Frequency-reconfigurable variode enabled metasurface reflector loaded antenna

Abstract

A compact high gain frequency reconfigurable metasurface reflector (MSR) loaded antenna using a varactor diode is proposed in this paper. In comparison to a traditional antenna, a metamaterial (MTM) loaded with CSRR is used to achieve a size reduction up to 70%. The ground plane of the proposed slotted decagon antenna has been loaded with a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR). With dimensions of 0.24 λ × 0.24 λ × 0.013 λ (λ represents the center frequency at 2.40 GHz) the antenna is extremely compact. The antenna is designed on an FR4 substrate with εr = 4.4 & 1.6 mm of thickness. The investigation shows that utilization of the MSR structure has significantly increased gain compared to the decagon antenna without MSR. The MSR-loaded antenna dimension is 0.48 λ × 0.47λ × 0.013 λ (λ represents the center frequency at 2.40 GHz). Frequency reconfigurability is introduced by placing a varactor diode on the patch’s upper side. Changing the varactor’s DC reverse bias voltage from 0 to 10 V causes its resonance frequency to shift from 2420 to 2550 MHz, giving it a tuning ratio of 1.35. The proposed antenna offers efficiency ranges from 70%–80% over the operating bands. Except for a small deviation, there is a fair match between measured and simulated values. The antenna can be used in a variety of current and future communication systems.