Wide-Angle Frequency Scanning Metasurface Antenna Fed by Spoof Plasmonic Waveguide

Hongya Chen,Jiafu Wang,Yajuan Han,Mingbao Yan,Hua Ma

doi:10.1109/access.2020.2999338

Hongya Chen, Jiafu Wang + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2020.2999338

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Abstract

We propose novel wide-angle frequency scanning metasurface antenna and antenna array fed by spoof plasmonic waveguide. The spoof plasmonic waveguide adopts the ultra-thin corrugated metallic strip which can support and propagate spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) with high efficiency. By compensating the momentum difference between SSPP and free-space propagation modes via constant phase gradient, metasurface antenna can exhibit wide-angle and continuous radiation property according to the Generalized Snell's law. A prototype is designed, fabricated and measured, which consists of a wideband polarization rotating transmissive phase gradient metasurface (TPGM) placed a certain distance above spoof plasmonic waveguide. Such antenna works in a wideband range from 6.8 to 14.0 GHz, and the main beam can continuously scan from the forward direction to the backward direction with high efficiency. The measured results show that the scanning angle can reach 55°, which agree well with the simulated and theoretically calculated results. Furthermore, the proposed metasurface antenna can be combined easily as an antenna array with a simple feed network. Compared to single metasurface antenna, the antenna array exhibits the pencil-shaped directional radiation property, and the average gain of antenna array is obviously enhanced. The proposed frequency scanning metasurface antenna is of great value in the design of conformal antenna and the large aperture antenna array, especially on curved faces.

Highlights

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are highly localized electromagnetic (EM) wave bounded along an interface of metal and dielectric medium at the optical frequency band [1], [2]
Since waves on corrugated metallic strip (CMS) have similar EM behavior as TM-mode spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) with E-field mainly distributed in the xoz plane [10], [28], the transmissive phase gradient metasurface (TPGM) is placed above the spoof plasmonic waveguide with a certain distance for the mode matching
We propose and demonstrate a method of achieving wide-angle frequency scanning metasurface antenna and antenna array fed by spoof plasmonic waveguide

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are highly localized electromagnetic (EM) wave bounded along an interface of metal and dielectric medium at the optical frequency band [1], [2]. It has a polarization conversion characteristic by using polarization conversion TPGM as both the radiating and receiving panel This antenna is fed by rectangular waveguide, which will lead to a larger antenna profile and feeding structure in lower frequency regime, especially in the meter-wave regime. Since the radiation angles are mainly regulated by the nonlinear dispersion of SSPP on CMS and wideband phase gradient, it can be easier to realize a continuous wide-angle and wideband frequency scanning. It has a polarization conversion characteristic by using polarization conversion metasurface.

DESIGN PRINCIPLE

METASURFACE ANTENNA ARRAY

Findings

CONCLUSION