Design of a four element microstrip patch array antenna with improved bandwidth for medical applications

This paper converses the design and implementation of a four-element rectangular microstrip patch array antenna. The proposed array antenna is suitable for millimeter wave (mm Wave) communication systems, including 5G and high-speed wireless applications. To enhance the bandwidth performance, the rectangular patch is fabricated on FR4 substrate, which has a dielectric constant of 4.4 and a thickness of 1.6 mm. Furthermore, the bandwidth is significantly improved through the incorporation of a partial defected ground structure (DGS). By strategically modifying the ground plane, additional resonance modes are excited, leading to enhanced impedance matching and broader frequency response. The proposed array antenna achieves an upper cutoff frequency of 34.68 GHz, a lower cutoff frequency of 26.11 GHz, and a bandwidth of 8.57 GHz, demonstrating enhanced gain of 6 dBi and improved return loss of -24.24 dB, making it a promising candidate for advanced wireless communication applications.