2x2 Rectangular-Slot Microstrip Array Antenna for WLAN Applications

Abstract

This paper presents the design of a 2 x 2 microstrip array antenna suitable for wireless applications. Its basic structure is a microstrip comprising of three layers of which a 2x2 patches are etched on the top layer to act as the radiating element. The middle layer is a metal ground with rectangular slots and the bottom layer consists of a microstrip feedline. A larger bandwidth and the desired resonant frequency are achieved because of a reduction in the quality factor (Q) of the patch resonator, which is due to less energy being stored beneath the patch due to the rectangular arrangement of the slots. The characterization results of return loss, gain, and radiation pattern are presented consecutively. From the results, the simulated impedance bandwidth defined for S11<-10dB reaches 1850MHz (4.69-6.54GHz) representing 16.47%.