Front to back ratio improvement of a micro strip patch antenna using dual-band isolated soft surface structures

Abstract

This article presents a microstrip patch antenna with a novel soft surface structure. The proposed soft surface structure is useful for suppressing surface waves in a dielectric substrate at dual frequency band (Bluetooth and Wimax). By removing the ground plane edges of the patch antenna and forming soft surfaces within the bare substrate, the front-to-back ratio of a patch antenna is significantly improved. The proposed new isolated soft surface structure does not share the ground plane of a patch and it consists of two loops with a corner edged via-hole. When the three different size of isolated unit cells are used, the front-to-back ratio of the fabricated patch antenna improved from about −18.5 to −22.47 dB, compared to a conventional patch antenna without cells. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:2396–2400, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26265