Several bowtie patch-antenna configurations are studied for their suitability for use in broad-band indoor wireless communications. A microstrip bowtie antenna (MBA), based on the design of equilateral triangular patches, is first designed and tested. The same design is used to realize a coplanarwaveguide bowtie antenna (CPWBA) with finite ground plane. The CPWBA is coax-fed from its apex and matched in Cband. The resonant slot length of this antenna is around three times that of the guided

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... length. The measured gain for the CPWBA antenna is 8.1 dB. The same MBA is also used in the realization of (1 2 2)-, (2 2 1)-, and (2 2 2)-element MBA arrays. The MBA and resultant arrays use microstrip feed networks matched to the input impedance at around 10 GHz. The gain of the MBA is 6.2 dB; the gains for the arrays vary within 13.7 and 17.3 dB. The 2 : 1 voltage standing-wave ratio bandwidths lie in the 9.7%-10.8% range for the realized antennas. The radiation patterns can be optimized to fit the required diversity for the specific indoor wireless communication environment; the beamwidths are demonstrated to vary between 15 and 85 , which allow for multipath minimization and radiation diversity within the premises, thereby providing interference-free illumination.