Contents I. Introduction
Microstrip patch antennas consist of a thin radiating patch on one side of a dielectric substrate (with relative permittivity less than 10) and a ground plane on the other. The patch can be given any shape but regular shapes lend themselves to simpler analysis. They have been a subj ect to extensive research since 1970s [1]. They are light-weight, have thin profile and are easily integrated with microwave integrated circuits. These characteristics make them suitable for a wide range of applications in various fields like wireless sensors, biosensors, RFIDs, antenna arrays etc. But they also suffer from limitations, like narrow bandwidth, low power handling capacity, low gain [1]. Hence, the quest for a design with better characteristics is unending as limits on power consumption, bandwidth and complexity continue to present challenges.
