International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering (IJECE)

Vol. 8, No. 1, February 2018, pp. 172~178

ISSN: 2088-8708, DOI: 10.11591/ijece.v8i1.pp172-178  172

Design, Realization and Measurements of Compact Dual-band

CPW-fed Patch Antenna for 2.45/5.80 GHz RFID Applications

Mohamed Tarbouch, Abdelkebir El Amri, Hanae Terchoune

RITM Laboratory, CED Engineering Sciences, Ecole Supérieure de Technologie, Hassan II University of Casablanca,
Morocco

Article Info ABSTRACT

Article history: In this paper, a Coplanar Wave Guide (CPW)-Fed microstrip octagonal patch
antenna for RFID Applications is proposed. The studied structure is suitable
Received Apr 14, 2017 for 2.45/5.80 GHz applications. The octagonal shape is obtained by making
Revised Jun 14, 2017 triangular cuts in the four angles of the rectangular microstrip patch antenna;
Accepted Jun 28, 2017 in addition the using of CPW-Fed allows obtaining UWB characteristics in
the higher band. The miniaturization in the antenna size for lower band is
Keyword: achieved by introducing an inverted E slot in the radiating element. The
proposed antenna is designed on a single and a small substrate board of
CADFEKO dimensions 29.5×29.5×1.6 mm3. Moreover the miniaturized antenna has a
CPW-Fed good impedance matching and an enhanced gain. The simulation analysis
Microstrip was performed using the CADFEKO software, a Method of Moment (MoM)
Miniaturization based solver, and a prototype of this antenna was fabricated, good agreement
RFID with the simulation providing validation of the design procedure. The
measurements are done with ANRITSU MS2026C Vectorial Network
Analyzer.
Copyright © 2018 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science.
All rights reserved.

Corresponding Author:
Mohamed Tarbouch,
RITM Laboratory,
CED Engineering Sciences,
Ecole Supérieure de Technologie,
Hassan II University of Casablanca,
Morocco.
Email: mtarbouch@gmail.com

1. INTRODUCTION
“RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, a term that describes any system of identification
wherein an electronic device that uses radio frequency or magnetic field variations to communicate is
attached to an item” [1].The two most talked-about components of an RFID system are the tag, which is the
identification device attached to the item we want to track, and the reader, which is a device that can
recognize the presence of RFID tags and read the information stored on them. The reader can then inform
another system about the presence of the tagged items. The system with which the reader communicates
usually runs software that stands between readers and applications. This software is called RFID
middleware [1].
In a typical RFID system [2], passive tags are attached to an object such as goods, vehicles, humans,
animals, and shipments, while a vertical/circular polarization antenna is connected to the RFID reader. The
RFID reader and tag can radio-communicate with each other using a number of different frequencies, and
currently most RFID systems use unlicensed spectrum. The common frequencies used are low frequency
(125 KHz), high frequency (13.56 MHz), ultra high frequency (860–960MHz/2.45GHz), and microwave
frequency (3.6/3.9/5.8/5.9/8.2GHZ [3]). The typical RFID readers are able to read (or detect) the tags of only

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Int J Elec & Comp Eng ISSN: 2088-8708  173

a single frequency but multimode readers are becoming cheaper and popular which are capable of reading the
tags of different frequencies [4].
The miniaturization can affect radiation characteristics, bandwidth, gain, radiation efficiency and
polarization purity. The miniaturization approaches are based on either geometric manipulation (the use of
bend forms, meandered lines, PIFA shape, varying distance between feeder and short plate, using fractal
geometries[5-8]) or material manipulation (Loading with a high-dielectric material, lumped elements,
conductors, capacitors, short plate [9]), or the combination of two or more techniques [10]. Also several
works [11-15] have appeared in the literature in which the size of the microstrip patch antenna has been
reduced by introducing various types of slots in the microstrip patch antenna. Antenna miniaturization can be
also achiaved using metamatriels [16-18].
In this paper, the authors propose a compact CPW-Fed miscrostrip octagonal patch antenna with an
inverted E slot loading in the radiating element. The studied antenna is suitable for 2.45/5.80 GHz RFID
applications. The design methodology of the antenna is included in section 2, in this section the proposed
antenna is designed in two steps. In the first step, we describe the design procedure of a simple CPW-Fed
octagonal patch antenna at 5.80 GHz. In the second step an inverted E slot is introduced in the radiating
element which leads to generate a new resonant frequency and therefore allow covering the lower bandwidth.
In the section 3 the designed antennas are manufactured and measured and results are discussed.

2. DESIGN METHODOLOGY
2.1. Step 1: Design of CPW-feed octagonal patch Antenna at 5.80 GHz
As demonstrated in several studies, the CPW-Feeding allows having a wide bandwidth comparing
with the probe feeding [19-21]. In this step we make a cut of a small triangular shape in the four angles of the
microstrip patch antenna as shown in Figure 1. With this manner we obtain an octagonal patch antenna. To
study the behavior of the obtained antenna regarding the dimension (Lcut and Wcut) of the triangular cut, a
new parameter D is defined: Lcut=L/D and Wcut=W/D. we set Ws=29.5 mm, Ls=29.5 mm, W=28 mm,
L=20.5 mm, S=0.3 mm, G=0.2 mm, Wf=3.06 mm and Yg=7.8 mm.
By varying the parameter D from 2.5 to 4, the S11 parameter of the octagonal patch antenna versus
frequency is shown in Figure 2. Table 1 summarizes the resonant frequency and the bandwidth obtained by
varying the D parameter. Note that there is a close relation between the parameter D and the final size of the
radiating element, as D decreases the total size of the octagonal patch decreases also.
From Table 1 we note that making a triangular cut in the four angles of the microstrip patch antenna
we obtain easily an UWB antenna. Also we can consider that D=3 is the most adapted value in term of
bandwidth, compactness and also adaptation in the whole operating frequency band. This value allows the
antenna covering the -10 dB operating bandwidth of 2.71 GHz (3.81 to 6.52 GHz).
The analysis of the S11 parameter (Figure 2) for the D=3 shows that, for the band of 2-7GHz, the
antenna have one resonant frequency fr=5.80GHz. Figure 3 shows the 3D Total gain for the resonant
frequency 5.80 GHz. We observe that the 3D-Total gain is almost Omnidirectional for the frequencies around
5.80GHz. Moreover the total gain of this antenna is about 3.7dB in the resonant frequency 5.80 GHz.

(a) Geometry of the triangular cut (b) Designed octagonal patch antenna

Figure 1. The design of the octagonal patch antenna

Design, Realization and Measurements of Compact Dual-band CPW-fed Patch …. (Mohamed Tarbouch)
174  ISSN: 2088-8708

Figure 2. Simulated S11 versus frequency by varying D

Table 1. Resonant frequency and bandwidth versus the parameter D

D Resonant frequency(GHz)/S11(dB) Bandwidth (GHz)

2.5 4.45/-28.56 2.51 :3.61 to 6.12

3 5.80/-26.89 2.71 :3.81 to 6.52

3.5 5.94/-16.47 2.57 :4.07 to 6.64

4 6.01/-11.45 0.99:5.44 to 6.43

Figure 3. Simulated 3D-Total gain for the resonant frequency 5.80GHz

2.2. Step 2: The Setup of an Inverted E Slot Structure on the CPW-Fed Octagonal Patch Antenna
In this section we present the second step of Antenna design which consists of introducing an
inverted E slot structure on the CPW-Fed octagonal patch antenna designed in section 2.1. The final designed
Antenna is shown in Figure 4.
We set Ws=29.5 mm, Ls=29.5 mm, W=28 mm, L=20.5 mm, Yg=7.8 mm, Wf=3.06 mm, G=0.2
mm, S=1.1 mm, S1=0.3 mm, Eh=19 mm and Ev=11.3 mm, e=2.1 mm, D=3.55. Figure 5 shows the S11
parameter of the octagonal patch antenna with inverted E slot versus frequency. It’s clear from Figure 5 that
the setup of the inverted E slot allows generating new resonant frequency: fr=2.45GHz, we note that this
resonant frequency is lower than the first resonant frequency obtained with the simple octagonal patch
antenna and it does not belong to the higher bandwidth. Also two -10dB bandwidths are obtained, 140MHz
(2.37 – 2.51 GHz) and 1.95 GHz (4.70- 6.65GHz) witch the resonant frequencies/S11 are 2.45GHz/-16.34 dB
and 5.80 GHz/-38.32 dB respectively. Therefore the proposed antenna is suitable for 2.45/5.80 GHz RFID
applications.
Figure 6 shows the 3D Total gain for the two resonant frequencies 2.45/5.80 GHz of the octagonal
patch antenna with inverted E slot loading, the total gain of this antenna is about 2.1dB and 3.5dB for the two

Int J Elec & Comp Eng, Vol. 8, No. 1, February 2018 : 172 – 178
Int J Elec & Comp Eng ISSN: 2088-8708  175

resonant frequencies 2.45 GHz and 5.80 GHz, respectively. We note that the 3D-Total gain is almost
Omnidirectional for the two resonant frequencies 2.45 GHz and 5.80GHz.

Figure 4. The CPW-Fed Octagonal patch antenna Figure 5. The simulated S11 of the Octagonal
with inverted E slot loading patch antenna with inverted E slot

(a) the 3D-Gain of the antenna for f1 = 2.45GHz (b) the 3D-Gain of the antenna for f2 = 5.80GHz

Figure 6. The 3D-Gain of the CPW-Fed Octagonal patch antenna with inverted E slot loading

3. ANTENNA REALIZATION : RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

From the previous study of the proposed antennas, we obtained optimized structures which have a
compact size and an interesting reflection coefficient in the operating studied bands. After good results
obtained by simulations, we manufactured the two obtained antennas in step 1 and step 2 on a PCB (Printed
Circuit Board) and we measured the S11 of the antennas, Figure 7 shows a photograph of the realized
antennas with the dimensions as found in section 2. (Ws=29.5 mm, Ls=29.5 mm, W=28 mm, L=20.5 mm,
Yg=7.8 mm, Wf=3.06 mm, G=0.2 mm, S=1.1 mm, S1=0.3 mm, Eh=19 mm and Ev=11.3 mm, e=2.1 mm).
Due to manufacturing imperfections, the measurement results are not exactly similar to the
simulated results. The measured bandwidths of the fabricated antennas still have the UWB characteristics but
the lower and the higher frequencies of the measured S11 parameter are shifted back to lower frequencies
compared to the simulated results, also measured resonant frequencies are shifted from those simulated. For
example, as shown in Figure 8(a), the measured resonant frequency is 5.49GHz while the simulated one is
5.80GHz. Moreover the measured bandwidth of the simple octagonal patch antenna [3.44-6. GHz] is shifted
back compared to the simulated one [3.81-6.52 GHz]. Note that due to limitation in the measurement
equipment we can only make measurement till 6 GHz.
The same for the new resonant frequency of the inverted E slot octagonal patch antenna
(Figure 8(b)), the measured resonant frequency is 2.26MHz while the simulated one is 2.45GHz. In addition
measurements show that the total obtained bandwidth of the octagonal patch antenna with inverted E slot is
[2.10-2.36 GHz] & [5.11-6. GHz]

Design, Realization and Measurements of Compact Dual-band CPW-fed Patch …. (Mohamed Tarbouch)
176  ISSN: 2088-8708

Also, small differences between measured and simulated S11 values are observed. For example, as
shown in Figure 8(b), the measured S11 value corresponding to the second resonant frequency is higher
(-25.58dB) compared to the simulated one (-38.32dB). Table 2 summarizes the comparison between
simulated and measured S11 parameter and (-10dB) bandwidths.

Figure 7. Fabricated prototypes of the proposed antennas

The measured and simulated results for the reflection coefficient of the proposed antennas are
shown in Figure 8. The reflection coefficient magnitude was measured using ANRITSU MS2026C Vectorial
Network Analyzer.

(a) Simple Octagonal patch antenna (b) Octagonal Patch antenna with inverted E slot

Figure 8. Simulated and measured S11 versus frequency of the realized antennas

Table 2: Comparison between simulated and measured results

Simulated Results Measured Results

Antenna
(-10dB) Resonant
Number Resonant frequencies (-10dB) bandwidths
bandwidths frequencies
(Fig.7) (GHz)/S11(dB) (GHz)
(GHz) (GHz)/S11(dB))

1 5.80/-26.89 2.71:3.81 to 6.52 5.49/-28.60 2.56:3.44 to 6.X

2 2.45/-16.34 0.14:2.37 to 2.51 2.26/-15.41 0.26:2.10-2.36

5.80/-38.32 1.95:4.70 to 6.65 5.61/-25.58 0.89:5.11-6.X

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Int J Elec & Comp Eng ISSN: 2088-8708  177

Also, comparison between several different antennas for 2.45/5.80 GHz applications is illustrated in
Table 3. From this table it’s clear that our structure has a miniaturized design with very important gain
compared to most other antennas. Moreover the proposed antenna has a reasonable bandwidth.

Table 3. Comparison of the proposed antenna to other antennas for 2.45/5.80 GHz applications
Ref Size (mm3) Bandwidth Gain (dB)

22 40*30*1.5 640M :( 2.25-2.89 GHz) 2.5

920M : (5.30-6.22 GHz) 4

23 36*39*0.175 1.35GHz:(1.6-2.95) -3.25

1GHz:(5.4GHz-6.4GHz) -4.53

1.4GHz:(1.83–3.23 GHz)
24 50*50*1.6 1.17GHz:(4.99–6.16 GHz) 6.6
7.4
100 MHz (2.4 – 2.5 GHz)
25 65×56×1.6 200 MHz (5.6 - 5.8 GHz) -
-

25 44×41×1.6 100MHz : (2.4 - 2.5 GHz) -

200MHz: (5.8 - 6.0 GHz) -

Our Work 29.5×29.5×1.6 260MHz:(2.10-2.36 GHz) 2.1

890MHz:(5.11-6.X GHz) 3.5

4. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a CPW-Fed microstrip octagonal patch antenna for 2.45/5.80 GHz applications was
proposed. The antenna has a small size of 8.7 cm2, which makes it suitable for use as an internal antenna for
embedded systems. By making a triangular shape cut on the four angles of the rectangular patch antenna it
was possible to implement UWB characteristics in the higher band. The setup of an inverted E slot on the
octagonal patch antenna allows generating a new lower resonant frequency.
The proposed antennas are manufactured on a (29.5x29.5mm2) FR-4 substrate and their S11 are
measured and shows a good agreement with the simulated one. The obtained results show that the studied
antennas have an important gain and a good impedance matching. Thereby, this result makes the CPW-Fed
miscrostrip octagonal patch antenna with inverted E slot an adequate candidate for 2.45/5.80 GHz RFID
applications.

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BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS

Mohamed Tarbouch was born in Marrakech-Morocco in 1980, he received the degree of engineer
in telecommunications from INPT-RABAT-Morocco in 2004. He is currently working toward the
PhD degree at RITM Laboratory in ESTC- Hassan II University – Casablanca-Morocco. His main
research interests are in miniaturization of Antennas.

Abdelkebir Elamri A PhD Signals and Systems at the University of Montpellier 1990 (FRANCE)
Currently a professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the School of Technology
Casablanca (ESTC). He is a member of the laboratory RITM (Radio Telecommunications) His
research interest in the characterization, modeling of antennas for applications in
telecommunications, radar and mobile radio.

Hanae Terchoune received the M.Sc degree in Electronics from the university of Pierre and Marie
Curie (Paris VI) in 2006. She worked at France Telecom R&D Issy Les Moulineaux in France, as a
research engineer between 2006 and 2009, and she received Ph.D degree in Electrical and Electronic
enegineering in 2010 from Paris VI. She worked as an IT infrastructure consultant at Orange
Consulting from 2010 to 2013. She joined EST of Casablanca as a Professor assistant in 2014. Her
research activites interests are Body Area Network, Antennas, wave human interaction, and
Electromagnetism for telecommunication applications.

Int J Elec & Comp Eng, Vol. 8, No. 1, February 2018 : 172 – 178