Enhancing the Efficiency of Compact Patch Antennas Composed of Split-Ring Resonators by Using Lumped Capacitors

A new type of small patch antenna with low profile and enhanced radiation efficiency is proposed in this letter. The antenna is realized with a double layer of low-permittivity material (polypropylene, ε_r = 2.2). The lower layer is used for the feeding of the antenna, and split ring resonators (SRRs) are printed on top of the upper layer acting as radiating elements. The compactness is provided by shorting the rings to the ground plane with two metal pins. Although this antenna presented initially a dual band of operation, it has been demonstrated how the use of a lumped capacitor in the inner ring can increase the total radiation efficiency of the antenna performing a single-band response. Therefore, when the two original operation frequency bands coincide, a manufactured prototype of the antenna demonstrated a measured radiation efficiency of 73% that can be provided at the operation frequency of 1.29 GHz.