A high-gain printed antenna array with directional pattern for WiFi application

In this paper, a 2×2 antenna array operating at WiFi band has been proposed. The antenna elements are fed with opposite phase to enhance antenna gain. A power divider with phase shift has been designed to feed the antenna array. The antenna works at frequencies about 5.8 GHz, with −10dB bandwidth of 5.64-6.08 GHz. The simulated maximum gain of the array reaches to 11.46 dB.

I. Introduction

Antenna array with high gain has wide applications in wireless communication. Printed antenna have virtues of low profile and easy fabrication which are attractive to form conformal antennas mounted on vehicles. An antenna element with a full ground plane is a good candidate to form a high gain antenna array due to its directional pattern. However, it has narrow bandwidth owing to the capcitance effect between the ground plane and radiation patch. Coupling feed technique has been used in [1]–[2] to improve antenna bandwidth. Magnetic dipole is also an effective way to improve bandwidth [3]–[4]. An antenna with wide bandwidth may have unsymmetrical structure and tilted pattern which makes it uneasy to obtain high gain.