Abstract
A design technique is described for an arbitrarily shaped planar microstrip antenna array with improved radiation efficiency. In order to fully utilize the limited antenna aperture, several basic modules are proposed from which we construct the array. A consideration of the aperture shape shows that with several practical examples a proper combination of these basic modules not only allows the convenient design of arbitrarily-shaped microstrip array, but also helps to improve the aperture radiation efficiency. To confirm the feasibility of the approach, a circular array with 256 elements was constructed and fabricated. Both computed and measured aperture radiation results are compared and these demonstrate that the design technique is effective for arbitrarily-shaped planar microstrip arrays.
Highlights
With the rapid deployment of wireless communications systems during recent years, it is becoming imperative for the radiofrequency subsystem to be multifunctional as well as have smaller size
The radial line slot antenna (RLSA) is commonly suitable for a circular space design, where the waveguide slot array antenna needs an additional power divider, which may not be suitable for the arbitrarily shaped array designs
A circular array was designed in [10] for mobile TV reception applications, where three kinds of collinear subarrays are specially designed to be compatible with the curved edge, and an extra feed network is added to combine these subarrays together to provide a peak antenna gain of 27.4 dBi
Summary
With the rapid deployment of wireless communications systems during recent years, it is becoming imperative for the radiofrequency subsystem to be multifunctional as well as have smaller size. This is especially true for satellite communications applications where weight and functionality are at a premium. Traditional parabolic or reflector antennas have a high radiation efficiency, and they have been employed successfully in current satellite communication systems [1, 2]. They have a large profile and high volume due to their support structures. A commercial product for mobile satellite communication in Ku-band, described in [13], adopts flat antenna boards to chamfer shapes so that the antenna can rotate mechanically in elevation without interfering with any International Journal of Antennas and Propagation
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