Miniature wide-band microstrip patch antennas for GSM applications : A parametric study and optimum design

Microstrip Antennas (MSAs) consist of a metallic radiating patch on one side of thin dielectric substrate and other side is ground plane. Most important advantages of MSAs are low profile, light weight and compatibility with integrated circuit technology. MSAs are used in mobile communication, satellite communication, radar, direct broadcasting, global positioning systems and remote sensing. The major limitations of microstrip antennas are their narrow impedance bandwidth, small gain and low power handling capability. In this paper, we designed full and half U slot MSAs (0.8 to 1.4 GHz) with shorting wall used between non radiating edge of MSAs and ground plane. The behavior of full and half structure is similar with slight change in center frequency. The feed is optimized in such a way to get the maximum bandwidth. We have studied effect of thickness of substrate, length, width and dielectric constant on the performance of full U slot MSAs. The U-slot and Half U-slot MSAs with shorting wall has been simulated in IE3D and experimental results are verified on Agilent VNA E5062A.