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Dual-band circularly polarized cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna with cross-ring structure for 8–16 GHz microwave and 24–30 GHz 6G mmWave applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2026

Saima Gull
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Rehan Ali Khan
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Science and Technology, Bannu, Pakistan
Ghaffer Iqbal Kiani
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Sami Bourouis
Affiliation:
Department of Information Technology, College of Computers and Information Technology, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Usal Ali
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Javed Iqbal*
Affiliation:
Electrical Engineering Department, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
*
Corresponding author: Javed Iqbal; Email: Javediqbal.iet@gu.edu.pk
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Abstract

This paper presents a novel dual-band cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna featuring a distinctive cross-ring structure that enables circular polarization (CP) across two critical frequency bands. The proposed antenna operates efficiently in both the 8–16 GHz microwave band and the 24–30 GHz millimeter-wave band, making it particularly suitable for ultra-wideband (UWB) and emerging 6G applications. Examination of the $S_{11}$ parameters reveals excellent impedance matching below $-10$ dB, yielding an impressive bandwidth of approximately 8 GHz (64.26%) in the lower band and approximately 6 GHz (23.72%) in the upper band. The antenna achieves stable CP through degenerate orthogonal modes, i.e., $\mathrm{TM}^{x}_{11\delta}$ and $\mathrm{TM}^{y}_{11\delta}$, in the cylindrical dielectric resonator, with 3-dB axial-ratio bandwidth extending across both operating bands (approximately 8 GHz in the UWB band, representing 54.91% bandwidth, and approximately 6 GHz in the mmWave band, representing 20.12% bandwidth). The antenna delivers consistent gain performance, averaging 7.0 dBi in the UWB band and 6.5 dBic in the mmWave band. The novelty of this design lies in its elegant cross-ring feeding structure that simultaneously enables dual-band operation, excellent CP characteristics, and high radiation efficiency in a compact form factor. Simulation results closely align with measured data, confirming the antenna’s suitability for next-generation wireless communication systems.

Information

Type
Research Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with The European Microwave Association.
Figure 0

Figure 1. Proposed concentric CP CDRA. (a) Top view and (b) back view.

Figure 1

Figure 2. (a) CDRA dimensions, (b) ground dimensions, (c) cross ring and feed dimensions, and (d) back patch PEC dimensions.

Figure 2

Table 1. Optimized parameters of the CP cylindrical DRA design

Figure 3

Figure 3. Antenna 1. (a) Geometry of Antenna 1 and (b) return loss ($S_{11}$) of Antenna 1.

Figure 4

Table 2. S-parameter and mode analysis for Antenna 1

Figure 5

Figure 4. Antenna 2. (a) Geometry of Antenna 2 and (b) return loss ($S_{11}$) of Antenna 2.

Figure 6

Table 3. S-parameter and mode analysis for Antenna 2

Figure 7

Figure 5. Antenna 3. (a) Geometry of Antenna 3 and (b) return loss ($S_{11}$) and AR of Antenna 3.

Figure 8

Table 4. Performance summary for Antenna 3 in UWB and mmWave regions

Figure 9

Figure 6. Electric field distribution of Antenna 3: (a) at 9.2 GHz, $\mathrm{TM}^{x}_{11\delta}$ mode; and (b) at 26.6 GHz, $\mathrm{TM}^{y}_{11\delta}$ mode.

Figure 10

Table 5. Summary of mode excitation and electric field orientation for CP validation

Figure 11

Figure 7. Proposed design (Antenna 4): (a) top view; (b) back view; and (c) $S_{11}$ and AR.

Figure 12

Table 6. Bandwidth analysis based on $S_{11} \lt -10$ dB and AR $\leq 3$ dB criteria

Figure 13

Table 7. Summary comparison of common DRA feeding methods

Figure 14

Figure 8. Simulated and measured $S_{11}$ and AR of the proposed design.

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Table 8. Simulated and measured bandwidths based on $S_{11} \lt -10$ dB and AR $\leq 3$ dB for UWB and 5G mmWave bands

Figure 16

Table 9. Uncertainty contributions

Figure 17

Figure 9. Proposed design: (a) top view of the fabricated antenna; and (b) bottom view of the fabricated antenna.

Figure 18

Figure 10. Simulated and measured gain of the proposed design.

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Figure 11. Simulated radiation efficiency of the proposed design.

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Figure 12. AR versus elevation angle.

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Figure 13. Simulated and measured radiation patterns of the proposed design at (a) 9.2 GHz, (b) 11 GHz, and (c) 26.6 GHz.

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Table 10. Part I: Comparison of proposed design against recent designs (2023–2024) in the literature

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Table 11. Part II: Comparison of proposed design against recent designs (2023–2024) in the literature

Figure 24

Figure 14. Surface current density: (a) lower band, 10.4 GHz; and (b) upper band, 26.5 GHz.