volume | PIER Journals

Abstract

In this paper, a novel miniaturized dual-band embedded near-zero index (NZI) metasurface-based patch antenna is presented. A new methodology based on loading a narrowband microstrip patch antenna (resonating at 4.6 GHz) by a metasurface embedded in the middle of the antenna's substrate is introduced. The loaded antenna has a dual-band resonance of bandwidth of 15% and 43% at 2 GHz and 4.6 GHz, respectively. The metasurface layer is an array of square holes such that there is no hole below the patch. The metasurface layer is designed as a near-zero-refractive-index material (NZRIM). By controlling the phase reflection properties of the structure, the antenna gain is increased by 5.5\,dB, original bandwidth increased ten times and the front-to-back ratio improved from 7 to 187. Also, footprint miniaturization of 56.5% with a maximum size of (1.9λ₀)² is obtained. To the best of the authors' knowledge, such enhancement is the largest to date.

1. Wong, K. L., Compact and Broadband Microstrip Antennas, Wiley, 2002.
doi:10.1002/0471221112

2. Lo, T. K., Y. Hwang, E. K. W. Lam, and B. Lee, "Miniature aperture-coupled microstrip antenna of very high permittivity," Electron. Lett., Vol. 33, 9-10, 1997.
doi:10.1049/el:19970053

3. Lee, B. and F. J. Harackiewicz, "Miniature microstrip antenna with a partially filled high-permittivity substrate," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 50, No. 8, 1160-1162, 2002.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2002.801360

4. Waterhouse, R., "Small microstrip patch antenna," Electron. Lett., Vol. 31, No. 8, 604-605, 1995.
doi:10.1049/el:19950426

5. Wong, K. L. and Y. F. Lin, "Small broadband rectangular microstrip patch antenna with chip-resistor loading," Electron. Lett., Vol. 33, No. 19, 1593-1594, 1997.
doi:10.1049/el:19971111

6. Ferrari, P., N. Corrao, and D. Rauly, "Miniaturized circular patch antenna with capacitors loading," SBMO/IEEE MTT-S International Microwave and Optoelectronics Conference, 86-89, Brazil, 2007.

7. Wong, K. L., C. L. Tang, and H. T. Chen, "A compact meandered circular microstrip antenna with a shorting pin," Microwave Opt. Technol. Lett., Vol. 15, 147-149, 1997.
doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2760(19970620)15:3<147::AID-MOP8>3.0.CO;2-G

8. Nasimuddin, X. Q. and Z. N. Chen, "A compact circularly polarized slotted patch antenna for GNSS applications," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 62, No. 12, 6506-6509, 2014.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2014.2360218

9. Dong, Y. D., H. Toyao, and T. Itoh, "Compact circularly-polarized patch antenna loaded with metamaterial structures," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 59, 4329-4333, 2011.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2011.2164223

10. Kumar, G. and K. Gupta, "Nonradiating edges and four edges gap-coupled multiple resonator broad-band microstrip antennas," IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag., 127-135, 2015.

11. Yang, M., Z. N. Chen, P. Y. Lau, X. Qing, and X. Yinl, "Miniaturized patch antenna with grounded strips," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 63, No. 2, 2015.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2014.2382668

12. Pozar, D. M., "Microstrip antennas," Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 80, No. 1, 79-91, 1992.
doi:10.1109/5.119568

13. Long, S. and M. Walton, "A dual-frequency stacked circular-disc antenna," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 27, No. 2, 1979.
doi:10.1109/TAP.1979.1142078

14. Sullivan, P. and D. Schaubert, "Analysis of an aperture coupled microstrip antenna," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 34, No. 8, 1986.
doi:10.1109/TAP.1986.1143929

15. Maci, S., G. Biffi Gentili, P. Piazzesi, and C. Salvador, "Dual-band slot-loaded patch antenna," IEE Proceedings --- Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 142, No. 3, 225-232, 1995.
doi:10.1049/ip-map:19951932

16. Mohamad, S., R. Cahill, and V. Fusco, "Performance of Archimedean spiral antenna backed by FSS reflector," Electron. Lett., Vol. 51, No. 1, 14-16, 2014.
doi:10.1049/el.2014.3693

17. Gonzalo, R., P. De Maagt, and M. Sorolla, "Enhanced patch-antenna performance by suppressing surface waves using photonic-bandgap substrates," IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., Vol. 47, No. 11, 2131-2138, 1999.
doi:10.1109/22.798009

18. Trentini, G. V., "Partially reflecting sheet arrays," IRE Trans. Antennas Propag., Vol. 4, No. 4, 666-671, 1956.
doi:10.1109/TAP.1956.1144455

19. Holloway, C. L., E. F. Kuester, J. A. Gordon, J. O'Hara, J. Booth, and D. R. Smith, "An overview of the theory and applications of metasurfaces: The two-dimensional equivalents of metamaterials," IEEE Antennas Propag. Mag., Vol. 54, No. 2, 10-35, 2012.
doi:10.1109/MAP.2012.6230714

20. Yan, S., P. J. Soh, and G. A. E. Vandenbosch, "Compact all-textile dual-band antenna loaded with metamaterial inspired structure," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Vol. 14, 1486-1489, 2014.

21. Sharma, S., M. Abdalla, and Z. Hu, "Miniaturization of an electrically small metamaterial inspired antenna using additional conducting layer," IET Microw. Antennas Propag., Vol. 12, No. 8, 1444-1449, 2018.
doi:10.1049/iet-map.2017.0927

22. Yan, S., P. J. Soh, and G. A. E. Vandenbosch, "Low-profile dual-band textile antenna with artificial magnetic conductor plane," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 62, No. 12, 6487-6490, 2014.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2014.2359194

23. Yan, S., P. J. Soh, and G. A. E. Vandenbosch, "Wearable dual-band magneto-electric dipole antenna for WBAN/WLAN applications," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 63, No. 9, 4165-4169, 2015.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2015.2443863

24. Lubkowski, G., C. Damm, B. Bandlow, R. Schuhmann, M. Schβler, and T. Weiland, "Metamaterial loaded waveguides for miniaturized filter applications," Frequenz, Vol. 62, 3-4, 2018.

25. Jia, Y., Y. Liu, W. Zhang, J. Wang, S. Gong, and G. Liao, "High-gain Fabry-Perot antennas with wideband low monostatic RCS using phase gradient metasurface," IEEE Access, Vol. 7, 4816-4824, 2019.
doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2886832

26. Jiang, H., Z. Xue, M. Leng, W. Li, and W. Ren, "Wideband partially reflecting surface antenna with broadband RCS reduction," IET Microw., Antennas Propag., Vol. 12, No. 6, 94194, 2018.
doi:10.1049/iet-map.2017.0630

27. Mu, J., H. Wang, H. Wang, and Y. Huang, "Low-RCS and gain enhancement design of a novel partially reflecting and absorbing surface antenna," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Vol. 16, 1903-1906, 2017.
doi:10.1109/LAWP.2017.2685623

28. Zheng, Y., J. Gao, Y. Zhou, X. Cao, H. Yang, S. Li, and T. Li, "Wideband gain enhancement and RCS reduction of Fabry-Perot resonator antenna with chessboard arranged metamaterial superstrate," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 66, No. 2, 590-599, Feb. 2018.
doi:10.1109/TAP.2017.2780896

29. Singh, A. K., M. P. Abegaonkar, and S. K. Koul, "High-gain and high-aperture-efficiency cavity resonator antenna using metamaterial superstrate," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Vol. 16, 2388-2391, 2017.
doi:10.1109/LAWP.2017.2719864

30. Dawar, P. and M. A. Abdalla, "Near-zero-refractive-index metasurface antenna with bandwidth, directivity and front-to-back radiation ratio enhancement," Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, Vol. 35, No. 14, 1863-1881, 2021.
doi:10.1080/09205071.2021.1923069

31. Deng, F. and J. Qi, "Shrinking profile of Fabry-Perot cavity antennas with stratified metasurfaces: Accurate equivalent circuit design and broadband high-gain performance," IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, Vol. 19, No. 1, 208-212, 2020.

32. Pham, D. A., E. Park, H. L. Lee, and S. Lim, "High gain and wideband metasurfaced magneto-electric antenna for WiGig applications," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 69, No. 2, 1140-1145, 2021.

33. Marcuvitz, N., Waveguide Handbook, Vol. 21, Peter Peregrinus Ltd., 1986.

34. Langley, R. J. and E. A. Parker, "Equivalent circuit model for arrays of square loops," Electron. Lett., Vol. 18, No. 7, 294-296, 1982.

35. Lee, C. K. and R. J. Langley, "Equivalent-circuit models for frequency selective surfaces at oblique angles of incidence," IEE Proceedings --- H, Microwaves Optics and Antennas, Vol. 132, 395-399, 1985.

36. Saraswat, R. K. and M. Kumar, "A metamaterial loaded hybrid fractal multiband antenna for wireless applications with frequency band reconfigurability characteristics," Frequenz, Vol. 74, No. 11-12, Sept. 2020.

37. Reed, J. A., Frequency selective surfaces with multiple periodic elements, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Texas Dallas, USA, 1997.

38. Liu, A., S. Lei, X. Shi, and L. Li, "Study of antenna superstrates using metamaterials for directivity enhancement based on Fabry-Perot resonant cavity," International Journal of Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 2013, 1-10, 2013.

39. Peng, X., G. Wang, H. Li, and X. Gao, "A novel methodology for gain enhancement of the Fabry-Perot antenna," IEEE Access, Vol. 7, 176170-176176, 2019.

40. Uddin, M. J., M. H. Ullah, T. A. Latef, W. N. Mahadi, and M. T. Islam, "Making meta better: The synthesis of new-shaped periodic artificial structures suitable for metamaterial behavior characterization," IEEE Microw. Mag., Vol. 8, No. 17, 52-58, 2016.

41. Karlsson, A., "Approximate boundary conditions for thin structures," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., Vol. 57, No. 1, 144-148, 2009.

42. Van Labeke, D., D. Gerard, B. Guizal, F. I. Baida, and L. Li, "An angle-independent frequency selective surface in the optical range," Optics Express, Vol. 14, No. 25, 11945-11951, 2006.

43. Liu, Y., S. Xia, H. Shi, A. Zhang, and Z. Xu, "Dual-band and high-efficiency polarization converter based on metasurfaces at microwave frequencies," Appl. Phys. B, Vol. 122, 178, 2016.

44. Mustafa, M. E., F. A. Tahir, and M. Amin, "Broadband waveplate operation by orthotropic metasurface refector," J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 126, 2019.

45. Li, J., et al., "Dual-band transmissive cross-polarization converter with extremely high polarization conversion ratio using transmitarray," Materials, Vol. 12, No. 1827, 2019.

46. Cao, H., et al., "Dual-band polarization conversion based on non-twisted Q-shaped metasurface," Opt. Comm., Vol. 370, 311-318, 2016.

47. Khan, M. I., Q. Fraz, and F. A. Tahir, "Ultra-wideband cross polarization conversion metasurface insensitive to incidence angle," J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 121, 045103, 2017.

Dr. Parul Dawar

Prof. Mahmoud Abdalla