Small artificial magnetic conductor backed log-periodic microstrip patch antenna

An artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) backed reduced-size log-periodic microstrip patch antenna (LPMA) is presented. To maintain the broadband performance of the LPMA, the AMC ground plane was modified to exhibit a log-periodic structure. Specifically, an AMC ground plane configuration was realised over 0.889 mm thick epsilon(r) = 10.2 Rogers 6010.2LM substrate for an LPMA printed over 1.524 mm thick epsilon(r) = 2.94 Rogers 6002 substrate. The AMC-backed LPMA is measured to operate from 5.3 to 8 GHz with linearly polarised broadside radiation, performing with 21% reduced size as compared with a conventional LPMA designed over the identical substrate stack-up.