Proceedings of the 43rd European Microwave Conference

Analysis of a Microwave
Graphene-Based Patch Antenna

Luca Pierantoni Mircea Dragoman Davide Mencarelli

Università Politecnica delle Marche National Institute for Research and Università Politecnica delle Marche
Ancona, Italy, 60131 Development in Microtechnology (IMT) Ancona, Italy, 60131
Email: l.pierantoni@univpm.it Bucharest, Romania Email: d.mencarelli@univpm.it
Email: mircea.dragoman@imt.ro

Abstract—The possibility of using graphene-based antennas is high as compared to metals at micro and mm-waves frequency,
a core point in the development of high speed, multifunctional even with the possibility of doping and electric field biasing.
devices, leading to a new generation of smart nano-systems for Therefore, at microwave and millimeter frequencies, graphene
wireless applications. In this work, we present a first analysis is essentially a moderate conductor: in spite of this, challeng-
of the electromagnetic radiation from graphene-based antennas, ing and impacting applications could be addressed, like the
at microwave frequencies. Moreover, a numerical analysis of the
design and fabrication of patch antennas, or array of antennas,
coupling between graphene patches is reported.
[9,10]. In order to provide a comparison, copper has a surface
Keywords—Graphene, nanoelectronics, nano-antennas. resistivity as low as 0.03 Ohm/square, but this holds for a
thickness at least greater than few times its skin depth, which
is a fraction of micron at 13 GHz. Considering a thin film
I. I NTRODUCTION of copper of 3 Angstrom, in order to compare with graphene
(but of course the complex physics of thin films does not allow
During the last years, the scientific interest on graphene
such a simplification!), the surface impedance should be about
experienced an impressive growth due to the extraordinary
60 Ohm/square, that not too dissimilar to the values that we
mechanical, electronic and optical properties of the latter
used for graphene. However, two important points have to be
[1]. Graphene is a one-atom-thick two-dimensional carbon
remarked: i) graphene with such small thickness can exist,
crystal retrieved in many materials such as HOPG highly
while copper cannot; ii) by reducing the in-plane dimensions,
ordered pyrolytic graphite, which consists of many graphene
the actual copper conductivity should degrade much faster and
sheets stacked in a pile. Owing to its outstansing properties,
much more than the actual graphene conductivity. Moreover, it
such as carrier mobility attaining 200 000 cm2 /Vs at room
has also has been recently demonstrated that graphene can be
temperature, the question arises if graphene may be exploited
efficiently used as passive substrate with variable resistance,
for antenna applications in the GHz range. As a matter of
thus permitting to tune microwave devices in order to obtain
fact, the unique properties of graphene are being exploited
the proper matching [11]. In this contribution, we deal with the
in radio-frequency nanoelectronics [2] to achieve novel high-
design of a first prototype of graphene-patch antenna, in the
speed devices such as field effect transistors [3], frequency
5-20 GHz range, as building block in the realization of Trans-
multipliers [4] transparent solar cells [5], meta-materials [6],
mitting/Receiving (T/R) nano-scale microwave communication
graphene plasmonics [7]. Nevertheless, the possibility of using
system. The benefits of this nano-scale system are given by: i)
graphene in passive guided devices and antennas from mi-
tunability of the antenna parameters: radiation pattern, resonant
crowaves to THz has been by far less explored. This is mainly
frequency, directivity, efficiency; ii) tunability of the e.m.
because such structures require electric sizes of the order of
coupling with other radiating elements, and of the array pattern
the wavelength while the size of the first available graphene
of an array of graphene patches; iii) possible reduction of the
samples were much smaller. However, graphene chemical
in-plane size of the patch owing to the slow wave behavior
vapor deposition (CVD) now allows to obtain samples up to
(kinetic inductance contribution); iv) integration: in future, a
several centimeters, thereby increasing the research interest for
new class of high performance carbon components will be
the realization of passive devices at such frequencies [8]. Since
hopefully integrable in the same circuit (amplifiers, switches,
graphene is mono-atomic layer, it is perfectly modeled by
mixers, attenuators, etc.).
surface conductivity tensor. This tensor depends on graphene
unique band structure and on a number of parameters including
II. ANTENNA DESIGN AND MODELING
temperature, scattering rate, Fermi energy, electron velocity,
pre-doping (not all these parameter are independent), as well as As a matter of fact, the graphene surface impedance
electrical and magnetic field bias. In practice, other parameters depends on its intrinsic conductivity, that, in turns, depends
such as defects in the potential polycrystalline nature of the on the electric doping of the material, e.g. provided by biasing
graphene can further affect its properties. In general, the graphene by using an electric field [9-11]. Applying a DC volt-
conductivity of graphene is very frequency-dependent, and can age V  , affects the graphene surface conductivity by shifting
have completed different behavior e.g. at microwave and THz. the Fermi level μc = eαV  = eV , being e the unit charge, V 
Though graphene is the best electrical conductor known, it the external applied voltage, α a parameter depending on the
is mono-atomic and thus the surface resistance seems to be overall geometry and on the dielectric distribution of the device

978-2-87487-031-6 © 2013 EuMA 381 7 -10 Oct 2013, Nuremberg, Germany

Fig. 1. Real part (blu) and imaginary part (green) of the surface impedance Fig. 2. Geometry and physical parameters of the analyzed antenna.
of graphene as a function of the applied voltage V.

under study. In the latter, that is shown later on, this voltage is
applied across the central and lateral conductors of a coplanar
waveguide (CPW). V is the actual/resulting potential in the
graphene layer: in the present analysis it is assumed contant
over the patch surface, for simplicity. Considering the large
size of the patch under study ( 2.9 x 9.5 mm2 ), the Boltzmann
theory seems to be more suited than approaches based on
coherent transport. We assume the following hypotheses: i)
absence of magnetic fields; ii) pure (undoped and unperturbed)
graphene; iii) room temperature (300 K); iv) no edge effects;
v) no interaction of graphene with SiO2 substrate. In the above Fig. 3. The radiation mechanism is similar to that of a standard patch antenna:
conditions, graphene can be modeled as a surface impedance inversion of the field polarity in the lateral slots.
with complex isotropic conductivity.
Since graphene is mono-atomic layer, in the non-ballistic 

regime, it is perfectly modeled by means of a dispersive surface


conductivity (see Fig. 1), [10].
  
e2 kB T μc

     

− μc
σ = −j 2 + 2 ln e kB T − 1 (1)
π (ω − j2T ) kB T 

where Γ = 1/τ , τs = 0.5 ÷ 1 ps. Correspondingly, we 

define the graphene surface impedance as the real part of the 
       
reciprocal of the surface conductivity:
 

Zs = Re (1/σ) (2)
Fig. 4. Magnitude of the reflection coefficient of the antenna.
As a matter of fact, at microwave frequencies, the imaginary
part of 1/σ can be neglected as it is more than one order of
magnitude smaller than the real part. In an e.m. simulation of III. RESULTS
graphene, the impedance boundary Zs represents the graphene
With the above geometry, the antenna features a resonating
layer. As the external voltage V is increased, the charge density
behavior at around 12 GHz, as it is shown in Fig. 4. In the
increases and the surface impedance Zs decreases. A first
present simulation, the external voltage is set as high as to
prototype of the graphene-based antenna, which is actually a
produce a Zs ≈ 10 Ohm. The possibility of such small surface
hybrid graphene-metal antenna, is reported in Fig. 2. As it is
impedance has to be experimentally verified.
shown, the antenna is excited by the fundamental mode of a
coplanar waveguide (CPW). The Si substrate is grounded at The radiation pattern of the antenna is reported in Fig. 5, at
the bottom by perfect metal. On the basis of this prototype, 12 GHz: the red and dark cuves are the angular Ex distributions
we are currently engaged in the fabrication of the device. in the red and dark planes orthogonal to the patch, depichted
in the upper-left part of the figure. The smaller angular plots
The radiation mechanism of the proposed antenna is anal- are the cross-polarized radiated field (Ey ): as it is evident, the
ogous to that of the familiar microstrip-patch antennas: the antenna features quite low cross-polarization.
upper and lower slots, with respect to the patch, radiate in
phase; field details are shown in Fig. 3. Owing to the physical In order to show the effects of changing the external
symmetry of the device, only half structure is reported: a voltage on the radiated fields, we analyze the dependance, on
magnetic wall is imposed in order to correctly describe the the surface impedance, of the coupling between two slightly
even field solution. spaced graphene-patch antennas. The device is sketched in

382
 
 
 
  to the antenna losses ηL , that, in turn, depends on the ratio

of the dissipated power on the graphene patch vs. the input
 
 

power:
  |Et |2
2Zs
Graphene
ηL ≈ ⇒ ηG ≈ 1 − ηL (3)
Input power
being Et , the tangential electric field sampled on the graphene
surface. Typical values are reported in [13].

IV. C ONCLUSION
We analyze a graphene-based nano-patch antenna, fed
Fig. 5. Radiation pattern of the antenna: far fields of the main and cross by a coplanar transmission line. At microwave frequencies,
polarization are reported.
graphene acts as a conductor with moderate losses. By em-
ploying a small value of the graphene surface impedance, i.e.
equal or less than 10 Ohm, radiation characteristics similar
to those of a standard planar metallic patch antenna can be
achieved. Such small impedance is likely to be experimentally
 achieved by using high-quality graphene flakes. We are cur-
rently engaged in the fabrication of the device. The external
bias allows the tuning of the coupling between slightly spaced
graphene-patch antennas, suggesting a easy way to control the
output of the array factor of an array made of closely spaced
graphene-patches.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The present work has been supported by the European
Fig. 6. Two coupled gaphene-patch antennas.
Project Carbon Based Smart Systems for Wireless Applica-
ZĞ;ƐͿсϮKŚŵ фͲͲхsсϳ͘ϱsŽůƚ ZĞ;ƐͿсϭϬKŚŵ фͲͲхsсϭ͘ϱsŽůƚ tions, (NANO-RF, n. 318352).
ZĞ;ƐͿсϮϮKŚŵ фͲͲхsсϬ͘ϳsŽůƚ ZĞ;ƐͿсϰϮKŚŵ фͲͲхsсϬ͘ϯϲsŽůƚ
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