A New High-Gain Microstrip Yagi Array Antenna With a High Front-to-Back (F/B) Ratio for WLAN and Millimeter-Wave Applications

A new printed microstrip Yagi array antenna is proposed that can achieve a high gain and low backside radiation for various applications up to the millimeter-wave frequency range. The high front-to-back (F/B) ratio (up to 15 dB) is attributed to the constructive interference that takes place between the individual printed Yagi arrays in the design. Through the spacing of the elements, the directivity (between 9-11.5 dBi) and the F/B ratio can be altered to suit the application of interest. The operational principles of this design are discussed to give insight on the radiation mechanism of the antenna. An initial design at around 32.5 GHz is presented to show the performance capabilities of this configuration. An impedance bandwidth of 8.3% can be achieved around this frequency. Then, a parametric analysis is conducted to estimate the significance of the design parameters that affect the antenna's performance. Finally, measured return loss and radiation pattern performance at 5.2 GHz is displayed to validate the principles and simulated results of the design. The measured impedance bandwidth of 10% is achieved. The F/B ratio is 15 dB which is larger than values previously published by 5-10 dB. Additionally, a gain of 10.7 dBi is observed. To the author's knowledge, this is the first microstrip Yagi array antenna presented that has a high gain and a high F/B ratio designed using simple fabrication techniques