Miniaturization and Bandwidth Enhancement of a Microstrip Patch Antenna Using Magneto-Dielectric Materials for Proximity Fuze Application

The exact calculation of height of burst has always been a challenge in the design of proximity fuzes. Radio frequency-based sensors can be designed for this purpose but the size and bandwidth of the antenna increases the design complexity; hence, miniaturization of the patch antenna using barium hexaferrite (BaFe12O19) as substrate material is proposed in this paper. The nanohexaferrite substrate material was prepared using a wet chemical method and characterized for structural and electromagnetic properties. An average crystallite size of 60 nm was obtained from x-ray diffraction. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy also confirms the formation of homogenous nanoferrites. Complex permittivity (E > (*) = 6.2 - 0.04 j) and complex permeability (mu (*) = 1.9 - 0.18 j) were obtained from electromagnetic characterization. The antenna structure fabricated and simulated confirms that, with the obtained electromagnetic parameters of synthesized magneto-dielectric material, the size of antenna can be reduced up to 42.5%. It also increases the bandwidth from 68 MHz to 166 MHz with respect to antenna on FR4 substrate. Therefore, BaFe12O19 is proposed as a suitable candidate for a high-bandwidth, miniaturized antenna for proximity fuzes.