Effects of ground plane dimensions on patterns radiated by slot antennas

Using a hybrid MoM-UTD formulation, this paper investigates the effects of ground-plane dimensions on the radiation fields of a slot antenna. It is shown that the radiated field strength of a slot cut in a finite ground plane is generally higher than that of a similar slot in a ground plane of infinite extent. Indeed, computational results reveal that the E-plane radiated field strength of a slot is about 3 dB higher when the ratio of the ground plane width to slot length is an even integer; and 1 dB higher when the ratio is an odd integer. In the case of the H-plane, the field strengths radiated by a slot in both infinite and finite sized ground planes are virtually identical, suggesting, therefore, that in this case, the contribution of the edge diffraction is insignificant. Results also indicate that a ground plane thickness of less than 20 mm has negligible effects on the radiation fields, as the strength of coupled fields, which is a manifestation of the effect of the finite thickness of the ground plane, is very small. As a validation, patterns computed compare favourably with experimental data available in the literature.