Miniaturized UWB Antenna Design for Baggage Scanning Systems using Microwave Imaging

This paper introduces the design and analysis of a low-profile ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna with efficient performance characteristics for baggage scanning systems. A printed monopole antenna with a unique radiator shape is conceptualized from a usual rectangular radiator by smoothening the vertices and rotating it to 7 degrees to make it tilted. Further, a C-shaped partial rectangular ground plane is constructed in order to excite multiple resonance frequencies for increasing the impedance bandwidth of the antenna. The proposed antenna provides a wide operating bandwidth from 3.6-12 GHz which falls under the UWB band. The antenna geometry is developed on an FR4 substrate of thickness 0.8 mm and occupies a highly miniaturized surface of 11 × 18 mm2. Besides, perceived antenna also exhibits stable radiation characteristic with acceptable gain (~2.5-5 dBi) and radiation efficiency (~85 %). A baggage-scanning case study has also been replicated in the software environment to assess the scanning ability of the proposed UWB antenna. Performance analysis reveals that the designed antenna can be effectively used for security screenings in airports and public transport systems.