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A metasurfaced surface-wave antenna with performance enhancement

Article  in  Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications · June 2017


DOI: 10.1080/09205071.2017.1338623

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Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications

ISSN: 0920-5071 (Print) 1569-3937 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tewa20

A metasurfaced surface-wave antenna with


performance enhancement

Guirong Feng, Xiaowei Shi, Lei Chen, Hao Yue & Yaozhou Yang

To cite this article: Guirong Feng, Xiaowei Shi, Lei Chen, Hao Yue & Yaozhou Yang (2017) A
metasurfaced surface-wave antenna with performance enhancement, Journal of Electromagnetic
Waves and Applications, 31:11-12, 1167-1176, DOI: 10.1080/09205071.2017.1338623

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09205071.2017.1338623

Published online: 19 Jun 2017.

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Journal of Electromagnetic Waves and Applications, 2017
VOL. 31, NOS. 11–12, 1167–1176
https://doi.org/10.1080/09205071.2017.1338623

A metasurfaced surface-wave antenna with performance


enhancement
Guirong Feng, Xiaowei Shi, Lei Chen, Hao Yue and Yaozhou Yang
Science and Technology on Antenna and Microwave Laboratory and Collaborative Innovation Center of
Information Sensing and Understanding, Xidian University, Xi’an, China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY


A wideband and high gain Metasurface (MTS)-based surface- Received 28 March 2017
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wave antenna with a monopole-like radiation pattern for wireless Accepted 27 May 2017
communication system is presented in this paper. The proposed
KEYWORDS
antenna consists of a centre-fed circular patch antenna, an air Metasurface; surface-wave
substrate layer and a MTS-loaded superstrate. By the use of the slow- antenna; monopole-like
wave structure of the MTS, surface waves can effectively launch on the pattern
top surface of the superstrate. The diffraction of surface waves forms a
monopole-like radiation pattern. With the introduction of a single ring
of truncated MTS surrounding the circular patch, the radiating field of
the circular patch antenna is constructively transformed to diffraction
fields of surface waves, yielding an enhancement on bandwidth and
gain. The proposed antenna with a low profile of 0.075 free-space
wavelength achieves a 19.4% (4.69–5.7 GHz) bandwidth centred at
5.2 GHz and an average gain of 7.32 dBi.

1. Introduction
In modern wireless communication system, antennas radiating an omnidirectional pattern
are usually required. A vertical monopole is used due to its simple structure; however, its
profile is too high to integrate with other devices. To realize a low-profile antenna with a
monopole-like pattern, many microstrip antennas have been reported, which mainly focus
on the utilization of an improved monopole top-loaded with various patches [1] or circular
and annular-ring patch antennas operating at TM01 and TM02 mode [2,3].
Recently, an increasing attention has been paid to Metasuface (MTS) [4–10]. The MTS
generally consists of an array of periodic metallic patch cells, which has found wide appli-
cations in antenna designs. The MTS printed on a grounded dielectric slab behaves as an
artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) surface [6], which can be used as an artificial ground
plane to reduce antenna profile. Besides working as high efficient radiator to increase band-
width [7], the MTS can also be explored as a superstrate to enhance antenna gain [8]. On the
other hand, the MTS has an inherent slow-wave structure, which can support the propagation
of surface waves. As is known, surface waves diffract at edges or corners of the texture, which
may degrade the radiation efficiency of antenna. However, surface waves can be properly

CONTACT  Guirong Feng  Guirfeng@163.com


© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
1168   G. FENG ET AL.

used in some antenna designs when diffractions of surface waves at the boundary of ground
are expected. An attractive application of surface waves is to build a surface-wave antenna
(SWA). To take advantage of such an artificial ground plane, most surface-wave antennas
have a very low profile. In [9], the SWA has a profile of about 0.06𝜆0 (𝜆0 is the free-space
wavelength at the center frequency) and provides a bandwidth of 6% and a low gain of 4.4
dBi. In [10], a bandwidth of 5.6% and a gain of 5.6 dBi are achieved while the antenna height
is about 0.05𝜆0. In [11], a broad band of 23.6% in a profile of 0.06𝜆0 is achieved by loading
an annular ring patch. Meanwhile, the antenna obtains a gain of 5.9 dBi. In [12], a dual-band
SWA with a low profile of <0.05𝜆0 is introduced. The bandwidth and gain are 1.1% and 4.9
dBi in the low-frequency band and 3.94% and 5.4 dBi across the high-frequency band, respec-
tively. However, these SWAs have narrow bandwidth and low gain, which limits their com-
petence applied in wireless communication system
In this paper, modifications are introduced into the configuration and fed-patch of the
design in [8] to enhance SWA performance on bandwidth and gain. The antenna is designed
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in a three-layer substrate configuration. An air substrate is sandwiched between the circular


patch antenna and the MTS-loaded superstrate, which effectively couples the energy from
circular patch to surface waves along the MTS. A single ring of truncated MTS is introduced
to surround the circular fed patch, which constructively enhances the fields of surface waves.
Besides, the reduced number of periodic patch cells allows the antenna to be more compact.
Based on the electromagnetic fields coupling mechanism, the bandwidth and gain enhance-
ment is investigated. The effects of the key parameters on the antenna performance are
studied.

2.  Antenna design


2.1.  Antenna configuration
Figure 1 shows the configuration of the proposed surface-wave antenna. The SWA has a
three-layer substrate structure where the top and bottom substrates are FR4B substrate with
the relative permittivity of 2.65 and respective thickness of h1 and h2, which are separated
by an air substrate with a thickness of d. The top substrate is very thin compared to the
wavelength so that only TM0 mode surface waves exist in the interested band. Similar with
the original design in [8], the MTS consisting of 7 × 7 periodic square patch cells is etched
on the top surface of upper substrate, as shown in Figure 1(b). Noted that the bottom surface
of the top substrate is removed completely. The width of the periodic square patches and
the gap width in between are w and g, respectively. As is seen from Figure 1(c), a circular
patch with a radius of Rp is printed on the bottom substrate, which is surrounded by a single
ring of a truncated MTS. The dimensions of the truncated MTS are same with that of a com-
plete MTS printed on the top superstrate. A 50 Ω coaxial probe with a radius of 0.6 mm is
connected to the centre of the circular patch. To form a symmetrical radiation pattern, the
dielectric slabs and ground plane are truncated into a circular shape with a radius of Rg.

2.2.  Working mechanism


In this design, the top periodically MTS-loaded dielectric slab together with the bot-
tom-grounded slab act as an artificial ground plane. The transmission-line model [7,10] is
JOURNAL OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES AND APPLICATIONS   1169
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Figure 1. Geometry of the proposed surface-wave antenna. (a) Side view of the antenna (b) Layer 1: MTS-
loaded superstrate and (c) Layer 2: circular patch antenna loaded with a single ring of truncated MTS.

Figure 2. Geometry of the periodic unit-cell.

applicable to the analysis of the periodic structure as shown in Figure 2. In a uniform wave-
guide loaded with periodic patch cells, surface waves can be expressed as follows:
E(x + p, y, z) = E(x, y, z)e−j𝛽n p (1)

2𝜋
𝛽n = 𝛽0 + n ×
p (2)

where x is the propagation direction, β0 is the propagation constant in free space and p is
the periodicity of the periodic structure. n is the mode of surface waves.
Figure 3 shows the calculated reflection and transmission coefficient of 7 unit cells. With
reference to Figure 3(a), it is observed that the transmission coefficient magnitude is almost
unity in the frequency range of 4–6 GHz, the periodic structure does not introduce any
band-gap for surface wave to pass through from one port to another one. It can be seen
from Figure 3(b) that, the reflection coefficient phase is almost zero in the vicinity of 5.1 GHz.
1170   G. FENG ET AL.

Figure 3.  Reflection and transmission coefficient magnitude and phase for the periodic structure.
(a) Magnitude and (b) phase.
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Figure 4. Current distribution at 5.1 GHz for the proposed patch antenna.

Thus, it makes the possible use of our proposed periodic structure as the artificial ground
plane for a low antenna profile. Meanwhile, the artificial ground plane allows the propagation
and diffraction of surface waves for producing a monopole-like radiation pattern.
By virtue of the slow-wave structure of the MTS, strong surface waves are excited by the
circular patch, which are in the presence of the MTS. To illustrate the radiation mechanism,
current distributions are depicted in Figure 4. It is clearly seen that the current distribution
is similar to TM01 mode of a circular patch antenna. The dominant TM01 surface waves prop-
agate along the MTS and diffract at the edge of the ground plane to generate a mono-
pole-like radiation pattern. It means that the radiation mechanism of the patch antenna is
controlled by the MTS that converts the radiation fields of the circular patch to diffraction
fields of surface waves. In this case, the circular patch acts more like a transducer rather than
a radiator. Therefore, the circular patch antenna can be viewed as a surface-wave antenna
when a MTS loaded slab is placed above it.
To enhance the bandwidth and gain, a single ring of the truncated MTS is introduced in
the design. The bandwidth and gain enhancement mechanism of the proposed surface-wave
antenna is explained by comparing it with the reference antenna without the ring of
JOURNAL OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES AND APPLICATIONS   1171

Figure 5.  Electric field distribution at f  =  5.1  GHz for the proposed patch antenna with and without
truncated MTS. (a) Without truncated MTS and (b) with truncated MTS.
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Figure 6. Simulated return loss at different values of Rp.

truncated MTS. As seen from Figure 5, the fields for the reference antenna are almost confined
underneath or close to the circular patch, resulting ineffective launching of surface waves.
In contrast, when the truncated MTS is added to surround the circular excitation patch, fields
underneath the circular patch are diffracted to the outside edge of the circular patch, weak-
ening the confined electromagnetic energy. Therefore, more radiation fields of the circular
patch are constructively added to the diffraction fields of surface waves, which leads to the
enhancement on bandwidth and gain.

3.  Parametric studies


The optimized dimensions of the proposed patch antenna are tabulated in Table 1. In this
section, a parametric study is performed to guideline the antenna design. The effect of var-
iation in the circular fed-patch radius, the MTS patch cells and air substrate thickness on the
resonate frequency are carried out using HFSS. The effect of different ground plane size (Rg)
on the resonance frequencies almost keep unchanged. The effect of Rgon the radiation pat-
terns have been studied in [10], therefore, they are not shown here for a sake of brevity.
(1) Effect of the fed-patch size: Figure 6 shows the return loss varying with the radius (Rp)
of circular fed-patch. It is seen that as Rp increases from 20.5 to 22 mm, the resonate frequency
1172   G. FENG ET AL.

Figure 7. Simulated return loss at different values of w and g.


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Figure 8. Simulated return loss at different values of d.

decreases. Therefore, the operating band shifts to lower frequency. A good resonance is
observed at Rp = 21 mm where the return loss is well than −40 dB. It was found that the
resonate frequency is mainly determined by the fed-patch radius.
(2) Effect of the MTS patch cells: Figure 7 depicts the return loss varying with different
periodic patch width (w) and gap width (g). As w increases from 7 to 9 mm, the resonance
frequencies are nearly similar but with a slight shift toward higher frequencies. Meanwhile,
|S | become poor with the increase of w. It is also observed that the return loss is greatly
| 11 |
improved when w and g are selected properly. As periodicities of the MTS patch cells are
fixed, for the case of w = 7 mm, g = 2 mm and w = 8 mm, g = 1 mm, ||S11 || for the latter case is
much better than that for the former case. Since stronger surface waves can effectively
launch on the MTS when selecting proper MTS patch cells of w = 8 mm and g = 1 mm.
(3) Effect of the air substrate thickness: Figure 8 shows the return loss varying with different
air substrate thickness (d). The return loss is found to be very sensitive to d. As d increases
from 0.5 to 2 mm, the resonance frequencies increases from 4.83 to 5.22 GHz. This is as
expected since the thickness significantly affects electromagnetic field coupling between
the circular fed-patch and the MTS printed on the upper slab. Therefore, the antenna
JOURNAL OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES AND APPLICATIONS   1173

Table 1. Dimensions of the surface-wave antenna (UNIT: mm).


h1 h2 w g d Rp Rg wp
0.5 3 8 1 1 21 50 62

Table 2. Performance comparison.


Bandwidth (%) Peak gain (dBi) Total efficiency (%)
Ref. [1] 5.6 6.8 86.5
Ref. [2] 14.2 7.3 92
Proposed 19.4 7.8 96.2
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Figure 9. Simulated results for reference and proposed antennas. (a) Return loss and (b) gain.

impedance can be easily matched by adjusting the parameter of d properly. In addition, the
selection of d should take a consideration of antenna profile.

4.  Simulated and measured results


The simulation and measurement are carried out to demonstrate the performance of the
proposed SWA. To validate the design, two reference antennas are also simulated. These two
reference antennas have the same dimensions as those listed in Table 1, except for Ref. [1]
without air substrate and truncated MTS and Ref. [2] without a truncated MTS. The perfor-
mance of these antennas is shown in Table 2. With reference to Figure 9, it reveals that the
bandwidth and gain of the proposed antenna are significantly improved by adding the air
substrate and a ring of truncated MTS surrounding the fed-patch.
An prototype with a low-profile of 4.5 mm (0.075𝜆0) thickness is fabricated. Figure 10(a)
shows the photograph of the MTS fabricated on a 0.5 mm thick slab, Figure 10(b) shows the
photograph of the centre-fed circular patch and a single ring of truncated MTS loading
fabricated on a 3 mm thick dielectric slab. Figure 11 shows the simulated and measured
return losses and gains for the proposed surface-wave antenna. The simulated and measured
1174   G. FENG ET AL.
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Figure 10.  Photographs of the proposed surface-wave antenna. (a) MTS loaded superstrate and (b)
truncated MTS-loaded circular patch antenna.

Figure 11. Simulated and measured ||S11 || and gain.

bandwidth with ||S11 || <−10 dB are 19.6% (4.6–5.6 GHz) centred at 5.1 GHz and 19.4% (4.69–
5.7 GHz) centred at 5.195 GHz, respectively. The simulated and measured peak gain are 7.7
and 7.8 dBi, the corresponding average gain across the frequency band are 7.23 and 7.32
dBi, respectively. Reasonable agreements are observed between the simulated and measured
results, and deviations are due to the imperfections of fabrication. Figure 12 exhibits the
simulated and measured radiation patterns at 5 and 5.2 GHz. It is seen that the E-plane pat-
terns have a deep null in boresight direction and main beam directs at θ = 30°, while H-plane
patterns are omnidirectional. The simulated and measured cross-polarization levels are less
than −30 dB in the E-plane and −25 dB in the H-plane. Thus, the SWA radiates a similar pattern
to a vertical monopole with a low cross polarization. The discrepancy between the simulated
and measured patterns might be caused by fabrication errors and measurement environ-
ment. In general, the measured patterns are in good coincidence with the simulation.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES AND APPLICATIONS   1175
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Figure 12. Simulated and measured radiation patterns.

5. Conclusion
A low-profile wideband and high gain circular patch antenna has been proposed. The
antenna works as a surface-wave antenna. The bandwidth and gain enhancement mecha-
nism by introduction of the ring of truncated MTS has been investigated. The antenna pro-
vides a 19.4% centred at 5.2 GHz bandwidth and a peak gain of 7.8 dBi in a profile of 0.075
𝜆0 while its average gain is 7.32 dBi. The radiation pattern is similar to that of a vertical
monopole. The antenna finds its application in wireless communication system.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
1176   G. FENG ET AL.

Funding
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant num-
ber SPSZ021408]; [grant number JB150230] and National Natural Science Foundation [grant number
61671304].

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