Dual-Band Circularly Polarized Stacked Annular-Ring Patch Antenna for GPS Application

A dual-band circularly polarized stacked annular-ring patch antenna is presented in this letter. This antenna operates at both the GPS L1 frequency of 1575 MHz and L2 frequency of 1227 MHz, whose frequency ratio is about 1.28. The proposed antenna is formed by two concentric annular-ring patches that are placed on opposite sides of a substrate. Wide axial-ratio bandwidths (larger than 2%), determined by 3-dB axial ratio, are achieved at both bands. The measured gains at 1227 and 1575 MHz are about 6 and 7 dBi, respectively, with the loss of substrate taken into consideration. Both simulated and measured results are presented. The method of varying frequency ratio is also discussed.