The effect of a dielectric cover on the input impedance of rectangular microstrip antennas

The effect of the thickness and relative permittivity of a dielectric cover on a rectangular microstrip antenna is analyzed. The method is based upon the integral equation formulation. The input impedance of the rectangular microstrip antenna is calculated as a function of the thickness and relative permittivity of a dielectric cover, after solving the integral equations by Galerkin's method. Computed results for the input impedance are presented and some are compared with the available experimental data. It is shown from the computed results that the resonant frequency and input impedance are sensitive to variations of the cover parameters. Because of the limited bandwidth presented by the rectangular microstrip antenna, the effect of the dielectric cover has to be carefully taken into account in the design of the antenna.