Analysis of the effects of introducing graphene on the design of a miniaturized Ultra-Wide Band antenna for THz applications

Terahertz-based communication systems could provide large data speeds, great spatial resolution, and secure data transmission. Microstrip patch antennas would be suitable for this target, and miniaturization is a necessary prerequisite for THz-range devices. This was the vision of our current study which aimed to design and analyse such an antenna over the entire THz range from 0.1 to 10 THz by introducing graphene material in different potential configurations of the patch and feedline. The analysis was done for four main characteristics of the antenna: return loss, VSWR, gain and directivity. Furthermore, a parametric study of substrate thicknesses was conducted for three different materials: RT5880, silicon, and polymide. By investigating graphene throughout the entire structure, we obtained a broad bandwidth of more than 9 THz, which is quite interesting for the telecommunication field. Additionally, VSWR is less than 2, starting from 2.2 THz for the various substrate materials. The directivity is improved using graphene, and silicon as the substrate material, and can reach about 7.45 dBi for a thickness of 4.75 μm. The gain can then reach about 34 dBi at 0.1 THz. The gain and directivity could be improved over frequency by the implementation of an antenna array, which will be of great interest for future studies of the sixth generation of telecommunications (6G).