A Wideband Low-RCS Metasurface-Inspired Circularly Polarized Slot Array Based on AI-Driven Antenna Design Optimization Algorithm

Abstract

A metasurface (MS)-inspired low-profile circularly polarized (CP) slot array with a wide CP band and broadband low radar cross section (RCS) is proposed in this communication. The slot array consists of four element antennas, four grounded substrates, and a sequential-rotated feeding network. In terms of radiation performance, the array yields a wide CP band resulting from the CP element antenna and the sequential-rotated feeding network. The CP element antenna is achieved due to the polarization conversion property of the MS-based superstrate. The feeding network with multiple related design parameters is optimized by an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven antenna design method to find the widest bandwidth. In terms of scattering performance, broadband RCS reduction is achieved by using a hybrid RCS reduction technique that combines two destructive interference principles. The <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\vert \text{S}_{11}\vert &lt; -10$ </tex-math></inline-formula> dB bandwidth reaches 53.2%, the AR < 3 dB bandwidth reaches 50%, and the RCS reduction bandwidth reaches 147.8% for a low-profile structure with a relatively low number of MS unit cells. A prototype was fabricated and measured. The measured and simulated results are in good agreement.