Mutual coupling reduction in microstrip array antenna by employing cut side patches and EBG structures

This paper presents the simultaneous application of Minkowski fractal geometry and EBG structures for mutual coupling reduction in microstrip array antennas for the first time. In this approach, a modified version of Minkowski fractal geometry is applied on the patch elements, and at the same time 1D electromagnetic bandgap (EBG) structures, composed of 4 EBG elements, are placed between the array elements in a very close distance. Unlike many other coupling reduction methods, which have at least one of the issues of gain reduction or complex fabrication, the proposed method does need any via or double-sided etching and slightly increases the gain of the antenna, while an excellent reduction level of 22.7 dB has been achieved. To verify the concept, 2 array antennas with the spacing of λ ₀ and λ ₀/3 were fabricated and tested, showing very good agreement between predicted and measured results.