A Low-Profile Dual-Layer Patch Antenna with a Circular Polarizer Consisting of Dual Semicircular Resonators

In this paper, a circular polarizer comprising dual semicircular split-rings (DSSRs) is presented. By placing it above an elliptical radiator that radiates linearly polarized (LP) waves, dual-layer patch antennas capable of radiating right-hand (RH) or left-hand (LH) circularly polarized (CP) waves are achieved in terms of the different offset direction of the bottom splits of the DSSRs. Because of both the capacitive coupling to the radiator and the degenerate modes existing in the excited DSSRs, the DSSRs collaboratively result in a circularly polarized radiation, successfully converting incident LP waves into CP ones. Simulated results show that the impedance, axial ratio (AR), and gain frequency response of both proposed CP antennas are identical, with a simulated 3-dB AR bandwidth of 72 MHz covering 2.402–2.474 GHz and a gain enhanced by 3.9 dB. The proposed antennas were fabricated and measured, revealing an operational bandwidth of 65 MHz (2.345–2.41 GHz) and a peak gain up to 9 dBi. Moreover, a low profile of 0.063λ(0) is maintained. The proposed CP antennas could be as a candidate for wireless target detection applications in terms of their identical frequency response property.