A Low-Cost Printed Log-Periodic Dipole Array for DVB-T2 Digital TV Applications

A printed log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) for DVB-T2 Digital TV applications, covering the whole DVB-T2 UHF band from Channel 21 to Channel 69 (470 MHz–860 MHz), is presented. The presented antenna offers a compact size and a lower cost compared to both wire and similar printed LPDAs, with a normalized area of only 0.26 λ2 (where λ is the free-space wavelength at the central frequency) and a similar (or higher) average gain. It is composed of meandered radiating dipoles, and it is implemented on FR4, the cheapest dielectric substrate available on the market. Moreover, the antenna size has been reduced to an A4 sheet dimension (210 mm × 297 mm) to cut down the production cost. The antenna has been designed starting from Carrel’s theory and using a general-purpose 3D CAD, CST Studio Suite. The results show that the proposed antenna can be used for broadband applications (≈74% bandwidth) in the whole operating frequency band of Digital TV, with a satisfactory end-fire radiation pattern, a stable gain, and a radiation efficiency over the required frequency range (average values 6.56 dB and 97%, respectively).