Design of a wideband hexagonal monopole antenna with L-slot using characteristic mode analysis

This communication presents the design of an asymmetrical hexagonal-shaped wideband antenna based on Characteristic Mode Analysis (CMA). An L-shaped slot is used to change the distribution of mode surface currents. Current modes and characteristic fields of the desired modes are studied to improve bandwidth. A simple 50 omega microstrip line is used to excite the selected modes and obtain wideband impedance matching. The antenna is printed on a low-cost FR4 substrate with a size of 30 mm x 29 mm x 1.6 mm. The design approach is experimentally validated through fabricated prototype antenna. It exhibits impedance bandwidth of 110.22% from 2.7 to 9.33 GHz, and thus covers most wireless systems, such as WPAN, WiMax, WLAN, RFID and C-band.