Design of microstrip-FED proximity-coupled conducting-polymer patch antenna

A conducting-polymer patch antenna is fabricated using a screen-printing technique. Polyaniline (Pani) film of conductivity 6000 S/m, permittivity 6000, and thickness 100 mu m is used as a radiating patch to realize a microstrip-fed proximity-coupled Pani-patch antenna operating at around 10 GHz. Ansoft-HFSS was used as a design tool to validate the experimental measurements of the antenna. The measured and simulated results of the resonant frequency, return loss, gain, band-width, and radiation patterns are presented. The simulations and measurements are performed on both copper- and Pani-antennas for comparison. Details of the design considerations and the simulation and experimental results are presented and discussed. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.