Novel Ku-Band Series-Fed Patch Antenna Array With Enhanced Impedance and Radiation Bandwidth

In this paper, a novel design of a patch antenna with two symmetrical slits and two closely spaced resonances is proposed. A novel patch antenna demonstrates a great flexibility in impedances adjustment at both resonances that are of a great importance in the design of series-fed antenna arrays with a large number of radiating elements. Printed antenna with two linear arrays consisting of 16 serially fed patches is designed and fabricated. Measured results agree very well with simulations. The antenna operation frequency range is 15.6-17.3 GHz that is 10.3% of a relative bandwidth. The measured antenna gain is 19.5 dBi with a small variation of 1.2 dB within the whole operating bandwidth, sidelobe levels are below -22 dB in the H-plane and -11.5 dB in the E-plane. The half-power beamwidth is less than 8° and 40°, in H- and E-planes, respectively. The antenna array exhibits the enhanced impedance and radiation bandwidth in comparison with similar antenna structures and is very suitable for various radar applications, notably for compact, low-cost frequency-modulated continuous wave systems.