Abstract: The present invention relates to a contoured dipole antenna. The antenna is suitable for ultra wide band (UWB) radio communications, and in particular UWB applications requiring antennas of small size. Elements of the dipole antenna have a curvature designed to make the antenna UWB over a desired range. Embodiments of the antenna may take the form of balanced dipole arrangements, unbalanced half-dipole arrangements, geometric arrays, and arrays distributed over a contour. In addition, embodiments of the invention may be used with or without ground planes.