IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO.

8, AUGUST 2013 4265

A CSRR Loaded MIMO Antenna System for

ISM Band Operation
Mohammad S. Sharawi, Senior Member, IEEE, Muhammad U. Khan, Student Member, IEEE,
Ahmad B. Numan, and Daniel N. Aloi, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract—A 2 2 (four-element) multiple-input mul- Over the past decade, a number of MIMO antenna systems
tiple-output (MIMO) patch antenna system is designed and have been investigated for wireless applications [1]–[7]. These
fabricated for a 2.45-GHz ISM band operation. It uses comple- systems were developed for different standard bands, including
mentary split-ring resonator (CSRR) loading on its ground plane
for antenna miniaturization. This reduces the single-element the GSM band and the two ISM bands covering 2.4 and 5 GHz.
antenna size by 76%. The total board size of the proposed MIMO Some designs were developed for dual-band operation as well
antenna system, including the GND plane is 100 50 0.8 mm , [2], [7].
while the single-patch antenna element has a size of 14 18 mm . In [1], a four-element compact MIMO antenna was designed
The antenna is fabricated and tested. Measured results are in good to operate in the 2.48-GHz band. The antenna was made on a
agreement with simulations. A minimum measured isolation of
10 dB is obtained given the close interelement spacing of .
two-layer substrate. It was made up of a planar inverted F-antenna
The maximum measured gain for a single operating element is (PIFA) array on one layer, while a slot antenna was used on the
0.8 dBi. other layer. The design had an overall size of 40 40 1.6 mm .
The minimum isolation between the antenna elements was
Index Terms—Complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR),
long-term evolution (LTE), MIMO antennas, WLAN. 8.5 dB, while the antenna had a maximum gain of 2.4 dBi. In
another design [2], a dual-band MIMO antenna system was
proposed. The antenna operated in the 1.5–2.8-GHz and the
I. INTRODUCTION 4.7–8.5-GHz bands. The system consisted of two elements that
were in the shape of open loops. The proposed antenna had a

M ULTIPLE-INPUT multiple-output (MIMO) antenna maximum gain of 3 to 4 dBi, while the isolation was higher than
systems have emerged as an integral part of the new 15 dB in the lower band and at least 20 dB in the higher band.
4G wireless standards. They are a key enabling component to In [4], a compact four-element antenna with isolation better
achieve high data rates for current and future needs of wireless than 24 dB was designed. The antenna elements were made up
communication services. Therefore, there is an increasing de- of quarter wavelength slot antennas. Apart from the high isola-
mand for making new MIMO antenna systems that are compact tion, the designed antenna also had a wide operating bandwidth
and compatible with user terminals and other wireless portable of 420 MHz. The antenna operated from 1.63 to 2.05 GHz.
devices. For such systems, it is important to make antennas that The design occupied a space of 80 80 1.52 mm . In [5], a
have improved channel capacity, bandwidth, gain, and diversity three-element MIMO antenna was designed using three trian-
performance. These requirements make the design of MIMO gular patch antennas. The antenna resonated at 2.65 GHz and
antenna systems challenging. occupied a space of 120 90 1 mm . The antenna was char-
While designing compact antennas, antenna miniaturization acterized with high gain and wide beam characteristics. The iso-
techniques are used that can yield low antenna bandwidth, ef- lation between antenna elements at the resonant frequency was
ficiency, and gain. Similarly, in a compact design, the antenna 32 dB, while the peak antenna gain was 2.8 dBi.
elements are placed close to each other, resulting in high correla- In [6], a modified printed inverted-F antenna (PIFA)-based
tion between the antenna elements and therefore poor diversity four-element MIMO antenna was proposed. The antenna occu-
performance. Thus, in the design of a MIMO antenna system, it pied a space of 120 120 16.4 mm . The antenna was an-
is important to employ antenna miniaturization techniques that alyzed for all MIMO antenna parameters. The operating band-
keep the antenna design simple and its compromise with the width of the antenna was 400 MHz covering the range of 2.4–2.8
other antenna parameters is at a minimum. GHz. The measured total active reflection coefficient (TARC)
was found to be 7 dB in this range. In [7], a four-element
four-shaped MIMO antenna system was proposed. The antenna
Manuscript received July 29, 2012; revised May 04, 2013; accepted May 07,
2013. Date of publication May 15, 2013; date of current version July 31, 2013.
resonated in two bands covering the 700-MHz band of the LTE
This work was supported by project number RG1219 through the Deanship of standard and the 2.4-GHz ISM band. The antenna design had a
Scientific Research (DSR) at KFUPM, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. size of 56 110 1.56 mm . The isolation obtained was low
M. S. Sharawi, M. U. Khan, and A. B. Numan are with the Electrical
Engineering Department, King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals
in the lower band with only 6 dB, while the worst case isolation
(KFUPM), Dhahran, 31261 Saudi Arabia (e-mail: [email protected]). in the high band was 12 dB. The peak gain was 4 dBi for the
D. N. Aloi is with the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Oak- low band and 5 dBi for the high band.
land University, Rochester 48309 MI USA.
Patch antennas have been widely used due to their ease of
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. design and fabrication. However, they are seldom used as el-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TAP.2013.2263214 ements of MIMO antenna systems due to their large dimen-

0018-926X/$31.00 © 2013 IEEE

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 4266 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 8, AUGUST 2013

sions. Several methods have been presented to reduce the size

of patch antennas. These methods include the use of shorting
posts [9], loading of reactive elements [8], and use of reactive
impedance surfaces [9]. Recently, complementary split-ring res-
onators (CSRRs), metamaterial elements, have been used with
patch antennas for antenna miniaturization. A significant reduc-
tion in patch antenna size was demonstrated by CSRR loading
on a patch antenna [10]–[15].
A CSRR is a negative image of a split-ring resonator (SRR).
It is made by removing the copper in the shape of an SRR from
a copper sheet, which is usually a ground plane. The CSRR in- Fig. 1. Geometry of the single CSRR loaded patch antenna: (a) top view and
teracts with the electric field and provides effective negative (b) bottom view.
permittivity around its resonance frequency. The resonant fre-
quency of a CSRR is the same as that of an SRR of the same di-
mension, and it is modeled as an LC circuit. The lumped element
model for an SRR and a CSRR are derived in [16], which also
gives quasi-analytical equations for finding the resonant fre-
quency of the SRR and the CSRR. In [17], an empirical model
for the resonant frequency of the SRR is given, which is easy to
implement.
This paper presents a novel design of a 2 2 (four-element)
MIMO patch antenna system, which has highly compact patch
elements. The elements of the proposed MIMO antenna system
consist of four identical patch antennas loaded with CSRRs.
The operating band of the proposed antenna is the ISM band
with a resonant frequency of the antenna elements centered at
2.45 GHz. A 76% reduction in the size of the individual patch
is achieved through CSRR loading, thus allowing the accom-
modation of the four patch antennas in an area of 50 50 mm
with 10 mm spacing between them. An additional 50 50 mm
space is filled with a ground plane, which can be used by other
electronic components accompanying the antenna in a practical
system. The total size of the proposed MIMO antenna system Fig. 2. Geometry of 2 2 MIMO antenna system: (a) top view and (b) bottom
board is 50 100 0.8 mm . view.
In all of the previous work, CSRR loaded miniaturized patch
antennas were used in applications that require only a single an-
tenna. Such patch antennas were never extended and analyzed duplicated for MIMO antenna design, they fit well within a
for MIMO antenna systems. Also in many of the recently pro- 50 50 mm area with a reasonable gap between the elements.
posed MIMO antennas, most of them did not utilize patch an- A patch of area 18 14 mm was selected. Such a patch res-
tenna elements. Those designs that used modified patches had onated at 5.04 GHz in normal operating mode. To reduce the
dimensions that were not very compact, thus making them not resonant frequency of the patch antenna, a single CSRR was
useful for mobile applications [5]. In our design, the CSRR etched out from its ground plane at its center.
loaded patch antenna elements are easy to fabricate and can be In the design of the single patch, the dimension of the CSRR
easily integrated with other systems. The total dimensions of was varied and the antenna was tuned to resonate at 2.45 GHz
the design were kept to a minimum so that it conforms to the using the commercial software HFSS. The final design obtained
dimensions of handheld wireless mobile sets and other wireless is shown in Fig. 1. The outer radius of the CSRR was 6 mm,
portable devices including laptops and tablets. This is consid- the width of each ring was 0.5 mm, the spacing between the
ered an advantage in size over [4]–[7]. inner and outer ring was 0.5 mm, and the split in each ring
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section II out- was 0.5 mm. The feedline width was 2.98 mm, which gives
lines the complete design of the proposed antenna. Measured a characteristic impedance of 50 .
and simulated results of the proposed antenna are discussed in A 2 2 (four-element) MIMO antenna system was made
Section III. The conclusions are given in Section IV. using the same patch design shown in Fig. 1 in an area of
50 50 mm . The spacing between the patch antenna elements
was 10 mm. The additional 50 50 mm space was filled with
II. CSRR LOADED MIMO PATCH ANTENNA DESIGN
a ground plane, which could be used to mount other electronic
An FR-4 substrate with 4.4 and thickness 0.8 mm devices and ICs for making a complete transceiver design
was used in this design. The dimensions of the patch antenna within a standard 100 50 0.8 mm board size. The top and
were chosen in such way that when four of such elements were bottom layers of the proposed design are shown in Fig. 2.

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 SHARAWI et al.: A CSRR LOADED MIMO ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR ISM BAND OPERATION 4267

A CSRR etched out underneath a patch antenna actually

changes the characteristics of antenna cavity, and thus its
resonance frequency is shifted. Since a CSRR is an anisotropic
element, its orientation has a profound effect on the resonant
frequency of the antenna apart from its dimensions. In this
design, the CSRRs were oriented in such a way that the slits
in the rings were oriented towards the radiating edges of the
patch antenna. The slit of the outer ring was oriented towards
the edge, which was excited from a microstrip feed, while the
slit of the inner ring was towards the opposite side, as shown
in Fig. 1.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Fig. 3. Fabricated CSRR loaded patch antenna: (a) top layer and (b) bottom
The proposed antennas described in the previous section were layer.
first designed and tuned in HFSS. They were then fabricated.
The scattering parameters of the MIMO antennas were mea-
sured using the Agilent HP8510C network analyzer. The two-
dimensional gain measurements of the MIMO antennas were
carried out at an outdoor antenna test facility (at Oakland Uni-
versity, Oakland, MI, USA). The results obtained from the sim-
ulations as well as measurements of the MIMO antennas are
summarized in the following subsections.

A. Effect of CSRR Design Parameters

While tuning the antenna to resonate at 2.45 GHz, the dimen-
sions of the CSRR were changed. These dimensions included
the radius of the outer ring , the width of each ring , and Fig. 4. Simulated and measured reflection coefficient of a single CSRR loaded
the spacing between inner and outer rings . As mentioned in patch.
[17], the slits do not have much effect on the resonant frequency.
Thus, the width of the slits was kept at 0.5 mm. As the radius
of the CSRR, was increased, the resonant frequency of the
antenna decreased. Increasing the width of the rings and the
spacing between the two rings resulted in an increase in the
resonant frequency of the antenna. Thus, by changing these pa-
rameters, the antenna was tuned at 2.45 GHz.
A parametric study was performed to obtain the optimized
values of the CSRR. Reference [17] only showed results for an
isolated SRR; this does not apply to the case we are investigating
since the proposed design has a patch antenna on top of the
CSRR. The CSRR model in [17] was used as a starting point
to have an idea about the parameter values. The patch presence
on top of the CSRR provided a resonant frequency that was
lower than the resonant frequency of the individual patch. The
behavior obtained in our work for the various CSRR parameters
were in line with previous works.
Fig. 5. Fabricated MIMO antenna system: (a) top layer and (b) bottom layer.
B. Single Patch Reflection Coefficient
The fabricated single CSRR loaded patch antenna is shown
in Fig. 3. Fig. 3(a) shows the top layer of the board having the C. Reflection Coefficient and Isolation of the MIMO Antenna
patch, and Fig. 3(b) shows the ground plane on which a CSRR Fig. 5 shows the fabricated 2 2 MIMO antenna system with
is etched out underneath the patch. The simulated and mea- CSRR loaded patches. Fig. 5(a) shows the top side of the board,
sured reflection coefficients for the single CSRR loaded patch while Fig. 5(b) shows the bottom side. Fig. 6 shows the sim-
are shown in Fig. 4. The antenna resonated at 2.45 GHz with ulated and measured reflection coefficient curves of the var-
a 10 dB bandwidth of approximately 50 MHz. The measured ious elements of the MIMO antenna. Measurements and sim-
results for the fabricated antenna showed close agreement with ulations were in agreement with a slight shift in the resonance
the simulated ones. frequencies that was attributed to the fabrication process. The

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 4268 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 8, AUGUST 2013

Fig. 6. Reflection coefficients of the MIMO antenna system.

Fig. 7. Measured isolation between MIMO antenna elements. Fig. 8. Current distribution for the MIMO antenna system at 2.48 GHz:
(a) patch 1 is active (top layer); (b) patch 3 is active (top layer); (c) patch 1
active (bottom layer); and (d) patch 3 active (bottom layer).

MIMO antenna system covered the frequency band centered

around 2.475 GHz with a 10-dB operating bandwidth of at
Thus, for better characterization of the MIMO antenna system,
least 20 MHz, and a 6-dB operating bandwidth of at least
the total active reflection coefficient (TARC) and correlation co-
50 MHz.
efficient are computed. TARC is defined as the ratio of the
Since the diversity performance of MIMO antennas is di-
square root of total reflected power divided by the square root
rectly related to the minimum coupling between individual an-
of the total incident power [19] in a multiport antenna system.
tenna elements, the isolation between the elements of the pro-
TARC can be computed using the scattering parameters of the
posed antenna was measured. The isolation curves between the
MIMO antenna elements are shown in Fig. 7. In the region of MIMO antenna. For an -element antenna, it is given by [19]
resonance, the worst case isolation was 10 dB, which is be-
tween antenna elements 1 and 2 (as well as 3 and 4). (1)
D. Current Distribution
The current distribution for elements 1 and 3 on both the patch where and are the incident signals and reflected signals,
as well as the ground plane are shown in Fig. 8. All currents are respectively. These can be computed from the measured s-pa-
shown for the 2.48-GHz operating frequency. Fig. 8(a) and (b) rameters. The relationship between the incident and reflected
shows the patch current distribution when elements 1 and 3, re- waves in a multiport network with similar characteristic imped-
spectively, are on. Notice the high current levels indicating good ances at all ports is given by [20]
radiation at the patch edges. In addition, Fig. 8(c) and (d) shows
the current levels on the GND plane beneath the patch elements (2)
1 and 3, respectively (flip the board). The CSRR currents are
showing high levels beneath the radiating patches at the reso- and for the given four-port MIMO antenna system, it becomes
nant frequency. The coupling to adjacent elements is also ev-
ident in the current levels. Only one portion of the MIMO an-
tenna current distribution is shown (i.e., elements 1 and 3). Since (3)
the board is symmetric, similar levels are expected for the other
two elements (i.e., 2 and 4).
TARC accounts for coupling as well as random signals com-
E. TARC and the Correlation Coefficient of the MIMO Antenna binations between ports. TARC has a value between 0 and 1,
To properly characterize the efficiency and bandwidth of the where zero means all power was radiated, while one means
MIMO antenna system, the scattering matrix is not enough [18]. all incident power was reflected and nothing was radiated. It

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 SHARAWI et al.: A CSRR LOADED MIMO ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR ISM BAND OPERATION 4269

, while the phases of other ports (i.e., ports 2, 3, and 4) are

changed with different phase excitations. TARC will affect the
operating bandwidth of the MIMO antenna system and needs
to be investigated. Fig. 9 shows several phase change combina-
tions between the different antennas covering both constructive
and destructive interference cases. The curve legend indicates
the phases of elements 2, 3, and 4 with respect to element 1. For
example, if the legend reads (0 , 60 , 180 ), this means that an-
tenna 2 excitation is in phase with antenna 1, antenna 3 is at 60
phase shift, and antenna 4 is completely out of phase with an-
tenna 1 excitation.
Fig. 9(a) shows TARC curves when element 4 was in phase
with element 1, while the phases of element 2 and 3 were varied.
A 6-dB bandwidth of at least 50 MHz was achieved. This
occurred when either the elements 2 and 3 were in phase with
element 1 or 180 out of phase with element 1.
The TARC curves shown in Fig. 9(b) were obtained when
element 2 was kept in phase with element 1, while phases of
element 3 and 4 were varied. A minimum of 60 MHz 6 dB
bandwidth was achieved when either the antenna elements 3 and
4 were in phase or 180 out of phase with element 1.
Fig. 9(c) shows TARC curves when element 3 was kept in
phase with element 1, while phases of element 3 and 4 were
varied. Here as well, at least 60 MHz of 6-dB bandwidth was
achieved.
The TARC curves of Fig. 9(d) were obtained by varying the
phases of all three elements with respect to element 1 in order
of 60 or 90 . For all combinations, at least 60 MHz of 6 dB
bandwidth was achieved. This shows that the MIMO operating
bandwidth will be at least 50 MHz for a wide range of antenna
excitation combinations.
The correlation coefficient gives a measure of how much
the two antennas are coupled to each other. A lower results in
better use of antenna diversity. For a uniformly distributed inci-
dent field, the correlation coefficient between any two antenna
elements can be computed from the measured s-parameters, and
it is given by [21]

(4)

Fig. 10 shows the correlation coefficient between the antenna

elements of the proposed MIMO antenna system. The curves
are based on an obtained antenna efficiency of 29%. It is
important to note that the maximum value of correlation coef-
ficient was 0.1 in the region of resonance. This value is well
below 0.3, which is the maximum value set for 4G standards.

F. Far Field Radiation Characteristics of the MIMO Antenna

Fig. 9. TARC curves for the proposed MIMO antenna system with different The two-dimensional gain patterns of the elements of the pro-
phase combinations between the four elements: (a) elements 1 and 4 are in posed MIMO antenna system were measured at an outdoor an-
phase; (b) elements 1 and 2 are in phase; (c) elements 1 and 3 are in phase;
and (d) all elements are out of phase.
tenna range facility at Oakland University, Oakland, MI USA.
Figs. 11 and 12 show the normalized measured radiation gain
patterns of the proposed MIMO antenna system. All measure-
is mostly represented in decibels. For the proposed MIMO an- ments were taken at 2.48 GHz. The maximum measured gain at
tenna system, TARC curves in decibels are shown in Fig. 9. this frequency was 0.8 dBi. All co-pol and cross-pol patterns
To investigate this further, the excitation of port one is kept at for all antenna elements are presented. Fig. 11(a) and (b) shows

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 4270 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 8, AUGUST 2013

CSRRs. A significant back lobe is observed due to the CSRRs.

The minimum front-to-back (F/B) ratio obtained from the sim-
ulations was 2.7 dB.

G. Mean Effective Gain

The gain of an antenna is an important measure in the cal-
culation of its link budget, which determines the coverage area
and achievable data rates of the system. In a mobile propagation
environment, the directive gain of an antenna cannot be used to
get the accurate results. In such environments, the mean effec-
tive gain (MEG) of the system is calculated. The MEG of an
Fig. 10. Correlation coefficient curves for the proposed MIMO antenna antenna is defined as the ratio of mean received power to the
system.
mean incident power. The MEG of an antenna operating in an
urban mobile environment is determined by the mutual relation
between the field patterns of the antenna and the statistical dis-
tribution of the signal in the environment [22].
For a mobile wireless environment with the assumptions de-
fined in [23], the MEG of an antenna can be computed using its
two-dimensional gain patterns. It is given as

(5)

where is the cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) of the

incident field (ratio between the vertical and horizontal power
Fig. 11. Measured gain patterns for the proposed MIMO antenna: (a) – plane
at 2480 MHz and (b) – plane at 2480 MHz. Circles: co-pol element 1; solid: densities), and are the gain pattern components of the an-
co-pol element 2; dots: cross-pol element 1; and dashes: cross-pol element 2. tenna elements. Using the above definition, the maximum pos-
sible MEG with 100% antenna efficiency is 3 dB [23]. For a
MIMO antenna system, the MEG of all elements should be the
same to get the best diversity performance. The ratio of the MEG
of the antenna elements of the MIMO antenna system should be
close to unity and should not exceed 3 dB for good performance.
For the proposed antenna, the MEG of each element was com-
puted from their two-dimensional gain patterns using (5) and the
conditions in [22]. The MEG of the proposed antenna are tab-
ulated in Table I. An XPD of 0 dB corresponded to an outdoor
uniform propagation environment while an XPD of 6 dB cor-
responded to an indoor uniform propagation environment [24].
The antenna showed good MEG performance as the maximum
deviation between the various element MEG values was less
Fig. 12. Measured gain patterns for the proposed MIMO antenna: (a) – plane
at 2480 MHz and (b) – plane at 2480 MHz. Circles: co-pol element 3; solid:
than 3 dB.
co-pol element 4; dots: cross-pol element 3; dashes: cross-pol element 4.
H. Antenna Behavior Over a Conducting Plane
Since the resonance of the MIMO antenna system was a func-
the normalized gain patterns of antenna elements 1 and 2 for the tion of the CSRR dimensions, any change in the CSRR would
– and the – planes, respectively. Similarly, Fig. 12(a) and greatly effect the performance of the antenna. These changes
(b) shows the normalized gain patterns of antenna elements 3 may occur due to the interaction between the CSRR and a con-
and 4 for the – plane and the – planes, respectively. ductive plane representing a backplane of an LCD or the elec-
The 3D radiation patterns of the elements of the MIMO an- tronics behind the antenna system. The effects of a conductive
tenna system were obtained from HFSS. The radiation gain pat- plane underneath the antenna were investigated through simula-
tern of each element was obtained by exciting the element and tions in HFSS. The antenna model was first placed over a ground
terminating the other elements with 50- load. The radiation plane. It was found that the resonance of the antenna elements
patterns were obtained at an operating frequency of 2.48 GHz. were completely lost when the CSRRs were in contact with the
Fig. 13 shows the 3D radiation gain patterns of the four antenna ground plane. This was due to the fact that the CSRRs were ef-
elements. As evident from the figure, the radiation gain pattern fectively lost and the patch antenna elements were operating as
of each element had significantly changed from that of an ordi- if there were no CSRRs. Thus, their resonant frequencies were
nary patch antenna. This change is due to the introduction of the centered at 5.04 GHz.

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 SHARAWI et al.: A CSRR LOADED MIMO ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR ISM BAND OPERATION 4271

Fig. 13. Three-dimensional radiation patterns for the proposed MIMO antenna at 2480 MHz: (a) Element 1; (b) Element 2; (c) Element 3; and (d) Element 4.

TABLE I ground plane and antenna bottom side was varied from 1–5 mm
MEG OF THE ANTENNA ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSED in 1-mm steps. It was found that as the distance between the an-
MIMO ANTENNA SYSTEM
tenna and ground plane was increased, the reflection coefficient
of the individual patch elements improved. At 5-mm height,
which corresponded to , the reflection coefficient of each
element of the MIMO antenna system was almost equal to the
one without the LCD ground plane. Fig. 14 shows the reflection
coefficients of antenna element 1 over an LCD ground plane
at different distances. The reflection coefficient curves of other
Later, the MIMO antenna system was placed above a ground antenna elements followed the same trend. From these obser-
plane separated by free space. The separation between the vations, it is concluded that in any practical design, the antenna

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 4272 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 8, AUGUST 2013

Fig. 14. Effect of and LCD ground plane below the proposed MIMO antenna
at different distances on the reflection coefficient of the MIMO antenna system.

TABLE II
ANTENNA EFFICIENCY, RESONANT FREQUENCY AND
FRONT TO BACK RATIO IN THE PRESENCE OF A
CONDUCTING PLANE

Fig. 15. Radiation pattern of antenna element 1 in the presence of a conducting

plane at 5 mm.

must be placed carefully such that its bottom side maintains a

minimum distance of 3 to 5 mm from any conductive plane.
Otherwise, the antenna and the CSRR dimensions need to be
optimized to resonate at the desired frequency in the presence
of a close by ground plane.
The resonant frequency of the antenna, bandwidth, its radi-
ation efficiency at the resonant frequency and its F/B ratio for
different separation distances between the LCD ground plane
and the antenna are tabulated in Table II. These numbers are for Fig. 16. Current distribution on the conducting plane when the separation dis-
all the antenna elements, as they had similar behavior as a func- tance is (a) 1 mm and (b) 5 mm.
tion of the distance from the LCD ground plane.
A maximum shift in the resonant frequency of the antenna
and lowest efficiency were obtained when the conducting plane excited individually while the others were terminated with
was close. Also, the antenna was more directive. As the sepa- matched loads and the surface current density was calculated
ration between the conducting plane and antenna increased, the on the conducting plane. All antenna elements had a similar
antenna became less directive and the back lobe became more effect on the conducting plane. Some excited current density
significant representing a ground-free case. At a separation dis- on the conducting plane was observed which was below the
tance of 5 mm, there was a significant back lobe and the F/B excited antenna element. This density was 2 A/m when the
ratio was 4.3 dB, which is 1.6 times better than without an LCD conducting plane was at a distance of 1 mm from the antenna.
ground plane. The radiation pattern of antenna element 1 in the The current density decreased significantly as the separation
presence of a conducting plane at 5 mm distance is shown in distance between antenna and conducting plane increased.
Fig. 15. It is evident from the figure that the antenna has sig- The maximum current density of 0.8 A/m was observed at
nificant radiation in the direction of the conducting plane. The a separation distance of 5 mm. Fig. 16(a) and (b) shows the
same trend was observed for other antenna elements (2 to 4). current density distribution on the conducting plane due to
The effect of antenna radiation on the conducting plane antenna element 1 for a separation distances of 1 and 5 mm,
was observed by finding the surface current density on the respectively.
conducting plane due to backward radiation. These effects The MEG of the antenna changed due to the presence of the
were observed for different separation distances between the LCD ground plane. The MEG of each antenna element at the
antenna and the conducting plane. Each antenna element was resonant frequency was calculated in the presence of the LCD

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 SHARAWI et al.: A CSRR LOADED MIMO ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR ISM BAND OPERATION 4273

TABLE III [3] S. Karimkashi, A. A. Kishk, and D. Kajfez, “Antenna array optimiza-
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 4274 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 61, NO. 8, AUGUST 2013

Mohammad S. Sharawi (S’98–M’06–SM’10) Ahmad B. Numan received the B.Sc. degree from
received the Ph.D. degree in RF systems engineering the University of Engineering and Technology, La-
from Oakland University, Oakland, MI, USA, in hore, Pakistan, in 2009.
2006. He worked as a research assistant at
During 2002–2003, he was a Hardware Design Al-Khawarizmi Institute of Computer Sciences
Engineer with Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain (KICS)-UET, Lahore, until 2011. Currently, he
View, CA, USA. He was formerly a Research is working towards the M.S. degree in electrical
Scientist with the Applied Electromagnetics and engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum
Wireless Laboratory in the Electrical and Computer and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He
Engineering Department, Oakland University, is interested in applied electromagnetics, including
during 2008–2009, and he was a faculty member in antenna system design.
the Computer Engineering Department at Philadelphia University, Amman,
Jordan, during 2007–2008. He is currently an Associate Professor of electrical
engineering at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM),
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and is the Founder and Director of the Antennas and
Microwave Structure Design Laboratory (AMSDL). His research interests in-
clude printed and MIMO Antenna design and characterization, RF electronics,
applied electromagnetics, wireless communications and hardware integration. Daniel N. Aloi (SM’07) received the B.S., M.S., and
He has one issued, three published, and seven pending patents. He has more Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Ohio
than 75 refereed international journal and conference paper publications and University, Athens, OH, USA, in 1992, 1996, and
the single author of three book chapters. 1999, respectively.
Dr. Sharawi served as the Organization Chair of the IEEE Conference on He is Professor and Chair in the Electrical and
Systems, Signals and Devices that was held in Jordan in July 2008. He served Computer Engineering Department at Oakland
on the Technical Program Committees of several IEEE conferences, especially University, Rochester, MI, USA. Prior to joining
the IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (APS). Oakland University in 2002, he served as a Visiting
Assistant Professor in the School of Electrical En-
gineering and Computer Science at Ohio University
from 1999to 2000 and a Senior Project Engineer at
OnStar from 2000 to 2002, where he was in charge of antenna and location
Muhammad U. Khan (S’13) received the B.S. de- technologies. His research interests resided in area of applied electromagnetics
gree in electrical engineering from the National Uni- with emphasis on antenna measurement/design for the automotive and aviation
versity of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Pakistan, industries.
in 2006 and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering Prof. Aloi was awarded the National Science Foundation’s 2005 Major Re-
from the GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences & search Instrumentation award to construct an on-campus, outdoor vehicle-level
Technology, Pakistan, in 2008. spherical near-field antenna measurement facility that operates in the frequency
He is currently working towards the Ph.D. de- range extending from 50 MHz to 6 GHz. He has served as a Principal Inves-
gree in the Electrical Engineering Department at tigator on external grants and contracts in excess of $3 million from private
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals industry, the NSF, the FAA, and DARPA. In addition, he has authored over
(KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. His current 70 technical papers and is an inventor on six patents. He currently serves as
research interests include miniaturization of printed the technical editor in the area of navigation for the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON
antennas, MIMO antennas, and metamaterial antennas. AEROSPACE AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS.

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