A meshed multiband solar patch array antenna

In this paper, a meshed multiband solar patch array antenna, consisting of a polycrystalline silicon solar panel working as a ground plane whilst generating a DC power output of 1.48 W as a result of the photovoltaic effect with a measured solar efficiency of 14.95%, is proposed for GSM 900/1800/1900, UMTS 1900, 3.5 GHz band WiMAX and C-band applications. The proposed solar patch array antenna introduces a further potential of solar cells to be effectively used as embedded elements within communication systems, raising the awareness of solar energy and offering a practical solution to the requirement for the incorporation of solar cells/panels with microwave antennas within solar powered autonomous communication systems suffering from increasing dimensions due to the separate involvement of solar panels and microwave antennas.