Radiation Pattern Improvement of Patch Antenna Array Elements

A new structure is proposed to improve the performance of patch array element radiation pattern. This structure consists of four metalized via arrays located around the patch and a rectangular metal ring patch. In patch array antennas, the radiation performance of array elements can be significantly degraded by the diffraction of surface waves at the edge of the substrate and other array elements. The rectangular metal ring, metalized via arrays, and the antenna’s slot plane form a metal cavity that prevents energy from the patch element within the substrate from propagating to other elements and the edge of the substrate. Additionally, this structure forms a high-impedance surface in the array to suppress surface wave propagation. Simulation results indicate that using this structure can significantly improve the radiation pattern of the array element.