Design of a Compact Microstrip Decoupled Array

A one-dimensional mono-pulse microstrip antenna plays an important role in target detection, tracking, recognition and imaging. However, feeding and coupling are the main reasons for the large size of the mono-pulse antenna, which is not conducive to miniaturization and integration. A miniaturized mono-pulse antenna is proposed to reduce the size and improve the integration in antenna design. The proposed antenna has a more compact size and good isolation, with a well-maintained radiation pattern and zero depth. The antenna unit size is 0.19 lambda(0) x 0.19 lambda(0) x 0.006 lambda(0). The overall antenna size is 78 mm x 78 mm x 1.48 mm (0.63 lambda(0) x 0.63 lambda(0) x 0.0012 lambda(0)). In this communication, a general decoupling feeding network for two-element microstrip array antennas is also designed. Experiment validations confirm that the operating frequency of the designed antenna system is at 2.45 GHz with a gain of 5.54 dBi. The return loss of the sum and difference ports is 16.14 dB and 15.2 dB, respectively. The isolation of the ports is 36.6 dB. The proposed miniaturized mono-pulse antenna is approximately 64% smaller in size compared to previous versions.

Automated summary

A one-dimensional mono-pulse microstrip antenna is essential for target detection, tracking, recognition, and imaging. However, the large size caused by feeding and coupling hinders miniaturization and integration. To address this issue, a miniaturized mono-pulse antenna with a compact size and good isolation is proposed.