Microstrip Leaky-Wave Antenna Design with E-Slot and Double U-Slot for Bandwidth Enhancement

This paper discusses the design and simulation of a microstrip leaky-wave antenna with a double U-slot and an E-slot or combination slot. The antenna is specifically designed for WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) applications and operates in the frequency at 5.925 GHz – 6.425 GHz applications and a gain of $\geq$ 4dBi at 6 GHz. The substrate used for the antenna is FR-4 epoxy, with a dielectric constant of 4.4 and a thickness of 1.6 mm. The proposed microstrip leaky-wave antenna with a combination slot has a dimensions substrate of 45 mm $\times $ 25 mm $\times $ 1.6 mm. The designed antenna has an operation frequency from 5.860 GHz to 6.579 GHz, a bandwidth of 710 MHz, a gain of 4.92 dBi at 6 GHz, and an S11 value of –25.49 dB at 6 GHz. This proposed antenna demonstrates an increase in bandwidth by 433 MHz from 277 (5.876 – 6.153 GHz) to 710 MHz (5.860 – 6.579 GHz) and a gain from 4.34 dBi to 4.92 dBi at 6 GHz.