High-Gain Hybrid Dielectric Resonator Antenna for Millimeter-Wave Applications: Design and Implementation

A new low-cost and high-gain microstrip/dielectric resonator hybrid antenna is described for short-range millimeter-wave communication systems operating in the 57-65 GHz frequency band. The impedance bandwidth (VSWR < 2) of the proposed antenna is wide enough to entirely cover this portion of unlicensed spectrum (ap 5%). Furthermore, the measured high gain (11.9 plusmn 0.9 dB) is fairly constant across the operating band. A study of the electric and magnetic fields inside the hybrid structure concludes that the excitation of a higher-order mode inside the dielectric resonator (namely the HEM 15delta hybrid mode) is responsible for the improved gain since the electrical size of the antenna is increased. In order to validate the proposed design, theoretical calculations and measurements from a fabricated prototype are provided.