A High Gain Antipodal Vivaldi Antenna Enabled by a High Dielectric Superstrate for Wideband Applications

Abstract

A novel superstrate‐based Vivaldi antenna design characterized by high‐gain and wideband performance is presented. The proposed design configuration features a Vivaldi antenna positioned between high dielectric superstrate (Rogers 6010, εr = 10.2) with copper etched off on both sides and an FR4 substrate that has copper etched on one side only. The introduction of a high permittivity dielectric material above and a reflector below the Vivaldi antenna enables favorable resonance conditions for achieving high‐gain operation. The measured antenna exhibits a peak gain of 17 dBi at 10 GHz, covering an operating frequency range of 6–20 GHz. It also features a narrow half‐power beamwidth and low side lobe level radiation patterns. Unlike existing studies, which rely on metamaterials, electromagnetic bandgap structures, and frequency selective surfaces for gain enhancement, our design employs high‐dielectric constant superstrates. This approach increased the antenna's peak gain by 10 dB. Also, the proposed configuration act as a radome protecting the antenna from Environment.