Bandwidth enhancement of bow-tie microstrip antennas using integrated reactive loading

By integrating a microstrip structure of cascaded microstrip-line sections into a bow-tie microstrip path, compact broadband operation of microstrip antennas can be obtained. The cascaded microstrip-line sections serve as a reactive load for the bow-tie patch, and its optimal dimensions for broadband operation have been experimentally determined in this study. The proposed antenna, with a patch linear dimension 15% smaller and an operating bandwidth two times larger, compared to a corresponding conventional rectangular microstrip antenna, has been implemented. Details of the experimental results are presented.