Simplified microstrip patch antenna design for reduced surface wave applications

In this paper, we present a circular microstrip patch antenna design with a single shorting pin for reduced surface waves applications. The modal equation for the normalized resonance frequency of the pin-loaded patch is solved numerically. Simulation results show the capability of such antenna to reduce surface wave and lateral wave excitations. Comparison between the proposed design and an alternative one is carried out in this work. The simplicity of the design makes it a promising candidate for many applications, including large patch antenna arrays with reduced mutual coupling and global positioning system antennas with reduced susceptibility to low-angle interference.