A compact microtrip-fed planar dual-dipole antenna for broadband applications

Journal article

We present a broadband end-fire planar circuit antenna that is suitable for applications in microwave, millimetre (mm) and sub-millimetre (sub-mm) wavelengths. We have cascaded two dipoles of different lengths in series to broaden the bandwidth. Two printed directors and a truncated ground plane are used to achieve high front-to-back (F/B) gain ratio. The parallel stripline feeding the antenna’s drivers is connected directly to microstrip without an intermediate stage. This simple antenna design is easily integrated into microstrip circuits. In this paper, we focus on the design of a Ku-band antenna with 7 GHz bandwidth and F/B gain ratio of 18 dB. Design and analysis of the antenna were performed using rigorous electromagnetic simulations, and we experimentally validated the performance of the antenna by measuring the beam patterns and return loss of an antenna fabricated on a Roger RO 4350 printed circuit board. Finally, we present two unique example applications of the antenna in the sub-mm detectors area.

Authors: Tan, B; Withington, S; Yassin, G

• Publication status: In press
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IEEE
• Journal: IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters
• Publication date: 2015-01-01
• DOI: 10.1109/LAWP.2015.2462114
• ISSN: 1548-5757
• Keywords: Yagi-Uda arrays; microstrip antennas; ultra wideband antennas; phased arrays; planar antennas