Experiment No.

3
Simulations of Monopole Antennas using HFSS Software

Introduction:
A monopole antenna is a class of radio antenna consisting of a straight rod-
shaped conductor, often mounted perpendicularly over some type
of conductive surface, called a ground plane. The driving signal from
the transmitter is applied, or for receiving antennas the output signal to
the receiver is taken, between the lower end of the monopole and the ground plane.
One side of the antenna feed line is attached to the lower end of the monopole, and
the other side is attached to the ground plane, which is often the Earth. This
contrasts with a dipole antenna which consists of two identical rod conductors, with
the signal from the transmitter applied between the two halves of the antenna.
The monopole is a resonant antenna; the rod functions as an
open resonator for radio waves, oscillating with standing waves of voltage and
current along its length. Therefore, the length of the antenna is determined by
the wavelength of the radio waves it is used with. The most common form is
the quarter-wave monopole, in which the antenna is approximately one quarter of
the wavelength of the radio waves.
In this experiment, a monopole antenna will be constructed and analyzed
using the HFSS simulation software by Ansoft. The following notes will provide a
brief summary of goals.
✔ General navigation of software menus, toolbars, and quick keys.
✔ Variable assignment.
✔ Overview of commands used to create structures.
✔ Proper design and implementation of boundaries.
✔ Analysis Setup.
✔ Report Creation and options.

1
Creating the Project:
From the Project Manager Window Right-Click the project file and select
Save As from the submenu. Name the file “monopole” and Click Save.

To begin working with geometries, you must insert an HFSS design. Right-
Click the project file and select Insert > Insert HFSS Design from the menu.

Note:
Always create a personal folder to store all HFSS projects. You may find
that you do not have access rights to some portions of the hard drive. This
will also allow the user to quickly backup/ copy data from projects.

2
Variable Definition:
Due to the nature of this design we will use DrivenModal as the solution
type. From the HFSS menu select Solution Type and Driven Modal. The units are
chosen as meter by choosing the heading 3D modeler and Units from the menu.

HFSS relies on variables for any parameterization/ optimization within the project.
Variables also hold many other benefits which will make them necessary for all
projects.
✔ Fixed Ratios (length, width, height) are easily maintained using variables.
✔ Optimetrics use variables to optimize the design according to user-defined
criteria.
✔ All dimensions can be quickly changed in one window as opposed to altering
each object individually.

Click the HFSS heading and select Design Properties at the bottom of the menu.

3
Variable Definition:
This will open the variable table. Add all variables shown below by selecting
Add. Be sure to include units as needed.

Note:
Creating variables before defining the structure will allow the user to build the
geometry much faster than using a fixed system.

Creating the Model:

The 3D Modeler toolbars play a vital role in the creation of geometric
structures within HFSS. By default, the 3D modeler toolbars should be visible on
the screen. If you cannot locate the toolbar, then right-click on the upper border of
the form and select them from the dropdown menu.

We will start by creating the monopole element using the Draw Cylinder
button from the toolbar. Choose 3 Arbitrary points inside the drawing area. These
points will be defined using the variables created previously so there is no need to

4
specify points.

Follow the format below for structure size. Give the name monopole to this
object. Assign the material PEC and click OK. PEC (Perfect Electric Conductor)
will create ideal conditions for the element.

Under the Command tab, enter the following information:

5
 Ideally, the structure is one solid geometry. A slot has been created at the
origin in this example. This will allow later placement of a source for excitation.

Creating the ground plane:

In this section the user will create a Ground Plane. This will provide a
ground plane to the monopole structure. Using the 3D toolbar, click Draw Circle
and place arbitrary point and arbitrary radius within the model area.

Enter the following:

6
Click the Command tab and enter the following:

Creating the Port:

In this section the user will create a Lumped Gap Source. This will provide an
excitation to the monopole structure. Begin by selecting the YZ plane from the
toolbar. Using the 3D toolbar, click Draw Rectangle and place two arbitrary points
within the model area.

Enter the following:

7
 Click the Command tab and enter the following:

Please note that the variable gap_src was chosen relatively small in
comparison to the monopole structure. This was done to minimize effects due to
the source and place emphasis upon the structure. The source is depicted below.

With the source geometry in place, the user must provide an excitation. A
lumped port will be used for the monopole model. This excitation is commonly
used when the far field region is of primary interest. In the project explorer, right-
click Excitation>Assign> Lumped Port.

8
 Name the port source and leave the default values for impedance. Click Next
and enter the following:

Using the mouse, position the cursor to the bottom-center of the port. Ansoft's
snap feature should place the pointer when the user approaches the center of any
object. Left-click to define the origin of the E-field vector. Move the cursor to the
top-center of the port. Left-click to terminate the E-field vector. Click finish to
complete the port excitation.

Radiation Boundary:
In this section, a radiation boundary is created so that far field information
may be extracted from the structure. To obtain the best result, a cylindrical air
boundary is defined with a distance of λ/4. From the toolbar, select Draw Cylinder
and choose 3 arbitrary points within the model window.

Enter the following:

9
 Click the Command tab and enter the following:

Assuming all steps were properly completed, the boundary should resemble
the illustration below:

With the geometry complete the actual radiation boundary may now be

10
assigned. Right-click the Boundary icon in the object explorer and select Boundary
> Assign> Radiation.

Leave the default name Rad1 and click OK.

Solution Setup:
In this section a solution must be defined to display the desired data. We are
primarily interested in the frequency response of the structure. We will also explore
HFSS ability to calculate general antenna parameters such as directivity, radiation
resistance, radiation efficiency, etc. From the project explorer, select Analysis
>Add Solution Setup.

Enter the following:

11
 Leave all other settings as default. Click OK when complete.

To view the frequency response of the structure, a frequency sweep must be

defined. From the project explorer select Setup1 > Add Sweep.

Enter the following:

12
Structure Analysis:
At this point, the user should be ready to analyze the structure. Before running
the analysis, always verify the project by selecting from the 3D toolbar. If
everything is correct the user should see:

Analyze the structure by clicking , allow 5-20 minutes for the analysis,
depending on the machine.

13
Create Reports:

After completion of the analysis, we will create a report to display both the resonant
frequency and also the radiation pattern. Click on the heading HFSS and select Results >
Create Reports.

Select the following highlighted parameters and click Add Trace to load the options
into the Trace window.

14
 Click Done to display a graph of impedance vs. frequency.
Looking at the graph below, both real and imaginary components of the impedance are
displayed.

The input resistance can be directly determined from the graph. We will mark the point at
which imaginary component crosses zero. This mark will allow the user to determine input
impedance at the point of resonance. Right-Click the graph and select Zoom In.

15
Using the mouse select a zoom window around the imaginary component as it crosses
zero. Mark the zero point by right-clicking the plot window and selecting Data Marker.

Select a point as close as possible to zero along the imaginary line. You will not be
able to choose exactly zero due to the resolution chosen (101 points) in the solution setup.
Left-click to mark the point as shown below:

Right-click the plot window and select Fit All. Follow the same procedure to mark
the real component at exactly the same frequency of the imaginary component. Both
marked data can be seen in the graph below:
16
 The input resistance of the antenna is 33.0816 ohms according to the graph.
Performing calculations from a text, the user should compute a resistance between 65 and
75 ohms. The port was previously defined with an impedance of 75 ohms. This will
produce sub-optimal results due to mismatched impedance. This will be corrected shortly.
In the next step, we will plot S11vs. frequency. Create a Report as previously shown
and add the following trace:

Click Done when complete. Then the graph is displayed below:

17
 The point of resonance was marked at -9.0701dB. In order to compute accurate
antenna parameters, the input must be matched. From the project explorer, right-click
source and select Properties. Adjust the port impedance as shown:

We will now re-analyze the structure with a properly matched port. In order to
preserve memory and calculation time, right-click Analysis > Delete in the project
explorer.

18
Re-analyze the structure. When complete create another plot of S11vs. frequency as shown
below:

Note the improved responseof-33.1414 dB at resonance.

HFSS has the ability to compute antenna parameters automatically. In order to
produce the calculations, the user must define an infinite sphere for far field calculations.
Right-click the Radiation icon in the project manager window and select Insert Far Field
Setup > Infinite Sphere.
19
Accept all default parameters and click Done. Right-click Infinite Sphere1 > Compute
Antenna Parameters... from the project explorer as shown:

Select all defaults and results are displayed as follows:

20
From the chart the Peak Directivity is 1.7301. All other parameters can be seen as
slightly elevated above the expected. Adjustments to the radiation boundary might
provide more accuracy. Next, the far field will be plotted. Create Reports as
previously shown. Modify the following:

Changing the data of an infinite sphere as following

Enter the following:

21
 Select Add Trace and click Done when complete. The radiation pattern is
displayed below:

To find the total gain of antenna repeat the same previous steps and do the following
changing

Choose the maximum point to determine the max gain and its position.
22
To draw 3D radiation pattern, do the following steps

Select Add Trace and click Done when complete

23
To draw smith chart the following steps must be followed

To show the field pattern with respect to the antenna structure:

Firstly, right click and choice plot the fields as follows

24
Set the values of radiation field as shown below

Select Apply, the radiation field surrounding the antenna will appear as in figure
below.

Discussion:
1- Why we use monopole antenna instead of dipole antenna.
2- Calculate directivity analytically.

25