Compact broadband gap-coupled rectangular microstrip antennas.

Systematic investigations have been presented by splitting a single rectangular microstrip patch into equal, smaller elements along the width, keeping the length same. Of these, one of the elements is fed while others are gap coupled to its nonradiating edges. The rectangular patch is gradually splitted into 2–14 equal, smaller elements and in between coupling gaps are optimized for maximum bandwidth. Parametric study for the effect of gap and feed point location, along with radiation pattern, has also been carried out. A maximum bandwidth increment of over 10 times, compared with that of the original single rectangular patch is obtained for 14 numbers of equal strips. As the additional resonators (at same resonance frequency) are obtained from the original patch itself, the overall configuration remains compact. Experiments have been carried out, which are in good agreement with simulated results. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 48: 2382–2384, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21976 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]