A Wideband VHF/UHF Discone-Based Antenna

Few low-profile VHF/UHF antennas have been reported so far although they are demanded in many applications such as aircraft communication systems. In this letter, a low-profile wideband VHF/UHF antenna based on the conventional discone antenna is proposed. It is composed of a discone antenna that is flattened with additions of a cavity-backed discone, a short-circuited configuration, and a two-plate top structure. The simulation results show that the addition of the three structures makes the proposed antenna low-profile and wideband. A prototype with optimized geometrical parameters was fabricated and tested. The measurements show that the prototype has a VSWR bandwidth of 76% from 200 to 447 MHz, a height of only
$0.087\lambda_{\max}$
, and a radiation pattern of omnidirectivity. The designed antenna has great potential for its flush-mount capability.