Comparison of the Radiation Efficiency for the Dielectric Resonator Antenna and the Microstrip Antenna at Ka Band

The radiation efficiency of a dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) and a microstrip antenna (MSA) at Ka band is investigated numerically and experimentally. For direct comparison, one cylindrical DRA and one circular disk MSA were designed with similar feeding networks for operation at around 35 GHz. The efficiency of both devices was measured using the directivity/gain (D/G) method and the Wheeler cap method, in both of which the losses in the test system and the feeding structure were taken into account for calibration purposes. A good agreement between measured and simulated results for both methods is found, when considering the effect of the sampling interval and cross-polarization in the D/G method and the effect of the metallic cap size in the Wheeler cap method. It is finally demonstrated that the radiation efficiency of the DRA is significantly higher than that of the MSA at millimeter wave frequencies.