Square Slot Loaded Micro Strip Fed Multi Octave Band Radiator

Abstract

Ultra-wideband antennas covering the frequency range of 3.1-10.6 GHz. have been reported extensively in the literature. Considering tactical band of 6-18GHz is important to cover the band of Communications, Radar and EW applications, Vivaldi radiators have been widely used for this purpose. The Vivaldi antenna is essentially a 3-dimensional antenna and there is a need for a planar printed unidirectional antenna covering 6-18GHz. In this paper, the ultra-wide band antenna design methodology has been adopted and an attempt has been made to cover the frequency range of 6-18GHz. Two types of antennas have been designed, analyzed and implemented, namely the bidirectional and the unidirectional ones. In simulations, the bi-directional antenna has yielded a VSWR of less than 2.1 over 2-18GHz. Both the antennas showed satisfactory radiation patterns. The antennas have been evaluated in measurements over 6-18GHz. The unidirectional antenna however has yielded satisfactory radiation patterns over 6-15GHz only. These antennas have been designed using HFSS simulations and implemented in hardware. The practical patterns in both cases are reported.