Planar antenna array with "Quasi-" Conductor-Backed CPW corporate feed network

In this paper, the authors propose a four-element microstrip antenna array structure with "Quasi-" Conductor-Backed Coplanar Waveguide (CBCPW) corporate feed network. At the beginning of the design process, a rectangular element is designed to resonate at 9.5 GHz (X-band). The following step includes the calculation of corporate feed network for an antenna array consisting of the previously designed rectangular elements to increase antenna gain. A "quasi-" CBCPW feeding method is applied to the antenna array to avoid the existence of higher modes at the antenna port. At the end, a four-element array is optimized to reduce the coupling effect between the antenna elements and increase efficiency and gain. The designed antenna has dimensions of 93.3 mm × 34.7 mm with the return loss of over 20 dB at the resonant frequency and gain of 13 dBi. A prototype has also been realized and measured to compare with the simulation and good results have been obtained.