Innovative Stacking Approach for Gain Enhancement in Microstrip Antennas

Abstract

This paper unveils a revolutionary stacked microstrip antenna design that packs a punch, delivering impressive gains in a compact package. By harnessing the power of IE3D software and carefully selecting FR4 substrate with copper ground plane, we\'ve crafted a 2.4 GHz antenna that\'s perfect for Wi-Fi applications. Our innovative design outperforms traditional antennas, paving the way for exciting new possibilities in wireless communication, IoT devices, and beyond. Our research opens doors to new possibilities for high-gain, compact antennas that meet the growing demands of wireless communication.

Introduction

1. Introduction

The rise of smart devices and IoT has driven demand for compact, high-performance antennas. Traditional microstrip antennas are limited in gain and bandwidth. To address this, researchers are developing stacked microstrip antennas, which offer higher gain and broader bandwidth without significantly increasing size. This research focuses on designing such antennas for Wi-Fi applications, using IE3D software for simulation and FR4 substrate with a copper ground plane.

2. Literature Review

Recent advancements in stacked microstrip antenna design emphasize:

• Gain and bandwidth improvements through stacking and parasitic patches.

• Dual-band and multi-layer configurations for versatile applications.

• Techniques like Defected Ground Structures (DGS) and air gaps to reduce surface waves and improve radiation.

• Compact, high-gain solutions suitable for radar, satellite, and multi-band systems.

Key studies demonstrate how material selection, stacking geometry, and feeding methods enhance performance without increasing size.

3. Methodology

A. Design Overview

• Fundamental mode operation (TM??) used.

• Air gap as dielectric improves bandwidth and reduces loss.

• Calculated parameters:

  • Resonant frequency: 2.78 GHz

  • Bandwidth: ~4.63%

  • Gain: ~7–9 dBi

B. Antenna Design Flow
Steps include substrate preparation, conductive patterning, feed integration, tuning, and testing using tools like the Vector Network Analyzer (VNA).

C. Stacking Configurations

• 1-element: Broad radiation, simple.

• 2-elements: Improved gain, directional radiation.

• 4-elements: High gain, narrow beam, ideal for long-range applications.

D. Software Tools
IE3D enables accurate modeling, parameter tuning, and visualization of fields and radiation patterns before fabrication.

E. Hardware Tools
VNA measures real-world antenna parameters like return loss (S11), impedance, bandwidth, and resonance to validate simulation accuracy.

F. Fabrication
Involves substrate selection, copper etching, precise stacking (with air gaps), and feed integration. Emphasizes accuracy for performance consistency.

4. Results

Simulations show:

• Increasing elements improves gain and bandwidth.

• S11, Smith chart, and VSWR plots confirm good matching and performance for single, two, and four-element configurations.

• A comparison table shows clear performance improvement as the number of stacked elements increases.

5. Discussion

Stacked microstrip antennas:

• Improve gain and bandwidth through multiple resonances.

• Benefit from low-loss air gaps and compact designs.

• Are slightly more complex to design and fabricate but well-suited for real-world use in Wi-Fi, radar, and satellite communication.

Conclusion

Stacking in antenna design is a smart and effective method to overcome the limitations of simple patch antennas. By adding an extra radiating patch with a controlled air gap, designers can achieve significantly higher bandwidth and improved gain without increasing the overall size too much. Although stacking introduces some complexity in design and fabrication, the benefits it offers like better radiation efficiency, wider frequency coverage, and stronger signal focus — make it a highly valuable technique. It strikes a perfect balance between performance and practicality, making stacked antennas a popular choice in modern communication systems like Wi-Fi, satellite links, and radar applications. With careful tuning and precision, stacking truly elevates the performance of antennas to meet the growing demands of advanced wireless technologies.

References

[1] K. R. Carver and J. W. Mink. Micro strip antenna technology. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 29(1), 1981.. [2] D. M. Pozar.Microstrip antennas. Proceedings of the IEEE, 80(1), 1992.. [3] S. Maci and G. Biffl. Design criteria for stacked patch antennas. IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, 45(5), 1997.. [4] B. Lee and F. J. Harackiewicz. Dual-band microstrip patch antenna with stacked shorted patches. Electronics Letters, 35(12), 1999. [5] R. Garg, P. Bhartia, I. Bahl, and A. Ittipiboon. Microstrip antenna design handbook. Artech House Publishers, 2001. [6] M. T. Islam, M. N. Shakib, and N. Misran. Design analysis of high gain and wideband microstrip patch antenna for wireless applications. Malaysian Journal of Computer Science, 19(2), 2006. [7] C. A. Balanis. Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design. John Wiley & Sons, 4th edition, 2016.

Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Dr. Jagadeesha S , Dr. Prathibha Kiran, Rakesh R L. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.