A Wideband Differential-Fed Slot Antenna Using Integrated Compact Balun With Matching Capability

This communication proposes a wideband differential-fed slot antenna that works in its dominant mode ( λ/2 mode). The antenna has a near omnidirectional radiation pattern with vertical polarization, which is designed for near-ground wireless sensor node applications. A compact integrated T-slot balun and a loop to T-slot feeding structure are introduced to realize the differential feeding; the bandwidth is expanded to 30.7% (2.2 GHz-3.0 GHz) with a 3.8 dB peak gain. A detailed matching method without using lumped elements is proposed, which can be applied to various types of RFIC chips. A prototype is built and measured. Its differential impedance, antenna patterns, and gain are consistent with the simulation results.