Investigation of electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures for antenna pattern control

In this paper we investigate the use of a variety of EBG structures as components of a number of different antenna designs, with a view to assessing their pattern control capabilities. The EBG configurations investigated include both the one- and two-dimensional geometries comprising of dielectric slabs and rods as well as air pockets in the dielectric. The antenna types used to investigate the EBG materials are microstrip patch, dielectric resonator (DRA) and tapered slot (TSA) types. We compare the numerical simulation results for the gain patterns of original antennas (no EBG) with those that have EBG materials. The studies show that it is not a trivial task to control the radiation characteristics of planar and three-dimensional antennas described in this paper by using EBG structures.