Impedance-Matching Technique for an Infrared Folded Dipole Antenna

Modifications of the geometry of a folded dipole antenna operating in the infrared were studied with the objective to increase the antenna input impedance. These modified folded dipoles were designed and optimized using numerical simulations. Candidate antennas were fabricated, and input impedance was measured experimentally using scattering-scanning near-field optical microscopy. Numerical and experimental results confirm that the choice of an appropriate antenna geometry leads to an input impedance of 1 kΩ or above. With this impedance, the modified folded dipole antenna could be implemented as a solution for the impedance mismatch challenge that arises in antenna-coupled infrared detectors.