Adjustable axial ratio of single-layer circularly polarised patch antenna for portable RFID reader

A novel single-layer, proximity-fed technique for a slot-coupled circularly polarised square patch antenna operated in the ultra-high frequency band is presented. In the proposed design a pair of radiating square patches with a cross-slot and a microstrip feed line are both etched on the top of a microwave substrate, and a coupling arrow-shaped slot is etched on the bottom of this substrate. Simulated and measured results indicate that the proposed structure can achieve circular polarisation operation. Proper adjustment of the feed coupling gap distance between the patch and the feed line results in good impedance matching and circularly polarised radiation, and an impedance bandwidth (VSWR≤2) of about 3.74% and a 3 dB axial-ratio bandwidth of about 1.62% were obtained.