A compact quad-band metamaterial-based antenna for wireless applications

In this paper, a compact quad-band antenna based on Open Loop Resonators (OLRs) is presented. The antenna is microstrip line-fed, and is printed on a 40 mm × 35 mm × 1.6 mm FR4-Epoxy substrate over a partial ground plane. The incorporation of each OLR contributes a resonance that depends on the OLR's design frequency and electrical length. Ansoft HFSS, an FEM-based solver, is used to design and simulate the proposed antenna. A prototype is fabricated and experimentally tested, where a credible analogy between simulated and measured results is witnessed. The radiation patterns are found to be omni-directional with acceptable gain values at the frequencies of interest. The antenna is low-cost, easy to fabricate, and is suitable for WLAN and RFID applications.