Abstract
In modern communication systems, technological advancements require increasing performance specifications. These performance increases often result in highly complex and costly systems. However, with the advantage of modern manufacturing techniques, high performance antennas are realized with great precision. In this project, we seek to improve antenna gain, without greatly increasing the design complexity or cost. In this work, a four-element linear patch antenna array with in-phase-corporate feed is designed at a resonant frequency of 5 GHz. A corporate feed network consisting of quarter-wave transformers is designed to provide equal amplitude and phase to each antenna element. The design is simulated, fabricated, then tested in the Microwave Lab and anechoic chamber at California State University, Sacramento. The resulting antenna possesses a realized gain of 9.42dB with an efficiency of 37%. A comparison between measured and simulated data reveal that there is good agreement, and project objectives are met.