Low-Profile Wideband Microstrip Antenna Integrated With Solar Cells

A wideband microstrip antenna with a low profile is reported for green civilian wireless communication. This design employs 12 solar cells for photovoltaic generation and mobile communications. The solar-cell layout is suitable for practical applications. Based on this deployment of solar cells, the radiation structure integrated with solar cells is formulated. With the dual-aperture coupling method, a broadband performance of 54.8% has been achieved with a low profile of 0.068 lambda(0), where lambda(0) is the free space wavelength at the center frequency of 2.3 GHz. More than 60% of the total area is covered by solar cells, so its ability for photovoltaic generation is improved effectively. The proposed dual-function device can offer an enhanced ability of photovoltaic generation and broadband performance with a low-profile structure.