Compact Ultra-wideband Microstrip Antenna with Metamaterials

An improved compact ultra-wideband (UWB) microstrip antenna with metamaterials is proposed. The total size is slightly reduced and the measured impedance bandwidth operates from 3.84 to 22.77 GHz for a return loss of less than ?10 dB. Compared with the original patch antenna, the bandwidth of this antenna is about six times broader. Moreover, the antenna has an average gain of 6.2 dB, which is 1.2 dB larger than the original one. Both strong radiation in the horizontal direction and practical characteristics are observed. Thus, this antenna would have some specific applications for UWB wireless communications in the future.