AbstractBroadband operation of a probe‐fed planar patch antenna with a short probe pin and a conducting cylinder transition is demonstrated. With the proposed feed design, the impedance bandwidth of a planar patch antenna with a thick air–layer substrate can be significantly enhanced. Prototypes of the proposed antenna with an impedance bandwidth (1 : 1.15 VSWR) suitable for applications in DCS cellular system (1710–1880 MHz) base station have been successfully constructed and studied. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 31: 282–284, 2001.