Study of CPW-fed circular disc monopole antenna for

ultra wideband applications

J. Liang, L. Guo, C.C. Chiau, X. Chen and C.G. Parini
Abstract: The paper presents a study of coplanar waveguide (CPW) fed circular disc monopole
antenna for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. A circular disc monopole printed on a dielectric
substrate and fed by a 50 O CPW on the same layer can yield an ultra-wide
10 dB return loss
bandwidth with satisfactory radiation patterns. The performance and characteristics of the antenna
are investigated in order to understand its operation. Good agreement has been obtained between
the simulation and experiment.

Introduction

Broadband monopole antennas have received considerable

attention owing to their attractive merits, such as ultra-wide
frequency band, good radiation properties, simple structure
and ease of fabrication [13]. However, they are not planar
structures because they require a ground plane which is
perpendicular to the radiator. Although the ground plane
can be miniaturised signicantly [4], they are still not
suitable for integration with a printed circuit board.
Recently, planar UWB monopoles have been realised by
using either a microstrip-line [5] or CPW feeds [611]. In this
paper, the CPW-fed circular disc monopole is investigated
with an emphasis on the understanding of the mechanism
which leads to the UWB characteristic. The design
parameters for optimal operation of the antenna are
analysed extensively. The performance and characteristics
of the antenna are also studied both numerically and
experimentally. It will be demonstrated that the optimal
design of this type of antenna can achieve an ultra wide
bandwidth with satisfactory radiation patterns.
2

Antenna design and performance

The CPW-fed disc monopole antenna studied in this paper

has a single layer metallic structure, as shown in Fig. 1. A
circular disc monopole with a radius of r and a 50 O CPW
are printed on the same side of a dielectric substrate. Wf is
the width of the metal strip and g is the gap between the
strip and the coplanar ground plane. W and L 10 mm
denote the width and the length of the ground plane,
respectively, h is the feed gap between the disc and the
ground plane. In this study, a dielectric substrate with a
thickness of H 1.6 mm and a relative permittivity of er 3
is chosen, so Wf and g are xed at 4 mm and 0.33 mm,
respectively, in order to achieve 50 O impedance.
The simulations were performed using the CST Microwave Studiot package, which utilises the nite integration
r IEE, 2005
IEE Proceedings online no. 20045179
doi:10.1049/ip-map:20045179
Paper rst received 20th December 2004 and in revised form 29th March 2005
The authors are with the Department of Electronic Engineering, Queen Mary,
University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
E-mail: jianxin.liang@elec.qmul.ac.uk

520

technique for electromagnetic computation [12]. The

complete conguration of the antenna, including a 50 O
SMA feeding port, was simulated using this package, but
this does lead to a substantial computing overhead.
A prototype of the proposed circular disc monopole
antenna with optimal design, i.e. r 12.5 mm, h 0.3 mm
and W 47 mm, as shown in Fig. 1, was built and tested in
the Antenna Measurement Laboratory at Queen Mary,
University of London (QMUL). The return losses were
measured in an anechoic chamber by using a HP 8720ES
network analyser.
Figure 2 illustrates the simulated and the measured return
loss curves. The measured return loss curve agrees very well
with the simulated one in most of the frequency band range
except between 7 GHz and 10 GHz. It is shown that the
third resonance occurs at around 7.8 GHz in the simulation;
this resonance also appears in the measurement, but it is not
apparent, this could be due to the effect of the SMA port.
For the other three resonances (at around 3.2 GHz,
5.8 GHz and 11.1 GHz), the measured ones are very close
to those obtained in the simulation with differences less than
5%. Generally speaking, the
10 dB bandwidth spans an
extremely wide frequency range in both simulation and
measurement. The simulated bandwidth ranges from
2.64 GHz to more than 12 GHz. This UWB characteristic
of the proposed CPW-fed circular disc monopole antenna is
conrmed in the measurement, with only a slight shift of the
lower frequency to 2.73 GHz.
3

Effects of design parameters

It has been shown in the simulation that the operating

bandwidth of the CPW-fed disc monopole is critically
dependent on the feed gap h, the width of the ground plane
W and the radius of the disc r. So these parameters should
be optimised for maximum bandwidth.
In this Section, the 50 O SMA feeding port is not taken
into account in all of the simulations so as to ease the
computational requirements. It is noticed that this SMA
port mainly affects the third and fourth resonances by
shifting their resonant frequencies.

3.1

The effect of feed gap h

Figure 3 plots the simulated return loss curves with different

feed gaps (h 0.3, 0.7, 1 and 1.5 mm) when W is xed at
47 mm and r at 12.5 mm, respectively; their corresponding
IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005

150

W
z

h = 0.3mm
h =1mm

125

resistance,

y
r

h = 0.7mm
h =1.5mm

100
75
50
25

0
a
L

g wf g

substrate

x

r

Fig. 1

h = 0.3mm
h =1mm

50
ground plane
reactance,

50 coplanar
waveguide

75
h = 0.7mm
h =1.5mm

25

Geometry of the CPW-fed circular disc monopole

25
0
measured

50

simulated

10

12

Fig. 4 Simulated input impedance for different feed gaps with

W 47 mm and r 12.5 mm

20

a Resistance R
b Reactance X

30

40
0

10

12

frequency, GHz

Fig. 2 Simulated and measured return loss curves with r 12.5 mm,
W 47 mm and h 0.3 mm

serving as an impedance matching circuit, tunes the input

impedance and hence the operating bandwidth while the
feed gap is varied, as shown in Fig. 4.
It is also noticed that the lower edge of the
10 dB
bandwidth increases when h gets smaller. The optimised
feed gap is found to be at h 0.3 mm.

3.2 The effect of the width of the ground

plane W

Simulations have shown that when the length L of the

ground plane is more than 4 mm, the performance of the
antenna is almost independent of L. The simulated return
loss curves with r 12.5 mm and optimal feed gap h of

10
return loss, dB

20
0
30

40

h = 0.3mm

h = 0.7mm

h =1mm

h =1.5mm

6
frequency, GHz

10

10

12

Fig. 3 Simulated return loss curves for different feed gaps with
W 47 mm and r 12.5 mm

return loss, dB

return loss, dB

10

6
frequency, GHz

20
30
40

input impedance curves are plotted in Fig. 4. It can be seen

in Fig. 3 that the return loss curves have similar shape for
the four different feed gaps, but the
10 dB bandwidth of
the antenna changes signicantly with the variation of h.
From what we have learned in [35], the ground plane,
IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005

50

w = 40mm

w = 47mm

w = 52mm

w = 60mm

6
frequency, GHz

10

12

Fig. 5 Simulated return loss curves for different widths of the

ground plane with h 0.3 mm and r 12.5 mm
521

0.3 mm for different widths W of the ground planes are

presented in Fig. 5. It is observed in Fig. 5 that the return
loss curves vary substantially and no longer have similar
shapes for the four different W, unlike those for the four
different h, as shown in Fig. 3. Again, this can be readily
understood while the ground plane is treated as an
impedance matching circuit. The intrinsic impedance of
the ground plane seems to be mostly inuenced by its width
W in this case. When W is changed, the rst resonant
frequency does not change much, however the higher
resonant frequencies vary substantially, leading to the
variations of the operating bandwidth of the antenna, as
shown in Fig. 5.

It is also seen in Fig. 5 that, when W is equal to 47 mm,

the
10 dB bandwidth covers an ultra wide frequency band,
from 2.27 GHz to more than 12 GHz (up to 20 GHz in the
simulation); when W rises to 52 mm and 60 mm, the lower
edge of the bandwidth decreases tardily to 2.19 GHz and
2.08 GHz, respectively. However, the upper edge is reduced
dramatically to 4.03 GHz and 3.47 GHz, respectively, leading
to a remarkable narrowing of the bandwidth; when
W 40 mm, the bandwidth ranges from 2.54 GHz to
6.72 GHz. The optimal width of the ground plane is found
to be at W 47 mm.

Table 1: The relationships between the diameters and the

first resonances

0
r = 25mm

r = 15mm

r =12.5mm

r =7.5mm

return loss, dB

10

20

Diameter
r (mm)

First resonance
f1 (GHz)

Wavelength
l at f1 (mm)

2r/l

25

1.52

197.4

0.25

15

2.57

116.7

0.26

12.5

3.01

99.7

0.25

7.5

5.09

58.9

0.25

30

40

6
frequency, GHz

10

12

Fig. 6 Simulated return loss curves for different dimensions of the

circular disc with the optimal designs
r 7.5 mm with h 0.1 mm and W 28 mm; r 12.5 mm with
h 0.3 mm and W 47 mm; r 15 mm with h 0.3 mm and
W 56 mm; r 25 mm with h 0.5 mm and W 90 mm

f1

Fig. 7

f4

frequency

Overlapping of the multiple resonance modes

A/m

A/m
z

0
a

0
b

A/m

A/m

0
c

a
b
c
d

f3

Fig. 8

f2

0
d

Simulated current distributions of the disc monopole with r 12.5 mm, h 0.3 mm and W 47 mm

At 3 GHz
At 5.6 GHz
At 7.8 GHz
At 11 GHz

522

IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005

3.3

The effect of the dimension of the disc

There is an important phenomenon in Figs. 3 and 5 that the

rst resonance f1 always occurs at around 3 GHz for
different h and W when r equals 12.5 mm. In fact, the
quarter wavelength at this rst resonant frequency (25 mm)
just equals to the diameter of the disc. This implies that this
resonant frequency is mostly determined by the circular disc
and not much detuned by the ground plane.
To conrm this, Fig. 6 shows the simulated return loss
curves for different dimensions of the circular disc with their
respective optimal designs (r 7.5 mm with h 0.1 mm and
W 28 mm; r 12.5 mm with h 0.3 mm and W 47 mm;
r 15 mm with h 0.3 mm and W 56 mm; r 25 mm
with h 0.5 mm and W 90 mm). It is observed from
Fig. 6 that the rst resonant frequency decreases with the
increase of the dimension of the disc. The relationships
between the diameters and the rst resonances are given in
Table 1.
Actually, as shown in Fig. 6, the circular disc is capable
of supporting multiple resonance modes, the higher order
modes (f2, f3, y, fn) being the harmonics of the fundamental mode of the disc. So the wavelengths of the higher
order modes satisfy 2r n ln/4 l1/4, where n is the mode
number. Figure 6 also indicates that these higher order
modes are closely spaced. Hence, the overlapping of these
higher order modes leads to the UWB characteristic, as
illustrated in Fig. 7.
The simulated current distributions at different frequencies for the optimal design with r 12.5 mm, h 0.3 mm
and W 47 mm are presented in Fig. 8. Figure 8a shows
the current pattern near the rst resonance at 3 GHz. The
current pattern near the second resonance at 5.6 GHz is
given in Fig. 8b, indicating approximately a second order
harmonic. As mentioned in Section 2, the third and fourth
resonances are shifted to 7.8 GHz and 11 GHz in the
measurement owing to the presence of the SMA port. It has
also been demonstrated that the simulated current distributions at these two frequencies will not change if the SMA
port is removed in the simulation. So Fig. 8c and 8d
illustrate two more complicated current patterns at 7.8 GHz
and 11 GHz, corresponding to the third and fourth order
harmonics, respectively. The current distributions also verify
that the UWB characteristic of the antenna is attributed to
the overlapping of this sequence of resonance harmonics.
As shown in Fig. 8, the current is distributed mainly
along the edge of the disc. This is the reason why the rst
resonant frequency is associated with the diameter of the
circular disc. On the ground plane, the current is distributed
mainly on the upper edge along the y-direction, which
explains why the performance of the antenna is critically
dependent on the width of the ground plane W.
4

0
30

330

300

60

270

90
0

40 30 20 10

240

120

210

150
180
a
0
30

330

60

300

270

40 30 20 10

240

090

120

210

150
180
b
0
30

330

300

60

270

40 30 20 10

240

90

120

Radiation patterns

The measured and simulated radiation patterns at 3 GHz, 5.

6 GHz, 7.8 GHz and 11 GHz are plotted in Figs. 912,
respectively. The measured co-polarisation patterns are very
close to those obtained in the simulation.
In the zy plane (Figs. 9a12a), the co-polarisation
patterns have large back lobes at lower frequencies. With
the increase of the frequency, the back lobes become
smaller, splitting into many minor ones, while the front
lobes start to form notches and get more directional. The
co-polarisation patterns correspond well to the current
distributions, as shown in Fig. 8. The cross-polarisation
pattern is lower than
15 dB in most of the directions at
3 GHz; with the increase of frequency, it is getting high, but
still lower than
10 dB at 11 GHz. Additionally, there is a
IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005

210

150
180
c

Fig. 9 Simulated (solid line) and measured (dotted line)

co-polarisation (thick line) and cross-polarisation (thin line) radiation
patterns with r 12.5 mm, W 47 mm and h 0.3 mm at 3 GHz
a In zy plane
b In xy plane
c In zx plane

signicant discrepancy between the simulated and measured

cross-polarisation patterns. This is because in crosspolarisation the signal is weak. Hence, the effects of the
noise in the chamber and the SMA port become more
notable in the measurement.
523

0
30

330

330

60

300

270

40 30 20 10

240

30

300

90

60

270

120

120

240

0 90

40 30 20 10

210

150

210
y

180
a
0

0
30

330

300

330

60

270

150
180
a

300

40 30 20 10 0

240

30

60

90
270

40 30 20 10

120
240

120

210

150
180

180
b

30

330

150

210

330
300

30

60
300

270

40 30 20 10

60

90
270

240

40 30 20 10

0 90

120
240

120

150

210
180
c

Fig. 10 Simulated (solid line) and measured (dotted line)

co-polarisation (thick line) and cross-polarisation (thin line) radiation
patterns with r 12.5 mm, W 47 mm and h 0.3 mm at 5.6 GHz
a In zy plane
b In xy plane
c In zx plane

It is noticed that in the xy plane (Figs. 9b12b), the copolarisation pattern is omni-directional at lower frequencies
(3 GHz and 5.6 GHz) and only distorted slightly at higher
frequencies (the gain relative to the peak radiated signal
524

0 90

210
x

150
180
c

Fig. 11 Simulated (solid line) and measured (dotted line)

co-polarisation (thick line) and cross-polarisation (thin line) radiation
patterns with r 12.5 mm, W 47 mm and h 0.3 mm at 7.8 GHz
a In zy plane
b In xy plane
c In zx plane

direction being reduced less than 10 dB in the x-direction at

11 GHz). So the patterns are generally omni-directional
over the entire bandwidth, like a conventional monopole
antenna. The cross-polarisation pattern is getting stronger
IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005

0
330

7
30

6
5
60

270

gain, dBi

300

3
2

090

40 30 20 10

1
0
240
z

210

120

10

11

frequency, GHz

Fig. 13 Simulated peak gain with r 12.5 mm, W 47 mm and

h 0.3 mm

150
180
a
0

330

30

300

60

270

40 30 20 10

240

0 90

120

210
y

150
180
b

0
30

330

300

60

270

40 30 20 10

150

210
x

0 90

120

240

Figures. This is because the disc monopole performs like a

conventional wire monopole in the zx plane. Consequently, the cross-polarisation patterns are extremely low
(less than
100 dB in all of the directions at all of the four
frequencies). However, the measured ones are prominent
owing to the noise and the presence of the SMA port.
Figure 13 illustrates the simulated peak gain of the
proposed antenna with r 12.5 mm, h 0.3 mm and
W 47 mm. It is shown that when the frequency increases
from 3 GHz to 7 GHz, the gain rises from 0.88 dBi to
5.76 dBi; with the further increase of frequency from 7 GHz
to 11 GHz, the gain does not change much and is xed at
around 6 dBi. This is because of the more directional
radiation properties at higher frequencies, as shown in
Figs. 912.

180
c

Fig. 12 Simulated (solid line) and measured (dotted line)

co-polarisation (thick line) and cross-polarisation (thin line) radiation
patterns with r 12.5 mm, W 47 mm and h 0.3 mm at 11 GHz
a In zy plane
b In xy plane
c In zx plane

with the increase of frequency, and is lower than
8 dB

in most of the directions at 11 GHz, compared to the
co-polarisation one.
In the zx plane (Fig. 9c12c), the co-polarisation
patterns are similar to those in the zy plane. The simulated
cross-polarisation pattern curves are not visible in the
IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005

Conclusion

This paper has provided further insights into the operation

of the CPW-fed circular disc monopole antenna. It has been
shown that the feed gap h, the width of the ground plane W,
and the dimension of the CPW-fed circular disc monopole
antenna are the most important parameters that determine
the performance of the antenna. The ground plane, serving
as an impedance matching circuit, tunes the input
impedance and hence the operating bandwidth by changing
h and W. The rst resonant frequency is determined directly
by the dimension of the circular disc because the current
is distributed mainly along the edge of the disc. The
overlapping of multiple resonant harmonics leads to the
UWB characteristic. Both simulation and measurement
have demonstrated that the CPW-fed circular disc monopole can achieve an ultra wide bandwidth, covering the
FCC dened UWB frequency band. It is also observed that
the radiation patterns are nearly omni-directional over the
entire operating bandwidth. The results have proved that
this antenna is very suitable for future UWB applications.
6

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. John Dupuy of the

Department of Electronic Engineering, QMUL for his help
in the fabrication and measurement of the antenna. The
authors would like to acknowledge Computer Simulation
Technology (CST), Germany, for the complimentary license
of the Microwave Studiot package. One of the authors
(J. Liang) would also like to acknowledge the nancial
support provided by the K.C. Wong Education Foundation.
525

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IEE Proc.-Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 152, No. 6, December 2005