Loading effect of dielectric resonator on small patch antennas

The characteristics of two dielectric resonator (DR)-loaded patch antennas with dielectric constants different from those of the supporting DR are investigated. The effect of the different dielectric constants of the supporting DR on the conventional patch antennas is studied. A sharp decrease in bandwidth is found if the dielectric constant of the DR is changed from ε_r = 3 to ε_r = 4. It can be concluded that a wider bandwidth can be achieved only if the appropriate dielectric constant of the supporting DR is chosen. It is also deduced that the design of DR-loaded patch antennas achieve more than 10% impedance bandwidth if the dielectric constant of the DR is smaller than 3. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.