ojapr Open Journal of Antennas and Propagation 2329-8413 2329-8421 Scientific Research Publishing 10.4236/ojapr.2026.141002 ojapr-150126 Article Computer Science Communications Design of a Patch Antenna Based on Wood Substrate for WLAN Application 0009-0009-7072-6687 Ningarukiye Dieudonné 1 0000-0002-0840-2405 Bossou Olivier Videme 2 0000-0002-8988-4425 Bukuru Denis 3 0009-0000-7388-356X Uwizeyimana Canesius 3 0000-0002-1373-7330 Rukerandanga Fiston 4 Doctorale School, University of Burundi, Bujumbura, Burundi National Advanced School of Engineering of Yaoundé, Cameroun Laboratory of Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics and Signal Processing, Yaoundé, Cameroun Departments of Applied Sciences, Bujumbura, Burundi Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Bujumbura, Burundi

The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

 05 03 2026 03 2026 14 01 13 21 23 03 2025 10 03 2026 13 03 2026 © 2026 by the authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. 2026 This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). https://doi.org/10.4236/ojapr.2026.141002

This paper details the design of a rectangular patch antenna intended for WLAN wireless communication systems. The antenna operates within a frequency range of 1.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz and is constructed using a wooden substrate with a relative permittivity of 1.77, a loss tangent of 0.0577, and a thickness of 1.6 mm. The antenna’s performance is evaluated through key parameters, including a reflection coefficient (S11) of −43.9987 dB, standing wave ratio (VSWR) of 1.0127, gain of 2.4 dB, directivity of 8.7 dB, efficiency of 23.36%, bandwidth of 180 MHz, and radiation diagram where obtained using ANSYS HFSS software. The results demonstrate that using wood as the substrate provides satisfactory performance for the antenna design.

 Patch Antennas Wood Substrates ANSYS HFSS Software 1. Introduction

In recent years, the telecommunications field has experienced significant advancements, including notable improvements in antenna technology for applications like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth [1][2]. Antennas are crucial components in wireless communication systems, and as technology has evolved, antenna designs have continuously improved to meet the growing demands of telecommunication applications. Among the various antenna types, patch antennas are widely used in wireless communication.

Most of the patch antennas currently available are manufactured using advanced materials such as Kapton, FR4, and PET [3][4]. While these materials offer excellent performance, they are costly. To reduce production costs, several studies [5][6] have explored the use of wood substrates in antenna design, showing promising results compared to high-tech materials. Wooden substrates offer advantages such as relatively low permittivity and tangent losses, which allows for increasing bandwidth and prevents field lines from becoming confined within the dielectric. Another major advantages of wood substrates is their greater availability on the local market, facilating easier procurement.

Although previous studies have investigated wood substrates within the frequency range of 8.2 GHz to 12.4 GHz [7], there has been no research conducted within the 1.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz range. With the goal of promoting the use of natural resources, we propose the use of Cameroonian wood as an alternative substrate. This material, which is readily available in Africa, has a relative permittivity of 1.77 and a loss tangent of 0.0577 [6].

 2. The Geometric Parameters of the Studied Antenna

The antenna under study consists of a rectangular radiating element fed by a microstrip line. Rectangular patch antennas are widely favored in telecommunications due to their optimal configurations compared to other microstrip antenna geometries [8]. To ensure an effective antenna design, it is essential to carefully select the substrate placed between the patch and the ground plane [9]. The choice of substrate directly influences other key parameters of the antenna.

The structure of our antenna is shown in Figure 1, where the radiating element, or patch, is positioned above the ground plane with the substrate in between. The patch can take various forms [10]. Both the ground plane and the radiating element are made of aluminum. For this design, we substitute the commonly used substrates with a wooden substrate that has a relative permittivity of 1.77, a loss tangent of 0.0577, and a thickness of 1.6 mm [6]. The assembly process of the antenna will utilize a simple bonding method using Zhanlida glue.

Figure 1. Geometry of the proposed antenna.

The designed antenna operates within the 1.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz range, making it suitable for WLAN wireless systems. The primary dimensions of the antenna include the patch length (L), patch width (W), and the substrate height (H). The antenna is fed by a microstrip line with a width of W0, positioned in front of the radiating element. This microstrip line is excited by a “Lumped” type excitation port to simulate a wave source (Figures 2-6). Detailed specifications for these parameters used in the antenna design are provided in Table 1.

Table 1. Proposed antenna parameter values.

Parameter Symbols Details of the Parameters Values [mm]
H Height of the substrate 1.6
W p Width of the Patch 53
L p Length of the patch 45.9
W 0 Width of power line 5.9
L 0 Length of power line 24.3
ɛ reff constante dielectric a effective 1.66
∆ L 0.897
L eff 51.22
Slots
a 0.9
b 5.63
c 0.9
d 5.63

In this paper, the following equations are used to calculate the width (W) and length (L) of the patch. Equations (1) through (8) provide the necessary formulas to determine the width of the radiating element, the effective length, and the overall length of the radiating element [8][11].

W = 1 2 f r μ 0 ε 0 2 ε r + 1 = c 2 f r 2 ε r + 1 ε r e f f = [ ( ε r + 1 ) / 2 + ( ε r − 1 ) / 2 ] [ 1 + 12 h / w ] − 1 2 The     extended     length     Δ L   of   the   patch   :   Δ L h = 0.412       [ ( ε r e f f + 0.3 ) ( w h + 0.264 ) ( ε r e f f − 0.258 ) ( w h + 0.8 ) ] Δ L = h × 0.412 h   [ ( ε r e f f + 0.3 ) ( w h + 0.264 ) ( ε r e f f − 0.258 ) ( w h + 0.8 ) ] the effective length of the patch ,     L e f f = L + 2 Δ L the length of the patch , L = L e f f − 2 Δ L L 0 = λ 2 = λ 2 ε r e f f W 0 = h   [ 5.7961 ( ε r − 0.95 ) ]

The length of the feed line and its width are calculated using Equations (7) and (8).

Figure 2. Rectangular microstrip patch antenna proposed in the HFSS software.

Figure 3. Proposed rectangular microstrip patch antenna showing PerfectE1.

Figure 4. Rectangular microstrip patch antenna enclosed in a radiating air box.

 3. Simulation and Discussion Results of the Proposed Antenna 3.1. The Reflection Coefficient

The reflection coefficient value must be less than −10 dB for demonstrating effective antenna performance [12]. Therefore, the simulation results obtained for the reflection coefficient of our antenna is seen in Figure 6. It has a reflection coefficient (S11) value of −43.9987 dB and a bandwidth of 180 MHz at a frequency of 2.4 GHz. This is a very small value and very low power loss, indicating that maximum power is radiated towards the antenna.

Figure 5. S11 return losses.

 3.2. VSWR (ROS)

Figure 6 illustrates the standing wave ratio (SWR) as a function of the operating frequency. The result shows that at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, the standing wave ratio is 1.0127. This value falls within the range of 1 ≤ SWR ≤ 2 [13], indicating good impedance matching and confirming that nearly all the power is radiated efficiently.

Figure 6. Stationary wave ratio ROS.

 3.3. 2D Radiation Pattern

The radiation pattern of an antenna offers a visual representation of the different lobes in both the horizontal plane (phi = 0 degrees) and the vertical plane (phi = 90 degrees), with a focus on the primary lobe. Figure 7shows the radiation pattern in both the H-plane and E-plane at a frequency of 2.4 GHz, clearly indicating that the radiation pattern is directional.

Figure 7. Radiation pattern.

 3.4. Gain and Directivity

The maximum value of gain and directivity of the proposed antenna are 2.4 dB and 8.7 dB, respectively, for the operating frequency of 2.4 GHz see Figure 8(a) and Figure 8(b).

(a) Gain [dB] (b) Directivity [dB]

Figure 8. Gain and directivity.

 3.5. 3D Radiation Pattern

The 3D radiation pattern indicates the obtained gain representation and directivity. We observe that the radiation pattern of the proposed antenna presents the maximum value of the directivity of 20 dB at operating frequency of 2.4 GHz as seen in Figure 9.

Figure 9. Total gain.

 3.6. Efficiency

The proposed antenna in this article has an efficiency of 23.37% as seen in Figure 10.

Figure 10. Efficiency.

 3.7. Performance Comparison with the Reported Works

Table 2presents a performance comparison between commonly used substrates and the wooden substrate. The proposed antenna, designed using the wooden substrate, has a lower return loss compared to other antennas designed using other substrates. It also has very low standing wave, a wider bandwidth, and very high directivity compared to the reported works. However, it has very low gain compered to [2], which leads us to observe very low efficiency.

Table 2. Performance comparison with reported works done using other substrates.

Ref. Substrate S 11 (dB) VSWR BW (MH) Gain (dB) Efficiency (%) Directivity (dB)
[ 10 ] FR4 −29.69 1.2 - 8.4 90 -
[ 11 ] R0430b −32.29 1.04 330 - - 8.55
[ 2 ] Rogers RT5870 −22.58 1.604 25.5 6.655 - 8.012
[ 4 ] RT Duroid 5880 −13.4 1.537 - - 42 -
Our work Wood −43.9 1.013 180 2.4 23.36 8.7
4. Conclusion

In this article, we designed a rectangular patch antenna using a wooden substrate, operating within the 1.5 GHz to 3.5 GHz frequency range for WLAN applications. To achieve this, a parametric study was conducted using the HFSS electromagnetic simulator on a wood substrate with a relative permittivity of 1.77, a loss tangent of 0.0577, and a height of 1.6 mm. The results demonstrated that using wood as a substrate provides satisfactory performance compared to conventional substrates. Wooden substrates are more readily available on the local market compared to the existing substrates. The results demonstrate that utilizing natural resources, as wood, leads us to develop a patch antenna usable in the WLAN wireless communication system.

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