Broad-band suspended probe-fed plate antenna with low cross-polarization levels

A new feeding scheme for enhancing the radiation performance of a suspended plate antenna with a broad bandwidth is presented experimentally. By means of a probe-fed half-wavelength strip, the high cross-polarization levels of the suspended plate antenna are suppressed effectively, which result mainly from the undesired excitation of higher-order modes. Measurements on the antenna with the proposed feeding structure have demonstrated the good performances with a high ratio of co- to cross-polarization levels and stable radiation patterns across a 20% bandwidth for VSWR≤2 : 1.