Design and Fabrication of Wideband Dielectric Resonator Antenna Using Low Loss Ultra-Low Sintering Temperature Li6B4O9 Microwave Dielectric Ceramic for Wireless Communication Applications

Low dielectric constant (epsilon(r)), high quality-factor (Q x f), and temperature stable microwave dielectric ceramics with ultra-low sintering temperature are the preferred choice of researchers for the development of low-cost and high-performance dielectric resonator antenna (DRA), which have wide application prospects for wireless communication technology. In this work, wideband DRAs fabricated using ultra-low sintering temperature, low-loss, and high-quality Li6B4O9 microwave dielectric ceramics are reported. Li6B4O9 ceramic synthesized via solid-state reaction at sintering temperature of 620 degrees C demonstrates excellent microwave properties with optimum epsilon(r) = 5.95, high Q x f = 38,700@12.4 GHz, and thermal coefficient of the resonant frequency (TCF approximate to -68.6ppm/C-circle). For the first time, performance comparison of two Li6B4O9-based cylindrical DRAs with different ceramic aspect (radius to height) ratios excited by slot coupled microstrip line is realized. In the first DRA with ceramic aspect ratio of 0.864, DRA HE11 delta mode is excited and bandwidth of 20.01% , 95% radiation efficiency, and 6.3 dBi maximum gain is attained. In the second DRA with ceramic aspect ratio of 2.367, slot and dielectric resonator resonances are merged to attain wide bandwidth of 38.15% over which antenna broadside radiation performance is preserved. The proposed DRAs can be utilized for high-capacity, high-speed wireless communication applications.