Meshed Stacked LTCC Antenna for Space Application

Meshed conductors have been used to realize antenna systems. Previous studies have concentrated on single layer patch designs. In this paper, different mesh configurations of stacked meshed patch antennas are studied; when both patches are meshed, when only the top patch is meshed, when only the bottom patch is meshed and when both patches are continuous solid metal. In addition, the effect of conventional slot loading on stacked meshed patches is also investigated through parametric studies. The designs are fed by coaxial feed probe in the lower patch. The results showed that the stacked mesh performance in terms of the resonant frequency, return loss, gain and radiation efficiency can be comparable to that of a typical, continuous metal stacked design. Both patches are 20.86 mm $\times21.46$ mm. The maximum absolute gain and radiation efficiency of the solid stacked patch were 5.05 dBi and 91.6% while those of the meshed stacked patch were 5.22 dBi and 91.8% respectively. The measurements of stacked meshed design showed that the antenna was resonant at 2.52 GHz with a reflection coefficient in dB of −23.69 dB. It has a 40 MHz −10 dB impedance bandwidth (1.5%) from 2.50 GHz to 2.54 GHz. The antenna exhibited a maximum measured gain of −0.12 dBi and cross polarization of 10 dB at boresight. An equivalent circuit model for the design was also proposed. The antenna was intended for space application, and therefore it was implemented using Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology as the LTCC properties can withstand the harsh environment of space. Although the meshed lines increase the line impedance and therefore can result in increased losses, this can be mitigated by careful mesh selection. Lastly, the meshed design allows for better bonding between the LTCC tape layers.