A Compact and High‐Gain Omnidirectional Antenna‐Based Coding Metasurface Ground for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Applications

Abstract

In this article, the design and implementation of a small omnidirectional antenna operating at 0.83 GHz for industrial, research, medical and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) applications is proposed. By designing two unit cells (“0” and “1”) of the coding metasurface with a dynamic phase difference, a coding metasurface ground is proposed. The suggested antenna replaces the traditional ground with a coding metasurface ground that is deliberate to work at the center frequency of 0.83 GHz and uses a coaxial feed probe to provide a lightweight, high‐gain antenna design. The omnidirectional antenna gain and efficiency are boosted using a coding metasurface as a ground. A simulation tool is used to characterize the antenna designed. A remarkable gain increase and operational bandwidth of the radiator have been developed in the proposed design, which entails the replacement of the conventional ground. The proposed antenna is constructed and empirically characterized in addition to the simulation. The proposed antenna has a return loss of –16.14 dB and a steady radiation gain of 3.2 dB, according to the measurements. Furthermore, the designed antenna demonstrates an omnidirectional radiation pattern based on simulation and experiment. Radiation properties are assessed using a radome framework, and simulations and measurements results coincide well. Such an antenna has omnidirectional radiation patterns across a wide frequency range and could be used in future UAV and aircraft applications.