The dispersion diagram used for periodic patterned microstrip antenna analysis

Antennas are a key element in the wireless communication world of today, however, the significant disadvantage of microstrip antennas is its low bandwidth. In this work a microstrip planar antenna with enhanced bandwidth has been discussed. This antenna can be treated as an Ultra Wide Band (UWB) microstrip antenna due to the obtained frequency range of 12.9 GHz. The enhancement derives mainly from the structure with repetitive periodic pattern applied to the antenna. The unit cell composing the periodic pattern of the antenna was simulated to verify their dispersion characteristics. The dispersion diagram showed that the phase velocity and the group velocity are in opposite direction, which means that a medium loaded with an array made of repetition of the unit cells, supports left-handed waves (backward waves). From these findings, we conclude that the antenna has metamaterial property.