Patent 7187330 was granted and assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology on March, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An antenna element includes a radiating antenna element having an elliptical shape disposed on a first surface of a substrate. A dielectric clearance region having an elliptical shape is disposed about the radiating antenna element to space the radiating antenna element from a ground plane. The clearance region is shaped such that a portion of the radiating element in which an antenna feed is disposed is proximate the ground plane. The antenna can also be provided having an elliptically shaped tuning region disposed within the radiating antenna element. The antenna is suitable for use in single-ended or differential ultra wide band (UWB) transmitting and/or receiving systems.