Abstract
This study examines quantitatively the requisite design area on the ground plane (GP) of a vertical U-shaped folded dipole antenna (VUFDA), and clarifies the space-saving effectiveness of the VUFDA design for mobile terminals compared to a conventional UFDA design. Our results show that the vertical deployment of the antenna element to the GP is much more effective than the horizontal deployment, not only for reducing the physical antenna area on GP, but also for saving the space which the antenna element actually requires for stable antenna operation. These results highlight the importance of evaluating carefully antenna miniaturization and actual space requirements in antenna designs intended for operation within mobile terminals.