Printed compact lens antenna for UHF band applications

Abstract

A new microwave lens antenna suitable for ultra-high frequency (UHF: 300 MHz–3 GHz) band applications is proposed. An improved bow-tie antenna and a planar metamaterial lens design is presented. 5 dB improvement in boresight gain and a directive radiation pattern is achieved with the lens. The application of the designed antenna is demonstrated in a ground penetrating radar (GPR) experiment. The size of the antenna is very compact compared to other antennas found in the literature used for similar applications.