Experimental studies on antenna miniaturisation using magneto-dielectric and dielectric materials

Dielectric or magneto-dielectric materials can be used to miniaturise antennas, but there are many important parameters that must be considered when selecting which material to use. The authors discuss these figures of merit and a rigorous method to compare antennas with different material fillings. A meandered planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) loaded with magneto-dielectric and dielectric materials is presented as an example antenna for testing. The magneto-dielectric material used is composed of mylar substrate and Fe-SiO₂ sheets. Measurement results for the permeability of the material are presented. The radiation mechanism of the meandered PIFA is studied, and the proper position for dielectric and magneto-dielectric filling is discussed and identified. Miniaturisation by commercial dielectric and the presented magneto-dielectric fillings is measured and compared at the same resonance frequency using the radiation quality factor as the figure of merit. It is seen, that the antenna can benefit from the magneto-dielectric filling material in terms of the radiation quality factor only if the placement of the antenna filling is carefully selected.