Analysis of microstrip antennas on carbon fiber composite material

In this paper a truncated corner rectangular microstrip antenna (TCRMA) is analyzed in the presence of carbon fiber composite (CFC) material. Simplified carbon fiber composite models are proposed and the analyses are performed by the electromagnetic simulator Computer Simulation Technologies (CST). Theoretical and experimental results of return loss, axial ratio, input impedance and radiation pattern for the antenna located on the aluminum and CFC plates are presented and compared. The results show that the proposed models can be used as a good approximation of the CFC sample and that the CFC material is a feasible alternative instead of aluminum for antenna applications on complex structures such as ships or airplanes.