| A radar system that operates in the high X-band and low-Ku band is being developed for use on a miniature unmanned air vehicle (Mini-UAV). For the system to meet electrical and weight requirements a custom high bandwidth (15% or more), linearly polarized, low profile antenna is required. Resonant microstrip patch antennas are generally linearly polarized and have a low profile construction. However, like all resonant antennas, microstrip patch antennas have low bandwidth, usually around 3% to 5%. Due to the other favorable characteristics of patch antennas, large amounts of research have been performed to increase the their bandwidth. This thesis examines the use of an array of four identical passive patches symmetrically positioned above a fifth driven patch antenna buried between two dielectric substrates. The four patches are excited by coupling with the driven patch. The coupling between the patches also results in an increase in bandwidth. Simulations using a commercial finite element method solver were performed to find an antenna design to potentially meet the Mini-UAV bandwidth requirements. The simulated design was then fabricated and experimentally tested to verify the simulation results. The simulation and experimental procedure and results will be presented in this thesis. |
