Title :
Front-to-Back Ratio Enhancement of Planar Printed Antennas by Means of Artificial Dielectric Layers
Author :
Syed, W.H. ; Neto, Augusto
Author_Institution :
Telecommun. Dept., Delft Univ. of Technol., Delft, Netherlands
Abstract :
In this paper, we investigate the use of artificial dielectric layers (ADLs) as a mean to enhance front-to-back radiation ratio in printed, planar antennas. These artificially engineered substrates can be designed to be anisotropic and present high dielectric constants for the waves propagating orthogonal to metallic layers. However, the dielectric constants is as low as that of the host material for the waves that propagates towards grazing direction, and thus surface waves due to multiple reflections at the dielectric air interface are not enhanced. A simple qualitative description of this concept is followed by the presentation of a experimentally verified prototype which clearly highlights the potential advantages of the proposed ADL for antenna applications.
Keywords :
antenna radiation patterns; dielectric materials; electromagnetic wave propagation; microstrip antennas; permittivity; planar antennas; ADL; artificial dielectric layers; dielectric air interface; dielectric constant; front-to-back radiation ratio; front-to-back ratio enhancement; metallic layers; planar printed antennas; surface waves; wave propagation; Dielectric constant; Slabs; Slot antennas; Substrates; Surface waves; Front-to-back ratio; integrated antennas; printed antennas; surface waves;
Journal_Title :
Antennas and Propagation, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TAP.2013.2275915