Inset Fed Patch Antenna Simulation and Result

This is the third and final part of the Inset Fed Patch Antenna design tutorial using CST Microwave Studio. In this tutorial the designed patch antenna will be simulated to verify it's working.

Readers can visit the first part and second part of the tutorial from the link below-
1st part- Patch antenna design with CST microwave (calculation of dimensions)
2nd part- Design of Microstrip Patch Antenna using CST microwave studio(actual design in CST)


In this part the overall steps in simulation and result of inset patch antenna design tutorial are-
1. Preparation for Simulation
2. Define the output required
3. Running the Simulation and Viewing the Results

1. Preparation for simulation
 Go to Solve menu, then select Frequency, and then define the frequency range from 0GHz to 3GHz as shown below-

We will now add a waveguide port. To do this we have to select the face where the waveguide port will operate. In this case, it is the face of the microstrip feed line where the signal will enter. So we have to select that face. To do this, zoom in so that the signal entry into microstrip face is selected. This is as shown in figure-

After highlighting the port face, go to Solve menu and select "Waveguide Port". A window will open that will be used to set up the port dimension. In this window, set Xmin= Wf/2+5*h, Xmax=Wf/2+5*h, Ymin=h and Ymax=5*h. Leave other setting as default as shown in figure below:

When ok is clicked we have now a Port as shown below-

2. Define the output required
Depending upon the output we wish obtain, we can accordingly perform variety of settings. Here we measure the S11 or Return Loss and view the far field radiation from the antenna. For return loss we do not need to set anything. To view the far field, go to Solve menu and then select Field Monitor. This will bring up a window which allows user to select what the user what to view such as Electric field or magnetic field, power flow, far field etc. Select the Far Field/RCS option by clicking onto its radio button then set the frequency as 2.45GHz and click apply. This step is shown below-

Similarly select the Electric energy density option and click ok to finish up the field monitor settings. When these two are selected as output, it is shown under the field monitor section in the navigation tree. This is shown below-

 3. Running the Simulation and Viewing the Results
After the simulation setting and output requirements are provided, the final step is running the simulation and viewing the result.
Now in order to view the progress of simulation and the simulation progress messages such as warning and error, go to the View menu and tick on the Status Bar and Message Window. This is shown below-

Now, to start the simulation, go to Solve menu and select Time Domain Solver. This brings up the dialog box, select Start to begin simulation, leave other setting as default. This is shown below-

Now to view the S11 or Return Loss of the antenna, go to the 1D Results section in the navigation tree. This will display the S11 or Return Loss of the antenna. To check the minimum value in the plot, right click on the plot and select "Move Marker to Minimum". This gives us the desired result. In this antenna design the Return loss is -20.53dB at 2.457GHz as shown in figure-