Wide band antenna array using bowtie-shaped microstrip patch antenna

A bowtie-shaped electromagnetic coupling microstrip patch antenna (ECMSA) was exploited. The antenna is realized by stacking two substrate layers which are separated by a ground plane. The bowtie-shaped radiation patch is fed by a 50 Ω microstrip line, which is coupled to the microstrip feedline through a dumbbell-shaped aperture on the ground plane. The antenna exhibits a good performance with ease of fabrication. Comprised by the proposed ECMSA and a 1 to 4 equal-distribution power divider, a 4 elements linear array is fabricated and investigated. Along with ingenious efforts made to improve the impedance bandwidth, several techniques are also applied to broaden the beamwidth of the antenna array. Measurements of voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), radiation pattern, and gain are carried out in an anechoic chamber to validate the design process. Details of the numerical and experimental results are presented and discussed.