Optimized Ground Plane Engineering for High-Performance Microstrip Antennas
Keywords:
Bandwidth Enhancement, Defective Ground Plane, High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS), Microstrip antenna, Return lossAbstract
This study integrates a Defective Ground Structure (DGS) to overcome the inherent low gain and narrow bandwidth limitations of conventional microstrip patch antennas. Improving antenna performance is the main goal, especially with regard to bandwidth, return loss, impedance matching, and radiation efficiency. The FR4 substrate used for the design and fabrication of the microstrip patch antenna had a dielectric constant (εᵣ) of 4.4 and a thickness of 1.6 mm. The High-Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) and experimental measurements were used to assess the performance of a rectangular DGS that was etched into the ground plane in order to disturb the distribution of surface current. With a bandwidth of 1.22 GHz, a simulated radiation efficiency of approximately 94%, and a return loss of −39.9 dB, the results show resonance at 2.45 GHz. Excellent impedance matching is confirmed by the S11 parameter, and 3D gain and directivity patterns display a focused directional profile with a peak gain of approximately 1.58 dB and directivity of approximately 1.84 dB. The analysis of surface current distribution demonstrates how DGS affects current paths, which enhances performance. These results imply that the design is appropriate for contemporary wireless applications like Wi-Fi, IoT, and next-generation communication systems since DGS incorporation provides a workable method for getting around microstrip antenna constraints. In order to further improve efficiency and adaptability, future research may investigate different substrate materials and DGS configurations.
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