OPTIMIZED MICROSTRIP ANTENNA DESIGN FOR WIRELESS DATA TRANSFER IN RADAR AND REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES

Abstract

Abstract: Microstrip patch antennas have become the antenna of choice for modern radar and remote sensing platforms owing to their low profile, light weight, conformability, and ease of integration with monolithic microwave integrated circuits. However, conventional rectangular and circular microstrip patches suffer from inherent limitations, principally narrow impedance bandwidth, moderate gain, and surface-wave losses, all of which restrict their usefulness in high-data-rate wireless links and fine-resolution sensing applications. This paper presents a systematic study of optimization strategies for microstrip antenna design, including substrate selection, slot loading, defected ground structures (DGS), parasitic stacking, and planar array synthesis, aimed at enhancing bandwidth, gain, and radiation efficiency for X-band wireless data transfer relevant to synthetic aperture radar (SAR), Doppler weather radar, and satellite remote sensing payloads. A design methodology based on transmission-line and cavity models is described, followed by a comparative performance evaluation of five design variants, culminating in a proposed 2×2 optimized array that achieves an impedance bandwidth of 12.4%, a gain of 11.7 dBi, and a VSWR of 1.18 at 9.5 GHz. The results demonstrate that combined geometric and structural optimization can substantially improve microstrip antenna performance without sacrificing the compactness and manufacturability that make this antenna class attractive for airborne and spaceborne sensing systems. Keywords: Microstrip antenna, patch antenna optimization, radar systems, remote sensing, wireless data transfer, bandwidth enhancement, defected ground structure, antenna array.