the fractional bandwidth of 300
-20
60 300
-10
60

9.47% from 58.2 to 65 GHz is achieved over conventional -30 -20

patch antenna at 60 GHz. The accomplished fractional 270 -40 90 270 90
bandwidth is sufficient to justify the use of recessed ground at -30
-20

60 GHz. -20 -10

240 120 240 120
The radiation patterns of antenna were measured in compact -10
0
antenna test range (CATR) anechoic chamber (by MI 210
0
150 210 150
180 180
technology) using the measurement set up shown in Fig. 14.
Here the horn antenna is used as reference transmitting (c) (d)
Fig. 16. Simulated and measured normalized radiation pattern in E- plane at
antenna, located at the focal point of the reflector to generate a (a) 58.2 (b) 60 (c) 62 (d) 65 GHz. Black solid line-simulated and Red solid
plane wave toward the antenna under test [15]. The radiation line measured.
pattern of antennas is measured in E-plane and H- plane. The 330
0
30 330
0
30
0
normalized gain radiation pattern of conventional patch 0

antenna at 60 GHz are plotted in Fig. 15. Correlation between 300

-10
60 300 -10 60

the simulated and measured results are found to be good with -20
-20
3-dB beamwidth of 67 and 40.5 in E- and H- plane 270 90 270 -30 90
respectively. -20
-20
The normalized E- and H- plane gain radiation pattern of -10
240 120 240 -10 120
recessed ground patch antenna at 58.2, 60, 62 and 65 GHz are
0 0
plotted in Figs. 16 and 17. A generally good agreement 210 150 210 150
180 180
between simulated and measured results are found. A (a) (b)
measured 3-dB beamwidth of 55 and 80 are observed in H- 0 0
330 30 330 30
and E- plane of recessed ground patch antenna at 60 GHz. 0 0
Additionally, the cross-polarization of the antenna in the E- 300
-10
60 300 -10 60
plane and H-plane is better than −15 dB at 60 GHz. -20
-20
-30
The antenna gain was measured using the comparative
270 -40 90 270 -30 90
method that involves measuring the signals received by the
-30 -20
reference horn antenna and by the antenna under test (AUT). -20
The relative difference in the gain of both antennas are 240
-10
120 240 -10 120

determined. The measured loss due to waveguide to coax 0 0

210 150 210 150
adaptor is 1–1.3 dB over the frequency range of 58 – 66 GHz. 180 180

0 0 (c) (d)
330 0 30 30
330 0 Fig. 17. Simulated and measured normalized radiation pattern in H- plane at
(a) 58.2 (b) 60 (c) 62 (d) 65 GHz. Black solid line-simulated and Red solid
300 -10 60 300 -10 60
line measured.
-20 -20

270 -30 90 270 -30 90 This loss was taken into account in the gain measurement.
-20 -20 Fig. 18 represents the simulated and measured gain of
recessed ground patch antenna across the attained bandwidth.
240 -10 120 240 -10 120
A maximum gain of 6.94 dBi is obtained at 60 GHz. A
0
210
180
150 210 0
180
150 minimum of 5.8 dBi gain is achieved throughout the
(a) (b)
Fig. 15. Normalized gain radiation pattern of conventional patch antenna at 60
GHz. (a) E-plane and (b) H-plane. Black solid line-simulated and Red solid line
measured.
 bandwidth. The maximum discrepancy betweenand measurement results is about 0.8 dB. The measured gain of
simulation
conventional patch antenna is 4.3 dBi at 60 GHz.

0018-926X (c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information:
DOI 10.1109/TAP.2019.2894319, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation

7.0

6.8

6.6
Gain (dBi)

6.4

6.2

6.0
Simulated
5.8 Measured

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66
Frequency (GHz)
Fig. 18. Simulated and measured gain of recessed ground patch antenna.

Using recessed ground, the gain of microstrip patch antenna Fig. 20. Measurements of conventional and recessed ground patch antenna
is enhanced by 2.64 dBi at 60 GHz. input reflection coefficient s11 with four different caps.
The radiation efficiency is an important measure for
millimeter wave antennas. Wheeler introduced the radian cap
method, which is widely used for determining the efficiency
of the antenna [16]. This method is accurate to measure the
efficiency of electrically small antennas. A modified version
of the Wheeler method is discussed in [17] and the same
method is employed to measure the efficiency of a
conventional and a recessed ground patch antenna at 60 GHz,
in current work also.
In our work, four aluminum based cylindrical shaped caps
of different sizes are used for enclosing the antenna. The
height of the cap is kept along the broadside radiation
Fig. 21. Comparison between simulated and measured efficiency of recessed
direction of the antenna and it varies from 0/2 to 40/5. Fig. ground patch antenna.
19 displays different caps with ground plane along with
efficiency measurement set up. The steps to measure the V. CONCLUSION
efficiency are elaborated in [17] and is calculated as:
2 1
A recessed ground plane microstrip antenna with enhanced
(2.0)
  S bandwidth and efficiency is presented. The effects of different
ant  Smax  1   Smin 1 1 11,f s 2 parameters of recessed ground on reflection and radiation
Fig. 20 shows the measurement of conventional and recessed characteristics of patch antenna are investigated through full-
ground antenna input reflection coefficient in free space and wave simulations and quasi-static capacitance model. These
with four metallic boxes at 60 GHz. Parameters Smax1 , Smax 2 are further verified through fabrication and measurements.
, Smin 1 and Smin 2 can be found as maximum and minimum The optimized dimensions of the recessed ground provide a
distance to the respective curve-fitted circles from the free space bandwidth enhancement of 9.5% and efficiency enhancement
point (S11,fs) on the smith chart. Then the efficiency can be of 24.97% for the patch antenna at 60 GHz. The gain of the
calculated using equation (2.0). The simulated and measured antenna also shows an improvement of around 2.64 dB with
efficiency of conventional patch antenna is 67 % and 64 % where recessed ground plane. This antenna with improved
as for recessed ground patch it is 98 % and 87.44 % respectively. bandwidth, efficiency and gain will be useful in wireless
Fig. 21 compares the simulated and measured efficiency across applications at 60 GHz. The antenna is easy to fabricate and
the band from 58.2 GHz to 65 GHz. More than 81 % of efficiency
implement.
is obtained throughout the band.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are thankful to the NPMASS for setting up of
state-of-the-art characterization facility at C.A.R.E, IIT Delhi
and supporting RF MEMS research. Thanks are also due to
Prof. Dinesh Kalyanasundaram, Centre for Bio-Medical
Engineering, IIT Delhi and NRF, IIT Delhi for allowing us to
access the fabrication facilities. The authors would also like to
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 19. (a) Wheeler caps of different heights with conducting ground plane on thanks Prof. Ke Wu for providing radiation pattern
left most. (b) Top view of antenna and wheeler cap and (c) Side view of measurement facility at Poly-Grames lab, Montreal, Canada.
antenna enclosed in wheeler cap.

0018-926X (c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information:
DOI 10.1109/TAP.2019.2894319, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
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Anushruti Jaiswal (S’14) received the
master’s degree in communication
engineering from Vellore Institute of
Technology, Vellore, Tamil nadu, India, in
2013. Since 2014, she has been working
toward the Ph.D. degree at the Centre for
Applied Research in Electronics, Indian
Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India. Her current
research interests include recessed ground antennas,
transmission lines, MEMS based polarization, frequency
reconfigurable antennas and high gain antenna at mmwave
frequencies.
0018-926X (c) 2018 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
Mahesh P. Abegaonkar (M’08–SM’13)
received the Ph.D. degree in physics
(microwaves) from the University of
Pune, Pune, India, in 2002. He was a
Postdoctoral Researcher and an Assistant
Professor with Kyungpook National
University, Daegu, South Korea, during
2002–2005. He is currently an Associate
Professor with the Centre for Applied Research in Electronics,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. He is currently the
Secretary and Treasurer of IEEE MTT-S Chapter under Delhi
Section. His current research interests include microwave and
millimetre wave antennas, Electromagnetic Band Gap (EBG)
and Defected Ground Structures (DGS), microwave
metamaterial, and reconfigurable microstrip circuits.
Shiban Kishen Koul (S’81-M’83–
SM’91- F’10) earned a BE degree in
Electrical Engineering from the Regional
Engineering College, Srinagar in 1977,
and M.Tech and PhD degrees in
Microwave Engineering from the Indian
Institute of Technology, Delhi, India in
1979 and 1983, respectively. He is Dr.
R.P.Shenoy Astra Microwave Chair Professor at the Centre
for Applied Research in Electronics where he is involved in
teaching and research activities. He served as Deputy Director
(strategy & planning) at IIT Delhi from 2012 to 2016 and
presently he is holding the position of Deputy Director
(Strategy & Planning, International affairs and R&D) at the
Indian Institute of Technology Jammu. He is also the
Chairman of M/S Astra Microwave Pvt. Ltd, a major private
company involved in the Development of RF and Microwave
systems in India. His research interests include: RF MEMS,
High Frequency Wireless Communication, Microwave
Engineering, Microwave Passive and Active Circuits, Device
modeling, Millimeter wave IC design and Reconfigurable
microwave circuits including antennas. Dr. Koul has
successfully completed 34 major sponsored projects, 52
consultancy projects and 57 Technology Development
Projects. He is author/co-author of 400 Research Papers, 8
state-of-the art books and 3 book chapters. He holds 10 patents
and 6 copyrights. Professor Koul is a Fellow of the Institution
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, USA (IEEE), Fellow
of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and
Fellow of the Institution of Electronics and
Telecommunication Engineers (IETE). He is the Chief Editor
of IETE Journal of Research and Associate Editor of the
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless
Technologies, Cambridge University Press. He has delivered
more than 266 invited technical talks at various international
symposia and workshops. He is currently a serving MTT-S
ADCOM member and a Member of IEEE MTT society’s
Technical committees on Microwave and Millimetre Wave
Integrated Circuits (MTT-6) and RF MEMS (MTT-21),
Member of India Initiative team of IEEE MTT-S, Membership
Services Regional Co-coordinator Region-10, Member Sight
Adhoc Committee MTT-S, and MTT-S Speaker bureau
lecturer. He served as a Distinguished Microwave Lecturer of
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information:
DOI 10.1109/TAP.2019.2894319, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation

IEEE MTT-S for the period 2012-2014 and Distinguished

Microwave Lecturer-Emeritus of IEEE MTT-S in 2015.
Dr. Koul is recipient of Gold Medal by the Institution of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers Calcutta (1977);
S.K.Mitra Research Award (1986) from the IETE for the best
research paper; Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
Young Scientist Award (1986); International Union of Radio
Science (URSI) Young Scientist Award (1987); the top
Invention Award (1991) of the National Research
Development Council for his contributions to the indigenous
development of ferrite phase shifter technology; VASVIK
Award (1994) for the development of Ka- band components
and phase shifters; Ram Lal Wadhwa Gold Medal (1995) from
the Institution of Electronics and Communication Engineers
(IETE); Academic Excellence award (1998) from Indian
Government for his pioneering contributions to phase control
modules for Rajendra Radar, Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award
(2009) in the field of Electronics and Information Technology,
Teaching excellence award (2012) from IIT Delhi, Award for
contributions made to the growth of smart material technology
(2012) by the ISSS, Bangalore, Vasvik Award (2012) for the
contributions made to the area of Information, Communication
Technology (ICT), M.N.Saha Memorial Award (2013) from
the IETE for the best application oriented research paper; and
IEEE MTT Society Distinguished Educator Award (2014).

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