A highly-efficient planar dielectric radiating structure

A novel highly-efficient planar dielectric antenna is presented in this work. As shown in Figure 1, the antenna consists of a thin layer of high-permittivity dielectric attached to a low-loss dielectric substrate. The thickness of the high-permittivity layer is much smaller than a wavelength in free space (i.e., in the micrometer range) and it can be precisely fabricated using screen printed ceramic thick-film technologies. The antenna is fed by proximity-coupled microstrip line. The high-permittivity layer is mainly utilized to change the boundary conditions and achieve a new radiating mode. Theoretical investigations are performed to derive closed-form expressions for the resonant frequencies of the antenna. Results on the antenna performance, including impedance bandwidth, radiation patterns, and efficiency, will be demonstrated, discussed, and compared to microstrip patch antennas and conventional dielectric resonator antennas in the conference.