A compact self-packaged patch antenna folded in rectangular waveguide shape

A self-packaged antenna obtained by folding a normal patch antenna into rectangular waveguide shape has been recently reported by the authors. In this work, by applying electric vias at the edge of the folded patch as well as inductive dents on the edge, the folded antenna dimension is greatly reduced. At the same radiation frequency of 2.4GHz, the vertical length of the newly proposed antenna is reduced from 40mm to 19mm which is 52.5% size reduction. The cross section area is 20mm × 20mm. Since this architecture allows PCB layout or other electronics inside the cavity of the folded antenna, it is considered a self-packaged structure. If designed carefully, this antenna may take zero footprint and offers electromagnetic interference shielding to the PCB enclosed in its cavity. Meanwhile, this antenna does not require additional impedance matching circuits, which makes it very useful for compact devices. A quasi-omni-directional radiation pattern is obtained. Theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, fabrication and measurement are performed. Good agreement is observed between simulation and measurement data.