Size Reduction of Series‐Fed Two Dipole Array Antenna Using Top‐Loaded Elements

In this article, a method for size reduction of a series‐fed two dipole array (STDA) antenna using top‐loaded elements is presented. In order to reduce the lateral size of a conventional STDA antenna, rectangular patch‐shaped top loading is used for the two dipole elements of the STDA antenna and a grooved ground plane is used by adding a patch at both ends of the ground plane. The effects of varying the length and width of the rectangular patch‐shaped top loading on the antenna performances, such as the input reflection coefficient and the realized gain, are investigated. A proposed size‐reduced STDA antenna covering a frequency band ranging from 1.7 GHz to 2.7 GHz with a gain > 5 dBi is designed and fabricated on an FR4 substrate. The total width of the fabricated prototype of the proposed antenna is reduced by approximately 14.3% compared to the conventional STDA antenna, and it presents a 48.7% bandwidth in the range of 1.68–2.76 GHz and a stable gain of 5.6–6.0 dBi with minimal degradation. Moreover, a front‐to‐back ratio is improved by about 0.7–4.8 dB.