HIGH GAIN RECTANGULAR MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA EMPLOYING POLYSTYRENE SUBSTRATE FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATION APPLICATIONS

The paper presents a rectangular microstrip patch antenna design suitable to be employed for fixed satellite (Space to Earth)communication and defence systems. The Polystyrene substrate has been used with dielectric constant (ϵr) of 2.6having thickness of 2 mm. The material used for patch, feed line and ground is perfect electric conductor (PEC). The ground surface has been reduced in order to enhance the performance in terms of bandwidth and return loss. The feed line of suitable width has been employed for matching the impedance of antenna(50 ohm) with port impedance for maximum power propagates from port to antenna with minimal reflection losses. The prototype antennaresonates at frequency of 4.4 GHz with operating frequency range of 4.18GHz to 6.61GHz (2.431 GHz impedance bandwidth) and corresponding return loss of -36.3dB. The antenna has gain and directivity of 7.523 dB and directivity of 7.325dBi, respectively. The performance of antenna has been analyzed in terms of return loss (dB), gain (dB), directivity (dBi), smith chart and VSWR. The proposed antenna has been designed and simulated using CST Microwave studio 2014.