A stacked patch antenna design with strict bandpass filter characteristics [radiometer applications]

This paper presents a novel design concept for a compact antenna which exhibits improved passband characteristics resembling those of an RF filter. The steep rise in reflection coefficient at the band edges of a properly designed antenna may eliminate the need for an RF filter to reject out-of-band signals which are close to the frequency band of interest. The stacked 4-patch implementation was designed as a receiving antenna for an L-band radiometer; however, antennas based on this concept could be designed for other applications, either receiving or transmitting.