Advancement in Microstrip Antennas with Recent Applications

In telecommunication, there are several types of microstrip antennas the most common of which is the microstrip patch antenna or patch antenna. Microstrip patch antennas have become the favorite of antenna designers because of its versatility and advantages of planar profile, ease of fabrication, compatibility with integrated circuit technology, and conformability with a shaped surface. A patch antenna is a narrowband, wide-beam antenna fabricated by etching the antenna element pattern in metal trace bonded to an insulating dielectric substrate, such as a printed circuit board, with a continuous metal layer bonded to the opposite side of the substrate which forms a ground plane. A single patch antenna provides a maximum directive gain of around 6-9 dBi. Common microstrip antenna shapes are square, rectangular, circular and elliptical, but any continuous shape is possible. Some patch antennas do not use a dielectric substrate and instead are made of a metal patch mounted above a ground plane using dielectric spacers; the resulting structure is less rugged but has a wider bandwidth. Because such antennas have a very low profile, are mechanically rugged and can be shaped to conform to the curving skin of a vehicle, they are often mounted on the exterior of aircraft and spacecraft, or are incorporated into mobile radio communications devices. Microstrip antennas are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and design because of the simple 2-dimensional physical geometry. They are usually employed at UHF and higher frequencies because the size of the antenna is directly tied to the wavelength at the resonant frequency. The book, entitled Advancement in Microstrip Antennas with Recent Applications, discusses basic and advanced concepts of microstrip antennas, including design procedure and recent applications. It shall be of immense valuable tool for electrical and computer engineers and other scientists well versed in microstrip antenna technology.