Performance of microstrip patch antenna on a reinforced carbon fiber composite ground plane

Abstract

The performance of a microstrip patch antenna operating against a carbon fiber composite ground plane is investigated and compared with results for a copper ground, both numerically and experimentally.An electromagnetic model (EM) of the composite antenna is developed using Microwave Studio for numerical analysis. The ground plane is made of continuous reinforced carbon fiber composite composite, which has anisotropic conductivity. The direction of the fibers in the ground plane affects the current distribution, and hence the impedance bandwidth and the matching characteristics of the antenna. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:1328-1331, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25976 Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.