Design of load-bearing antenna structures by embedding technology of microstrip antenna in composite sandwich structure

Electrically and structurally effective antenna structure is developed for the next generation of surface technology for communication, in which the structural surface itself becomes an antenna. The basic design concept is a sandwich structure composed of composite laminates and Nomex honeycomb, with which microstrip antenna is integrated. Composite materials with high electrical loss must not reduce antenna efficiency. Stacked-patch microstrip antenna is preferred for wideband performance. An open condition that defines a position of outer facesheet is exploited in order to allow an antenna into the sandwich structure without loss of antenna performances. Measured electrical performances of fabricated structure show that the gain is more improved than original antenna and the bandwidth is as wide as specified in our requirements. With the open condition, wideband antenna can be integrated with mechanical structures without reducing any electrical performances, as confirmed experimentally here.