Gain enhancement of a printed leaf shaped UWB antenna using dual FSS layers and experimental study for ground coupling GPR applications

摘要

A printed leaf shaped compact (40 mm x 30 mm x 0.8 mm) UWB antenna added with dual frequency selective surfaces (FSS) of dimension 44 mm x 44 mm x 1.6 mm is proposed. The FSS layers having 4 x 4 array in each can provide maximum gain of 8.7 dBi and gain enhancement by 2-4.5 dBi in the antenna bandwidth of 3-14.64 GHz. The proposed design also ensures maximum radiation in the broadside direction with average radiation efficiency of 85%. The antenna bandwidth and group delay responses were measured in close proximity of soil test bed for varying test bed thicknesses. Relative bandwidth of more than 114% with non-varying group delay response ensure the ability of proposed antenna to work for ground coupling ground penetrating radar applications.