Unitary approach to the design of cavity-backed probe-fed antennas

This contribution presents a full-wave analysis and the pertaining design strategies for cavity-backed and probe-fed circular microstrip patch antennas. The analysis procedure is based on the mode matching method that was consistently employed for characterizing the feeding circuit, the matching network (identified with the microstrip patch) and the radiating rectangular aperture. The modes of the non-canonical waveguide section are calculated by applying the boundary integral-resonant mode expansion technique. The design approach is based on classical mathematical programming algorithms, and aims at optimizing either the scattering parameters of the antenna or the admittance parameters of the matching structure.