Compact Planar Log-Periodic Antenna for Iemi Detection Application in the Sub-6 Ghz Broadband

This paper presents the design of a Reflector based Planar Log Periodic Meander Dipole Array (RPLPMDA) antenna with characteristics like compact size, stable gain and ease of integration for Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI) detection application in the sub-6 GHz frequency band. The antenna has dimensions of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$24 \times 23.5 \times 0.16 ~\text{cm}^{3}$</tex> with a 0.6 GHz to 6 GHz impedance bandwidth and 3.5 dBi to 5.5 dBi gain. The design radiating part consists of split ring resonators (SRRs) backed by a reflector. With respect to conventional planar log periodic dipole array antenna, the proposed design dimensions are smaller by 38.16 % and 40 % along vertical and horizontal directions, respectively. Experiments are carried out on the fabricated prototype, and the antenna parameters like return loss, gain, radiation pattern, etc., are measured. Measured antenna parameters are in good agreement with the simulated ones. The antenna's IEMI detection capability is also tested by making it act like a receiver for different types of IEMI sources.