Experiment No.

2
Simulations of Dipole Antennas Using HFSS Software

Introduction:
In this experiment, a dipole antenna will be constructed and analyzed using the HFSS
simulation software by Ansoft. The following notes will provide a brief summary of goals.
✔ General navigation of software menus, toolbars, and quick keys.

✔ Variable assignment.
✔Overview of commands used to create structures.

✔ Proper design and implementation of boundaries.

✔ Analysis Setup.

✔ Report Creation and options.

Creating the Project:

From the Project Manager Window Right-Click the project file and select
Save As from the submenu. Name the file “dipole” and Click Save.

To begin working with geometries, you must insert an HFSS design. Right-
Click the project file and select Insert > Insert HFSS Design from the menu.

1
 Note:
Always create a personal folder to store all HFSS projects. You may find that
you do not have access rights to some portions of the hard drive. This will also
allow the user to quickly backup/ copy data from projects.

Variable Definition:
Due to the nature of this design we will use Driven Modal as the solution type.
From the HFSS menu select Solution Type and Driven Modal. The units are chosen
as mm by choosing the heading 3D modeler and Units from the menu.

HFSS relies on variables for any parameterization/ optimization within the

project. Variables also hold many other benefits which will make them necessary
for all projects.
✔ Fixed Ratios (length, width, height) are easily maintained using variables.

✔ Optimetrics use variables to optimize the design according to user-defined

criteria.
✔ All dimensions can be quickly changed in one window as opposed to altering
each object individually.
Click the HFSS heading and select Design Properties at the bottom of the menu.

2
Variable Definition:
This will open the variable table. Add all variables shown below by selecting,
Add. Be sure to include units as needed.

Note:
Creating variables before defining the structure will allow the user to build
the geometry much faster than using a fixed system.

Creating the Model

The 3D Modeler toolbars play a vital role in the creation of geometric
structures within HFSS. By default, the 3D modeler toolbars should be visible on
the screen. If you cannot locate the toolbar, then right-click on the upper border of
the form and select them from the dropdown menu.

3
 We will start by creating the dipole element using the Draw Cylinder button
from the toolbar. Choose 3 Arbitrary points inside the drawing area. These points
will be defined using the variables created previously so there is no need to specify
points.

Follow the format below for structure size. Give the name dip1 to this object.
Assign the material PEC and click OK. PEC (Perfect Electric Conductor) will
create ideal conditions for the element.

Under the Command tab, enter the following information:

4
The next command is essential when building symmetric structures. Right- Click
the drawing area and select Edit > Duplicate>Around Axis.

A mirror image is produced by enter the following:

The dipole structure is illustrated below:

5
Ideally, the structure is one solid geometry. A slot has been created at the origin in
this example. This will allow later placement of a source for excitation.
Creating the Port:
In this section the user will create a Lumped Gap Source. This will provide an
excitation to the dipole structure. Begin by selecting the YZ plane from the toolbar.
Using the 3D toolbar, click Draw Rectangle and place two arbitrary points within
the model area.

Enter the following:

Click the Command tab and enter the following:

6
 Please note that the variable gap_src was chosen relatively small in
comparison to the dipole structure. This was done to minimize effects due to the
source and place emphasis upon the structure. The source is depicted below.

With the source geometry in place, the user must provide an excitation. A lumped
port will be used for the dipole model. This excitation is commonly used when the
far field region is of primary interest. In the project explorer, right-click
Excitation>Assign> Lumped Port.

Name the port source and leave the default values for impedance. Click Next and
enter the following:

7
Using the mouse, position the cursor to the bottom-center of the port. Ansoft's snap
feature should place the pointer when the user approaches the center of any object.
Left-click to define the origin of the E-field vector. Move the cursor to the top-
center of the port. Left-click to terminate the E-field vector. Click finish to
complete theport excitation.
Radiation Boundary:
In this section, a radiation boundary is created so that far field information may be
extracted from the structure. To obtain the best result, a cylindrical air boundary is
defined with a distance of λ/4. From the toolbar, select Draw Cylinder and choose 3
arbitrary points within the model window.

Enter the following:

8
 Click the Command tab and enter the following:

Assuming mall steps were properly completed, the boundary should

resemble the illustration below:

With the geometry complete, the actual radiation boundary may now be
assigned.
With all faces selected, right-click the Boundary icon in the object explorer
and select Boundary > Assign> Radiation.

9
Leave the default name Rad1 and click OK.
Solution Setup:
In this section a solution must be defined to display the desired data. We are
primarily interested in the frequency response of the structure. We will also explore
HFSS's ability to calculate general antenna parameters such as directivity, radiation
resistance, radiation efficiency, etc.... From the project explorer, select Analysis
>Add Solution Setup.

Enter the following:

10
 Leave all other settings as default. Click OK when complete.
To view the frequency response of the structure, a frequency sweep must be
defined. From the project explorer select Setup1>Add Sweep.

Enter the following:

11
Structure Analysis:
At this point, the user should be ready to analyze the structure. Before running
the analysis, always verify the project by selecting from the 3D toolbar. If
everything is correct the user should see:

Analyze the structure by clicking

Allow 5-20 minutes for the analysis, depending on the machine.

Create Reports:
After completion of the analysis, we will create a report to display both the
resonant frequency and also the radiation pattern. Click on the heading HFSS and
select Results > Create Reports.

12
 Select the following highlighted parameters and click Add Trace to load the
options into the Trace window.

Click Done to display a graph of impedance vs. frequency.

Looking at the graph below, both real and imaginary components of the
impedance are displayed.

The input resistance can be directly determined from the graph. We will mark
the point at which imaginary component crosses zero. This mark will allow the
user to determine input impedance at the point of resonance. Right-Click the graph
and select Zoom In. Using the mouse select a zoom window around the
imaginary component as it crosses zero. Mark the zero point by right-clicking the
plot window and selecting Data Marker.

13
Select a point as close as possible to zero along the imaginary line. You will not be
able to choose exactly zero due to the resolution chosen (1000 points) in the
solution setup. Left-click to mark the point as shown below:

Right-click the plot window and select Fit All. Follow the same procedure to mark
the real component at exactly the same frequency of the imaginary component.
Both marked data can be seen in the graph below:

14
 The input resistance of the antenna is 66.8401 ohms according to the graph.
Performing calculations from a text, the user should compute a resistance between 65
and 75 ohms. The port was previously defined with an impedance of 50 ohms. This
will produce sub-optimal results due to mismatched impedance. This will be
corrected shortly.
In the next step, we will plot S11vs. frequency. Create a Report as previously
shown and add the following trace:

Click Done when complete. The graph is displayed below:

15
The point of resonance was marked at -17.1957dB. In order to compute accurate
antenna parameters, the input must be matched. From the project explorer, right-
click source and select Properties. Adjust the port impedance as shown:

We will now re-analyze the structure with a properly matched port. In order to
preserve memory and calculation time, right-click Analysis > Revert to Initial Mesh
in the project explorer.

16
Re-analyze the structure. When complete create another plot of S11vs. frequency as
shown below:

Note the improved response of -61.3462dB at resonance. HFSS has the ability to
compute antenna parameters automatically. In order to produce the calculations, the
user must define an infinite sphere for far field calculations. Right-click the Radiation
icon in the project manager window and select Insert Far Field Setup >
Infinite Sphere.

17
 Accept all default parameters and click Done. Right-click Infinite
Sphere1 > Compute Antenna Parameters... from the project explorer as shown:

Select all defaults and results are displayed as follows:

From the chart, the Peak Directivity is 1.9341. All other parameters can be
seen as slightly elevated above the expected. Adjustments to the radiation
boundary might provide more accuracy.Next, the far field will be plotted.
Create Reports as previously shown. Modify the following:

18
Changing the data of an infinite sphere as following

Enter the following:

19
Select Add Trace and click Done when complete.The radiation pattern is displayed
below:

To find the total gain of antenna repeat the same previous steps and do the following
changes

Choose the maximum point to determine the max gain and its position

To draw 3D radiation pattern, do the following steps

20
Select Add Trace and click Done when complete.

To draw smith chart the following steps must be followed

21
To show the field pattern with respect to the antenna structure. Firstly, right click
and choose plot the fields as follows

22
Set the values of radiation field as shown below

Select Apply, the radiation field surrounding the antenna will appear as in figure
below:

Discussion:
1- Why half-wave dipole is the most dipole used.
2- Determine the directivity of half-wave dipole antenna.

23