Circularly Polarized Planar Antennas With Enhanced Characteristics for Contemporary Wireless Communication Use Cases: A Review

This article presents a comprehensive discussion of different types of circularly polarized (CP) planar antennas used for various contemporary wireless applications including biomedical, RFID, 5G, IoT, etc. The analysis gives a distinct idea related to the use of CP antennas with pertinent factors to overcome various communication challenges like multipath loss, managing interference and coexistence, integration into new platforms, and cost-effectiveness. A sound understanding of the implementations as well as design considerations has been inferred by classifying and comparing several CP antenna types based on their usage. From a variety of application perspectives, the methods utilized to improve these antenna’s crucial properties like axial ratio bandwidth and beam width are addressed and compared. The article is expected to provide essential recommendations to the antenna designers in terms of the selection of suitable patch configuration (like the inclusion of defects/slot, parasitic elements with main radiator, shorting pins), feeding mechanisms and substrate for their implementation in GPS, GNSS, Wi-Fi, satellite along with the above-mentioned applications.