Evaluation of gain enhancement in improved size microstrip antenna arrays for millimetre-wave applications

A number of microstrip antenna arrays have been designed based on the improved size patch elements with different substrate heights to evaluate the gain enhancement in practical measurements. Initially, microstrip patch antenna arrays (MPAAs) have been designed, analysed and tested at 10 GHz frequency and then the optimised high gain (∼21 dBi) array is fabricated and tested at 60 GHz-band frequencies. It has been found that the loss emergence due to the long feeding transmission line (TL) network severely degrades the antenna gain in large MPAAs on the thicker substrates. However, the gain can be significantly enhanced in large MPAAs by employing relatively thinner substrate but it shrinks the return loss (S11) bandwidth (BW) and increases the side lob level (SLL).