Enhanced-Gain Microstrip Antenna Using Engineered Magnetic Superstrates

This letter presents a novel engineered magnetic superstrate designed to enhance the gain and efficiency of a microstrip patch antenna without any substantial increase in the profile of the whole structure (the antenna with the superstrate). The modified split ring resonator (MSRR) inclusions are used in the design of the engineered magnetic superstrate. Numerical full-wave simulations as well as analytical models are used to analyze the entire radiating system. Considering as an example a microstrip antenna operating within the UMTS band, the broadside gain of the antenna was improved by 3.4 dB and the efficiency was improved by 17% when using the engineered superstrate. The total height of the proposed structure, antenna with superstrate, is lambda
₀
/7, where lambda
₀
is the free-space wavelength at the resonance frequency of the antenna.