A transparent water dielectric patch antenna

A novel transparent water dielectric patch antenna fed by an L-shaped probe is proposed. In contrast to reported water antennas, the proposed design has the operation mechanism similar to the conventional metallic patch antenna. A study on the bandwidth reveals that wide bandwidth can be achieved for the antenna by choosing a thick supporting substrate between the water patch and the ground plane. A prototype is fabricated. An impedance bandwidth of 8.0%, maximum gain of 7.3 dBi, radiation efficiency of 70%, and symmetrically unidirectional patterns with low backlobe and low cross polarization levels are obtained. Furthermore, the transparent water dielectric patch antenna can be conveniently integrated with solar cells to realize a dual-function design.