A compact high-gain microstrip patch antenna for dual band WLAN applications

High-gain antennas best for covering long distance communication applications. This paper describes a High-gain, dual band L-shaped Micro strip patch antenna is printed on a FR-4 substratefor WLAN systems, and has dimensions of 60 × 70 ×1.6mm³ with a ground plane. The dual-band operation is obtained by embedding a pair of L-shaped slots. This proposed antenna is simulated using a CST microwave studio suite™ 2010. The simulated results shown the proposed micro strip patch antenna achieves a frequency range from 5.0 GHz to 6.0 GHz (return loss less than -10dB), so maximum gain with the values of 8.4 and 7.1 dB are achieved in the lower and higher frequency band respectively. This antenna satisfies the requirements of wireless local area network (WLAN)IEEE802.11a (in the frequency range 5.15~5.35GHz, 5.725~5.825GHz) within a 2:1 VSWR. The return loss, radiation pattern, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), gain and the critical design parameters are also investigated in detail. Simulated results verify that the presented antenna is a good solution for dual-band WLAN applications.