Wideband Circularly Polarized Vertical Patch Antenna

A compact circularly polarized (CP) vertical patch antenna is presented that employs a microstrip to slot-line transition for a wideband operation. The antenna is composed of two vertical patches, which are shaped as helix to obtain a broadband CP performance. The loop structure and the vertical overlap configuration lead to significant size reduction as much as 48% when compared to that of the printed dual-loop antenna. Simulated results agree well with the measurement, showing that the antenna possesses a wide axial ratio $({\rm AR}≪ 3~{\rm dB})$ bandwidth of 28.5%, and a broad return loss $(S _{11} ≪ -10~{\rm dB})$ bandwidth of 37.8%. Also, it has symmetric radiation patterns and low cross-polarization levels in the broadside direction over the operating bandwidth. Moreover, the antenna gain is around 8 dBi, and it is very stable across the operating bandwidth.