In this paper, a wideband ultra-low-profile solar cell–integrated antenna with a high form factor is presented. A copper indium gallium selenide-based solar cell was used for the proposed design. The solar cell was cut with a rectangular-shaped narrow slit to construct a built-in solar cell antenna with dimensions of 50 mm × 20 mm × 0.571 mm (0.382λo × 0.152λo × 0.0043λo at 2.28 GHz). The slit area needed to achieve a high form factor was only 0.5 mm × 18 mm. A coaxial-to-microstrip-line transition type of feeding structure was used to excite the antenna. An RF decoupler circuit was also designed under the second substrate to maintain the independent functioning of both devices. The simulated and measured results are in good agreement. Furthermore, the proposed design demonstrated a –10 dB impedance bandwidth of 42.45% with an ultra-low-profile structure of 0.0043λo at 2.28 GHz, and the maximum gain was 2.84 dBi in the impedance bandwidth range. In addition, the antenna has a high form factor of 99.1%, with no optical blockage
This work was supported in part by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2022R1F1A106 5324); in part by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2021R1A 4A1030775); in part by the Institute of Information & communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2022-0-00704-001, Development of 3D-NET Core Technology for High-Mobility Vehicular Service), and in part by the Ajou University Basic Research Fund.
