Role of Proper Selection of a Conducting Material in Microstrip Patch Antenna Design

Abstract

This paper examines the role of a proper selection of a conducting material in the design of microstrip patch antenna. A microstrip patch antenna has three (3) main parts of ground, substrate and patch. The patch and the ground are made up of a conducting material. In this work, three (3) Rectangular Microstrip Patch Antennae (RMPA) were considered at 3.5 GHz resonant frequency for 5G applications with different conducting materials in order to determine the role of conducting material in designing a microstrip patch antenna. The antennae were designed, modelled and simulated using the same feeding methods, the same dimensions and the same materials with the exception of the conducting material. Copper annealed, iron and aluminium were used for the models of the antennae. It was found that the best conducting material was copper annealed, followed by aluminium then iron. Hence, the performance of a microstrip patch antenna depends on the type of conducting material used in its design among other factors. It is recommended that other conducting materials be explored to determine their role in ensuring effective design of the microstrip patch antenna.