Radiation Enhancement for Standard Patch Antennas Using a Loosely Grooved Ground Plane

In this letter, we present by analysis, simulation, and experimental demonstration that a loosely configured grooved ground plane is able to significantly enhance the gain of a standard patch antenna with a flat, electrically large ground plane. Simulation and measurements show that along with the enhancement of the gain by up to 10.2 dB at 10.45 GHz, other antenna characteristics, such as the backward radiation and the axial ratio, are also improved to a certain extent. The proposed patch antenna with loosely grooved ground plane provides an alternative to the use of a patch array to achieve higher gain that cannot be accomplished by an ordinary standalone patch antenna.