A linearly polarized magnetoelectric dipole with wide H-plane beamwidth

A linearly polarized magnetoelectric (ME) dipole with wide beamwidth in the H-plane is proposed and studied. A fabricated prototype shows that stable wide beamwidth of 120° in the H-plane is achieved across the 41% impedance bandwidth for SWR ≤ 2 with good radiation performances including a stable gain around 6.3 dBi, symmetrically unidirectional radiation patterns, low cross polarization, and low back radiation. Design guidelines and three design samples are given, which demonstrate that the beamwidth in the H-plane can be varied over a range larger than 30° from 90° to 120° and the fluctuation of the beamwidth is less than 10° throughout the whole operating band. Besides, it shows that the variation in the H-plane does not degrade the other performances of the antenna. With all of these advantages, the proposed antenna is a desirable candidate for base stations of mobile communications which require antennas of different beamwidths for different environments. © 1963-2012 IEEE.