There is a growing need for research initiatives for Wireless sensor networks with special emphasis on performance and efficiency of physical layer. The role of physical layer is clearly evident from the fact that it plays an important role in determining the overall quality of data communication. The issue of quality is also important in the context of saving energy of nodes involved in wireless sensor network communication. Poor quality of communication puts constraint on the already existing energy sensitive nature of wireless sensor networks. This research work is focused on investigation of critical parameters and their effects on overall communication quality in reference to Physical Layer. One of the key factors is antenna design and other factors include physical layer parameters including delay that can contribute critically in defining the quality. Various antenna designs are incorporated in ns-2 simulation environment along with different physical layer parameters and their impact is assessed and evaluated. This work also demonstrates the compatibility between ns-2, network simulation environment and CST, antenna design simulation environment.