Miniature ultra-wideband antenna for wireless universal serial bus dongle applications

A miniature ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna for wireless universal serial bus (USB) dongle applications is presented. The proposed antenna comprises a half-circular quasi-self-complementary structure together with a triangular cut on a bent microstrip feed line. As a result of its simple geometry and compact size, the antenna can be easily integrated and printed on wireless USB dongle printed circuit boards. The dimension of the proposed antenna is only 16 mm x 16.1 mm whereas the footprint size of the dongle board is 16 mm x 60 mm, similar to that of a conventional USB flash disc. The simulated and measured results show that the antenna can achieve a UWB 10 dB impedance bandwidth with reasonable radiation properties. It also exhibits a much-reduced ground plane effect compared to the stand-alone design. In addition, a parametric study is performed to provide insights into the antenna operating mechanism.