A C-band 16×16 array antenna for microwave communication

For miniaturization the microwave communication equipment, a miniaturized and low cost array antenna is proposed. A 2-layer of patch antenna unit is designed to broaden the bandwidth of the microstrip antenna. The CST MWS is used to simulate and optimize the antenna structure. Based on the designed antenna unit, an array antenna is proposed to achieve high gain, and the simulation and optimization are conducted. The array antenna prototype is fabricated on dielectric substrate by using PCB processing technic based on the simulation results. And the measurement for the array antenna is carried out, the measured results can be coincide with the simulation, the gain of the antenna is about 27dBi, and the S11 parameter of the antenna is less than -10dB in the frequency range.