RF Design and Analysis of a Novel Elliptical Reduced Surface Wave Antenna for Wireless Applications

The Reduced Surface Wave (RSW) antenna is a relatively new class of microstrip patch antenna. An RSW antenna has the ability to drastically reduce both surface and lateral wave radiation, which leads to an increase in antenna efficiency, a reduction in mutual coupling, and a reduction of edge diffraction and scattering. One specific type of antenna displaying RSW characteristics is the Shorted Annular Elliptical Patch (SAEP) antenna. As a result, the SAEP antenna has shown a great deal of promise for wireless applications and as array elements. In this research, a novel enhanced bandwidth Shorted Annular Elliptical Patch (SAEP) structure specifically designed for wireless applications is presented. A Method of Moments (MoM) code serves as the basis for the antenna design and analysis. The MoM formulation is based on the Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE) and Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions. Bandwidth of the SAEP antenna was enhanced by designing the antenna to resonate over two overlapping frequency bands resulting in a broader operating frequency range. The prototype design was fabricated on Rogers Duroid board. Input impedance measurements were made using a vector network analyzer, and radiation pattern measurements were done in a compact antenna range.