Lucent Technologies Inc.

Stelios Papatheodorou

Michael A Zimmerman

Ming-Ju Tsai

Maarten Van Egmond

Keith V Guinn

Edward Bryan Roberts

A non-conductive frame supports the resonators in a patch antenna assembly. The frame supports the resonators without making holes in the resonators and thereby avoids the problem of creating unwanted electric field polarizations. Additionally, the frame grasps the resonators in areas of low current density and thereby avoids creating additional disturbances in the radiation pattern. The frames may also include posts that are used to attach the frames to the feedboard without using additional components such as screws.

Patch antenna using non-conductive frame

An aperture-coupled planar inverted-F antenna (PIFA) including a radiating patch formed on one side of a ground plane and separated therefrom by a first dielectric which may be air, foam or another suitable material. A shorting strip connects a side of the radiating patch to the ground plane at a point corresponding to a dominant mode null, such that the size of the radiating patch may be reduced by a factor of two. A microstrip feedline is arranged on an opposite side of the ground plane and separated therefrom by a second dielectric which may be part of a substrate formed of printed wiring board material. Signals are coupled between the microstrip feedline and the radiating patch via an aperture formed in the ground plane. The use of aperture coupling avoids the excessive cost associated with conventional TEM transmission line or coaxial feeds, while providing improved manufacturability and ease of integration relative to PIFAs with conventional feeds. Moreover, the aperture coupling provides improved tuning flexibility. For example, a portion of the microstrip feedline may be used as a tuning stub to provide impedance matching on the feedline.

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Morristown, NJ, United States of America

Stelios Papatheodorou