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ISSN 2744-1741 
Defense and Security Studies  Original Research 
Vol. 3, June 2022, pp.15-21 
https://doi.org/10.37868/dss.v3.id185 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) that allows others 
to share and adapt the material for any purpose (even commercially), in any medium with an acknowledgement of the work's 
authorship and initial publication in this journal. 
 15 

 
 
Perturbed T-shaped patch antenna with slits and a floating metal for 
5G. 
  
Erol Terović1*, Şehabeddin Taha İmeci2 
1, 2 Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, International University of Sarajevo, 
Hrasnicka Cesta 15, 71210 Ilidza, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
  
 

*Corresponding author E-mail: erolprivate@gmail.com, simeci@ius.edu.ba

Received Mar. 6, 2022 
Revised Jun. 3, 2022 
Accepted Jun. 20, 2022 

Abstract 
This research paper highlights the process of designing and simulating a novel 
antenna. Our antenna is meant to be used in 5G applications (sub-6 Ghz). 
Simulating and designing was done using the Sonnet Suites software. The 
substrate used in our antenna is 1.55mm thick FR-4 substrate, that has a εr of 4.4. 
The antenna center frequency is 4.06 GHz. At the center frequency, S11 is -39.46 
dB. Furthermore, the antenna has an E-𝜃 of 5.75 dB, and E-Φ of -9.99 dB. This 
antenna can be used in devices that use 5G technologies. This antenna has the 
benefit of being cheap to produce, while boasting good performance during 
operation. 

© The Author 2022. 
Published by ARDA. Keywords: Antenna, 5G, Fr-4, Microstrip, Sonnet Suites 

1. Introduction 
In the past few years, more and more research has been conducted in the field of mm-wave technology, to be 
employed in 5G systems. Due to the elevated interest in 5G, there has been a demand for multi-band 
minituarized antennas that will serve systems that operate in lower GHz bands (sub 6 GHz). 5G will satisfy 
the requirements for lower time delays, IoT, small size and high data rates [1]. 5G will support faster 
communications in the mobile department, while at the same time providing a high speed data rate. Antennas 
are needed that can be used for stable and disturbance free communications, while having an improved 
bandwidth, power, gain and insensitivity to noise. Due to this, unique solutions are needed for designing 
antennas [2].  

Most modern systems for mobile communication have become widely used after the 2000s. They have 
progressed at a most rapid pace alongside other technologies over the past three decades. Initially it began 
with the 1G which was analog-based. And then progressed to the fourth generation. The fourth generation is 
an IP based technology (4G). LTE-A (Long term evolution - advanced) is becoming redundant due to an 
extreme increase in demand for data, which is caused by a surge in smart devices (IoT) [3]. Designing a 
transciever for 5G applications can pose numerous challenges. Considering that the antenna is one of the most 
critical element of a 5G system, therefore it has a crucial role in the determination of the whole performance 
of the system.  

There are several requirements for antennas for 5G systems: first and foremost, it has to maintain a small size 
in order to provide a simple and effortless integration with the frontend. Furthermore, keeping the design 
compact is essential in orfer to make the antenna compatible for array based configurations when dealing with  



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a MIMO architecture [4]. Most commonly used of all microstrip patch antennas, are rectangular patch 
antennas, although circular patch antennas are also commonly used [5]. Advantages of microstrip patch 
antennas include low cost, low profile, low cost, suitable for array implementation etc. However some 
significant disadvantages include the low gain, narrow bandwidth and relatively large size for low frequencies 
[6].  

Microstrip patch antennas are a great option for sub-6 Ghz uses, owning to their superb RF and MW 
characteristics. A patch antenna is essentially a substrate that has one side occupied with a metal conductor 
and the flip side  is consisted of a ground plane made of conductive materials [7]. Microstrip patch antennas 
can be fed using different ways. These ways include a microstrip line feed, coaxial feed, aperture coupled feed 
and proximity coupling [8]. Although, the most commonly used feeding way is  microstrip line feeding, due to 
it’s simple nature. Thus, the antenna in this paper will also use a simple microstrip line feed. 

 The antenna was designed in and simulated in Sonnet® Suites™ program by Sonnet Software, which is 
implemented using a Method-of-Moments (MoM) EM analysis, which in turn is based on Maxwell’s 
equations [9].  

Numerous other designs have been proposed by other works, for antennas exist that allow the implementation 
of dual band capabilities [10], in our case the antenna is a mono band antenna. Another paper demonstrates 
how to implementat a metamaterial inspired antenna [11]. Our antenna is a single antenna, but could 
potentially be implemented in an array configuration, which is demonstrated in a paper which describes a 
circular array antenna for WLAN and 5G applications [12] alongside a paper which explains the process of 
implementing a miniaturized antenna array for 5G [13].  

Numerous wideband examples have also been proposed, such as a paper that demonstrates a low-band 
wideband microstrip antenna for 5G [14]. Unlike some designs, such as the UWB Patch Antenna for Sub-6 
GHz Communications [15] or the Wideband Small Fractal Antenna for 5G Sub-6-GHz Communications [16] 
which have a defected or partial ground plane, but instead has a full ground plane. We chose FR-4 as the 
substrate due to its wide availability and low cost, but other authors have used for instance RT/Duroid 5880 
substrate which has a lower dielectric loss for better bandwidth and higher efficiency [17]. RT/Duroid 5880 
has a εr of 2.2 which is better compared with the value for FR-4, which is 4.4 [18].  

Due to the smaller dielectric constant, the bandwidth of the antenna increases because they are inversely 
proportional [19]. Due to inevitable manufacturing errors and tolerances, along with feed line soldering and an 
inaccurate value of relative dielectric permittivity, if we were to manufacture the antenna, our simulated 
results would not precisely match up with the experimental ones [20]. The antenna was simulated and 
iteratively improved by observing the filter parameters in each iteration.  

2. Research method 
The final proposed antenna design can be seen in Figure 1. In section 3 of this paper, we can read about the 
iterative process and steps that led us to this final iteration of the design. A stub was added to improve the 
antenna’s gain. The overall size is 36.5 x 39.75 mm, so it can be said that the antenna is a relatively compact 
design, with a center frequency of 4.06 GHz, for the simulation the parameters were chosen so the sweep is 
from 2 to 6 GHz. The cell size for the simulation was 0.25 in both x and y directions. The dielectric thickness 
is 1.55 mm, with a relative dielectric permittivity of 4.4. The topology of the filter can be seen in Figure 1, 
while the 3D layout of the design is visible below, in Figure 2. The design is single sided, with no defected 
ground plane.  

The design has been labeled with the letters A to E, along with dimensions. The letters are markers that 
indicate points of interest for our parametric study, in the section 3, we can see the results of our parametric 
study, and through them we can see the way the iterative improvement process has worked. 



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In Figure 3 we can see the current density visualization of the antenna. The current is crowded in the center 
square and L-shaped metals. 

 
Figure 1. Antenna topology 

Figure 2. 3D antenna topology 

 
Figure 3. Current density plot 

 

3. Results and discussion 
Figure 4 shows the reflection coefficient graph. The goal was to get the S11 magnitude to be lower or equal to 
-10 dB. can be seen in figure 4. 4.06 GHz is the antenna’s center frequency, with a S11 reflection coefficient 
of -39.46 dB. In figure 5, we can see the polar graph of E-𝜃 (dB) and E-Φ (dB), in red and blue respectively. 
The requirement was set to be that E-𝜃 should be larger or equal to 5 dB, while E-Φ lower than or equal to -5 
dB. 



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Figure 4. Graph of S11 reflection parameter 

 
 

 
Figure 5. Polar plot for antenna 

As mentioned previously, the antenna was designed in stages, with each state’s results being used in the next 
stage, to finally achieve a workable design which has a good balance of size, optimal parameters and 
complexity.  
 
The first parametric study’s results are visible in Table 1, the “A” rectangle (for legend, see Figure 1.) was 
incrementally increased in size by 0.5 mm. For each increase (S11) that was in the range of (-10dB, infinity) 
in the antenna center frequency, and near 0 in all other areas. Once we have selected the best version, which in 
this case was the one with length 4 mm. We move on to the next phase, and begin doing the parametric study 
for rectangle B.  



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Table 1. Results of first parametric study 

For the second parametric study, rectangle B was changed by 0.5 mm. In the end with all parameters 
considered, the case where the length is 5 mm was chosen, and the process moved on to the next stage. The 
results are outlined below in Table 2. As we can see based on these results, the case that has a rectangle length 
of 5mm was chosen as the one that will be used in following iterations of the design process. It was chosen 
because it is the best one, according to the parameters.  
 
Table 2. Results of second parametric study 
Length of rectangle B S11 (dB) E-𝜽 (dB) E-𝚽 (dB) Frequency (GHz)  

2 -10.28 5.61 -9.53 4.06 
2.5 -11.75 5.63 -9.52 4.06 
3 -13.39 5.64 -9.5 4.06 

3.5 -15.48 5.65 -9.48 4.06 
4 -18.55 5.56 -9.48 4.06 

4.5 -20.84 5.67 -9.47 4.06 
5 -24.24 5.57 -9.47 4.06 

5.5 -18.66 5.69 -9.51 4.06 
 
In the third parametric study, we have modified the size of the two side rectangles simultaneously, and the 
results were measured, this is the first time where some invalid results were obtained, we have a few different 
cases. For example, for the case where we had the length 12.5 mm, the result is invalid because we had a 
multiband antenna, with two transmission frequencies, which was not our goal for this paper. The chosen case 
was 15 mm. Table 3 contains the results of this parametric study. 
 
Table 3. Results of third parametric study 

Length of 
rectangle C 

S11 (dB) E-𝜽 (dB) E-𝚽 (dB) Frequency (GHz) 
0 -23.41 5.61 -7.41 4.06 

2.5 -24.04 5.63 -7.34 4.06 
5 -23.66 5.63 -7.4 4.06 

7.5 -23.57 5.63 -7.4 4.06 
10 -22.1 -5.57 -6.72 4.06 

12.5 Not valid   Two frequencies 
15 -39.46 5.75 -9.99 4.06 

17.5 -31.31 5.69 -9.12 4.06 
20 -22.52 5.62 -8.08 4.06 

22.5 -27.38 5.68 -9.58 4.06 
25 -37.03 5.69 -9.14 4.06 

Length of rectangle A S11 (dB) E-𝜽 (dB) E-𝚽 (dB) Frequency 
(GHz) 

1 -15.5 5.62 -9.55 4.06 
1.5 -13.91 5.62 -9.5 4.06 
2 -12 5.61 -9.24 4.06 

2.5 -10.15 5.68 -9.98 4.06 
3 -12.07 5.67 -9.85 4.06 

3.5 -14.71 5.66 -9.69 4.06 
4 -16.84 5.66 -9.48 4.06 

4.5 -14.38 5.66 -9.21 4.06 
5 -10 5.66 -7.26 4.06 



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In the fourth parametric study, we have observed the parameter's differences when changing the position of 
the gap where the D marker is placed. However, this case produced a lot of invalid results, mostly due to S11 
being over -10 dB. Due to the results not being very useful, the previous iteration was left unchanged. The 
results are visible below in Table 4. 
 
Table 4. Results of fourth parametric study 

Length of 
rectangle D 

S11 (dB)        E-𝜽 (dB)      E-𝚽 (dB) Frequency (GHz) 
4 -10.87 5.39 -8.69 4.22 
6 -19.99 5.78 -10.14 4.04 
8 Invalid 

10 -12.38 5.69 -12.18 3.98 
12 Invalid 
14 Invalid 
16 invalid 

 
For the fifth and final parametric study, the gap marked by the letter E was adjusted and the results are visible 
below in Table 5. In this case, the best results overlap with the best result from parametric study 3, therefore 
nothing changes, and we have our final design. Which is the one shown in the figures above.  
 
Table 5. Results of fifth parametric study 
Length of rectangle 
E 

S11 (dB) E-𝜽 (dB) E-𝚽 (dB) Frequency (GHz) 
4.25 -39.46 5.75 -9.99 4.06 
5.25 -13.07 5.68 -9.04 4.12 
6.25 -10.02 5.56 -7.93 4.16 
7.25 -14.97 5.45 7.6 4.22 
8.25 -25.62 5.29 -7.15 4.28 
9.25 -17.31 5.1 -6.76 4.34 

4. Conclusions 
In this paper, we have presented a microstrip patch antenna design, along with designing and simulating it. 
The antenna shows good performance according to the simulations. Alongside this, it is simple, compact, and 
cheap to manufacture, owning to the relatively low-cost FR-4 substrate.  
Our antenna was simulated within a range of 0 to 6 GHz. Several parametric studies have been done regarding 
the overall antenna shape with the goal of improving the antenna behavior. By changing the geometry 
incrementally and observing changes, an optimal design was found, and it had the following parameters: The 
antenna center frequency is 4.06 GHz.  
At the center frequency, S11 is -39.46 dB. Furthermore, the antenna has an E-𝜃 of 5.75 dB, and E-Φ of -9.99 
dB. 5G technologies are exploding around us, and antennas are a key element in making them work. This 
paper has demonstrated the procedure behind designing and simulating such an antenna. 

 

Declaration of competing interest 
The authors declare that they have no known financial or non-financial competing interests in any material 
discussed in this paper. 

 
Funding information 
No funding was received from any financial organization to conduct this research. 

 



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