Time dispersion measurements using a SSFIP base station antenna

A novel type of base station antenna using strip-slot-foam-inverted-patch (SSFIP) arrays is proposed. The SSFIP configuration offers many advantages. The microstrip technology used in the feed network allows to tailor the antenna pattern to a wide range of applications. The antenna is very flat (about 4 cm thick), and thus can be unobtrusively mounted on a wall. Unlike conventional microstrip antennas, the SSFIP antennas have a broad bandwidth ( approximately 13%) suitable for mobile radio and personal communications applications. Measurements in cellular radio environments with a seven-element SSFIP array are compared to other conventional dipole array antennas. It is shown that the SSFIP array offers an alternative to conventional base station antennas.<
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