Simulating Waveguides and Antennas in HFSS: A Practical Approach
Posted on Feb 4, 2025 in Cultural Communication
Simulating Rectangular Waveguides in HFSS
- Create a new project in the HFSS terminal.
- On the project menu, click Insert HFSS Design.
- On the HFSS menu, click Solution Type and select Modal.
- On the HFSS menu, click Draw and select Box.
- Specify the coordinates and dimensions in the properties window as (0, 0, 0), x=100mm, y= 62.5mm, z= 31.25mm.
- Assign the material to the object as air or vacuum by right-clicking on the 3D model.
- On the HFSS menu, click Boundaries, select Assign, and choose Finite Conductivity to the four faces, excluding Port 1 and Port 2.
- Select the object face to which you want to assign the port. Click HFSS > Excitation > Wave Port.
- Define the integration line.
- On the HFSS menu, point to Analysis Setup and then click Add Solution Setup.
- Enter the solution frequency.
- Click the HFSS menu, select Analysis Setup, and then select Add Sweep.
- Enter the start and stop frequency.
- Validate the model by clicking Validate Checks.
- To analyze, on the HFSS menu, click Analyze.
- HFSS > Results > Create Report.
- On the solution list, click the solution containing the data you want to plot.
- Click on New Report.
Microstrip Simulation Steps in HFSS
- Create a new project in the HFSS terminal. On the project menu, insert an HFSS design.
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Creating the Substrate:
- Select the Draw Box button.
- Define the dimensions and location of the box.
- Define the material for the box as FR4-epoxy.
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Creating the Ground Plane:
- Draw an arbitrary-sized box or draw a rectangle.
- Fill in the location and dimensions.
- Assign it as PEC (Perfect Electric Conductor).
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Creating the Strip:
- Create another box or draw a rectangle with W = 3mm.
- Fill in the location and dimensions.
- Assign it as PEC.
- Draw a rectangle, fill in the position and dimensions, and define it as Port 1.
- Draw another rectangle, fill in the position and dimensions, and define it as Port 2.
- Click on the rectangles, then Assign Excitation, and finally Wave Port.
- Draw a radiation box and change the material to air.
- Click on HFSS > Analysis Setup > Add Solution Setup.
- Click on HFSS > Analysis Setup > Add Frequency Sweep.
- Click on HFSS > Validation Check.
- Click on HFSS > Analyze All.
- Click on HFSS > Results > Create S12 or S21 Report.

Microstrip Patch Antenna Design in HFSS
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Designing the Microstrip Patch:
- Draw the substrate with dimensions 15 x 15 x 1.588mm and assign the material (εr = 2.2).
- Draw the rectangular patch on the top face of the substrate with dimensions L=9.06mm, W=11.86mm.
- Draw a rectangle of width 3mm and name it the feed line.
- Unite the patch with the feed line.
- Draw an Airbox starting from the bottom of the substrate with the same length and width.
- Draw an Airbox below the substrate as well.
- Draw a rectangle on the XZ plane to define a wave port.
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Assigning Boundaries and Excitations:
- Select the bottom face of the substrate and assign the PEC boundary to it.
- Assign a Radiation Boundary to the top and bottom of the air boxes.
- Assign the PEC boundary to the patch and the feed line.
- Assign Wave Port Excitation to the rectangle on the XZ plane.
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Solution Setup:
- Set up an adaptive solution at 10GHz.
- Set up a sweep solution from 7-13 GHz with a step size of 0.25 GHz.
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Analyzing the Results:
- Click HFSS > Validation Check.
- Click HFSS > Analyze All.
- Click HFSS > Results > Create Report.
