Characterization of Slotted Microstrip Patch Array Antenna for UAV Communication System

In addition to have high gain and wide bandwidth, the antenna used for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) communication system must consider some factors such as drag reduction and aerodynamic profile. Therefore, the shape of antenna should be low profile, compact size, and flat shape. In this paper, an array configuration of slotted microstrip patch antennas works at the frequency of 5.3 GHz is designed and characterized for a UAV communication system. The array antenna is configured by 4 × 8 patch elements for obtaining the high gain, while a pair of slots upon each patch element and a proximity coupled feeding are employed for attaining the wide bandwidth. Two layers of 1.6 mm thick NPC H220A dielectric substrate are utilized for the design as well as the deployment. Based on the optimum design, the array configuration is realized for experimental characterization. The measurement results of realized prototype demonstrate the suitability of a slotted microstrip patch array antenna to operate at the frequency of 5.3 GHz with the working bandwidth of 953 MHz and the gain of more than 8.5 dBi. In overall, the performances of slotted microstrip patch array antenna are quite good and satisfiable the requirements specified in UAV communication system.