Compact planar dual-band folded dipole antenna for WLAN/WiMAX applications

A planar folded dipole antenna suitable for WLAN and WiMAX applications is presented. By properly using a pair of multi-branch strips in the radiator, the proposed antenna with a small size of only 35(L) x 4(W) mm(2) is capable of achieving dual-band operation about 2.35-2.51 GHz and 4.82-6.22 GHz. Moreover, the resonant frequencies of the antenna can be flexibly adjusted with various strip lengths. Experimental results show that the proposed design behaves not only good omnidirectional coverage but also stable gain variation across the operating bands. With a compact size, the proposed folded dipole antenna is thus satisfactory for integration with an access point as a transmitting antenna for WLAN/WiMAX operations.