What is a Patch Antennas?
A patch antenna as the name suggests is a low profile flat antenna that resembles a patch. A basic patch antenna consists of a flat rectangular sheet or "patch" of metal, mounted over a larger sheet of metal called the ground plane. The two metal sheets form a basic transmission line whose length is half the wavelength of the RF Signal frequency.
The patch antenna radiates from the discontinuities that arise at the edges of the transmission line. The radiation at the edges causes the antenna to act slightly larger electrically than its physical dimensions, so in order for the antenna to be resonant, a length of microstrip transmission line slightly shorter than one-half a wavelength at the specified frequency is used.
Usually these antennas are built on a PCB, where the thickness of the substrate and the selected dielectric regulating the bandwidth and properties of the antenna. A thicker substrate increases the gain to of the antenna to some extent, but may lead to undesired effects like surface wave excitation, which can distort the radiation pattern.
Patch antennas are light weight, cost effective and can easily be integrated with low noise amplifiers and power amplifiers to boost the signal going out and coming in to the antenna. They are typically used to provide coverage indoors as they can easily be mounted on the ceiling or wall where they remain visually unobtrusive and blend easily into the background.
everything RF lists patch antennas from the leading manufacturers. Narrow down the list of antennas by entering your required frequency range and gain - Our search tool will filter through the complete catalog of products to find patch antennas that meet your requirement. You can request quotations, download datasheets and compare the products. All inquiries made via everything RF will be directed to the manufacturer and/or their distributors/sales reps in your region.
