A Broadband High-Gain Bi-Layer Log-Periodic Dipole Array (LPDA) for Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Conformal Load Bearing Antenna Structures (CLAS) Applications

Abstract : A broadband high-gain bi-layer log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) is introduced for conformal load bearing antenna structures (CLAS) applications. Under the proposed scheme the two layers of the LPDA are printed on two separate thin dielectric substrates which are substantially separated from each other. A meander line geometry is adapted to achieve size reduction for the array. The fabricated and tested array easily exceeds more than an octave of gain, pattern, and VSWR bandwidth.