Accurate and Versatile Solutions for Probe–Fed Microstrip Patch Antennas and Arrays

Abstract

Full-wave solutions for probe–fed microstrip patch antennas and arrays have been receiving a great deal of attention in the literature recently [1–25], In this article, we review previous solutions and their limitations, and describe a very accurate and versatile solution that has been developed by the authors. Applications of our approach to several specific geometries have appeared [20–24] or will appear [25] in the literature. Therefore, this paper focuses on the general features of our technique and its relationship to other approaches. In particular, we discuss infinite phased arrays of probe–fed patches in detail, and give results showing the effect of a cover layer on array performance.