Synthesis and microwave characterisation of (Zr 0.8 Sn 0.2 )TiO 4 –epoxy composite and its application in wideband stacked rectangular dielectric resonator antenna

In this study, (Zr0.8Sn0.2)TiO4–epoxy composites are synthesised, characterised and used in dielectric resonator antenna applications. (Zr0.8Sn0.2)TiO4 and epoxy are mixed in five different ratios, that is, 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 and 90:10 with small amount of hardner (HY 951). The crystal structure and cell parameters of (Zr0.8Sn0.2)TiO4 are confined by Rietveld analysis. The complex permittivity of the composite is measured at different microwave frequencies in X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz). It has been found that the permittivity is reduced by increasing the percentage of epoxy in composite system. The optimised weight percentage ratio of (Zr0.8Sn0.2)TiO4 and epoxy composite material are used in a two-layer rectangular dielectric resonator antenna using coaxial excitation for obtaining wideband performance. The effects of the antenna parameters like length, width and probe length are investigated using Ansoft's high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS) software. The agreement between simulated and experimental data is very good. The proposed design provides the measured impedance bandwidth of 58.7% (at resonance frequency 8.40 GHz) from 6.45 to 11.38 GHz for reflection coefficient (S11) of less than −10 dB with a measured average gain of 6.99 dB in the frequency range of 6.0–11.5 GHz. The radiation patterns are consistent throughout the operational bandwidth.