A 26.2:1 Bandwidth Ultra-Wideband Low-Profile Tightly Coupled Dipole Array with Integrated Feed Network

This article presents a novel tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA) with a bandwidth of 26.2:1 (VSWR < 3) across 0.20-5.23 GHz. By adding a new dual-stopband resistive frequency selective surface (RFSS) between the dipole and the floor, the short-circuit points formed by the floor at the frequency points corresponding to λ = 2 h and h are both eliminated (h is the height from the antenna to the floor). A specially integrated feed network is also applied to significantly reduce the complexity and profile height to 0.05 λ_low. The simulation and experimental results show that the designed TCDA has extremely wide bandwidth, good directivity and beam scanning potential. Compared with previous designs, it greatly extends the bandwidth, improves the gain, reduces the profile height, and simplifies the feeding method.