A Compact, Low-Profile Log-Periodic Meandered Dipole Array Antenna with an Artificial Magnetic Conductor

Abstract

A compact and low-profile log-periodic meandered dipole array (LPMDA) antenna with an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) is proposed. For compactness, a meander line configuration is implemented with dipole elements and optimized using a genetic algorithm (GA) to realize the LPMDA antenna. As a result, a size reduction of approximately 30% is achieved as compared to a conventional log-periodic dipole array antenna. To enhance the gain characteristics, the AMC ground plane configuration is realized with 9 × 9 unit cells for the LPMDA antenna. Two prototypes of the proposed LPMDA antennas with and without an AMC are fabricated and measured to verify its performance. The measured -10 dB reflection ratio bandwidths are 2.56: 1 (0.85-2.18 GHz) and 2.34: 1 (0.92-2.16 GHz) for the proposed LPMDA antennas with and without the AMC, respectively. The gain at the main beam direction within the operating frequency bandwidth is significantly improved from 3.94-7.17 dBi to 7.86-10.01 dBi by applying the AMC.