Specific Resonant Properties of Non-Symmetrical Microwave Antennas

Abstract

The aircraft avionics modernization process often requires optimization of the aircraft itself. Scale models of aircraft and their antennas are frequently used to solve this problem. Here we present interesting properties of the resonant antennas, which were discovered serendipitously during the measurement process of some microwave antennas’ models as part of an aircraft modernization project. Aircraft microwave antennas are often designed as non-symmetric flat microwave antennas. Due to their thin, low and longitudinally elongated outer profile, they are also called tail antennas. An analysis of the resonant properties of non-symmetric antennas was performed in the band from 1 GHz to 4 GHz. The length of the antenna models ranged from 2 cm to 7 cm. The width of the antennas, together with the thickness of the strip, was always a constant parameter for one measured set of six antennas. In the measurement and subsequent analysis, attention was focused on the first-series resonant frequency (λ/4) of each antenna. During the evaluation of the resonance parameters, the flat microwave antenna models showed specific resonant properties different from those of conventional cylindrical microwave antennas. This article aims to inform professionals about these unknown specific properties of non-symmetrical antennas. The results of experimental measurements are analyzed theoretically and then visually compared using graphs so that the reader can more easily understand the properties observed. These surprising observations open up some new possibilities for the design, implementation, and use of flat microwave antennas, as found in modern aircraft, automobiles, etc.