Metallic Ground Plane Research Articles

Feasibility study on a plasma based reflective surface for SatCom systems

Gaseous Plasma Antennas (GPAs) exploit an ionized gas to transmit and receive electromagnetic waves. GPAs offer several advantages over metal antennas since, while in use, they are electronically reconfigurable in terms of radiation pattern and operation frequency. When not used, the plasma can be turned “off”, and the GPA reverts to a dielectric tube with a very low radar cross-section. This makes GPAs suitable to be stacked into arrays, providing they can reduce co-site interference. Thus, GPAs are very appealing for Satellite Communications (SatCom). The antenna pointing and tracking obtained by steering the beam electronically, rather than using mechanically moving parts, can enable several space missions. A plasma-based reflective surface has been recently proposed in this framework to maximize reconfigurability. Such a device consists of many plasma discharges placed on top of a metallic ground plane, and the reflection of radio signals can be controlled by electronically varying the plasma properties (e.g., density). This work presents the first step toward practically implementing a plasma-based reflective surface in the X-band capable of electrically, rather than mechanically, tuning its beam steering and focusing capabilities. The study here presented combines numerical and experimental approaches. First, a target plasma discharge has been characterized experimentally to provide the plasma parameters needed to estimate the electromagnetic (EM) response using numerical simulations. Then, the numerical simulations were performed to preliminary design a plasma-based reflective surface. At first, a simplified single-element plasma cylinder was analysed. Then, the glass envelope needed to contain the plasma was added to the column, and its impact on the performance was evaluated. Finally, a finite surface of ten plasma cylinders (including glass vessels) has been considered. The preliminary results prove the capability to obtain beam-steering by tuning the plasma density within the discharges.

A Millimeter-Wave Spoof-Surface-Plasmon-Polaritons-Fed Dual-Polarized Microstrip Patch Antenna Array

A novel millimeter-wave spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs)-fed dual-polarized microstrip patch antenna array is proposed in this article. A dual-polarized single-layered square patch antenna fed by SSPPs is investigated first acting as the radiators. A method of directly connecting two orthogonal SSPPs with two edges of the square patch is introduced to excite the TM10 and TM01 modes and to achieve promising performance simultaneously. The fabricated antenna element has a measured overlapped impedance bandwidth of 13.7%, an isolation of more than 15 dB between the two inputs, a gain of up to about 6 dBi, and stable dual-polarized radiation patterns. With the use of two SSPPs branches printed on different sides of the substrate, a compact SSPPs power divider with adjustable power dividing ratio is then investigated for realizing the series SSPPs feed network, whose design considerations are discussed in detail. By combining the feed network with the patch elements, a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1\times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> 4 SSPPs-fed dual-polarized microstrip patch antenna array is fulfilled. The fabricated prototype confirms a bandwidth of 15% and dual-polarized broadside radiations. Benefitted from the simple single-layered geometry without the metallic ground plane over the major region of array geometry and the dual-polarized unidirectional radiation, the presented designs are valuable to emerging millimeter-wave applications.

A new approach to design multi section wideband transmissive absorber using thin resistive sheets and dielectric slabs

A new design and analytical procedure are presented that greatly enhance the absorption bandwidth and absorptivity level with few dielectric layers without using the metallic ground plane. The performance of the proposed structure is beyond what is possible with Salisbury screen or Jaumann absorber. The performance improvement is obtained using the resistive sheets coated on the surface of each lossless dielectric slab. Reflected waves inside each dielectric layer are eliminated and input reflection coefficient can easily be written with the aid of binomial expansion without any approximation. So we can apply Binomial design and considerable improvement at the absorption level and bandwidth is realized by the selection of the resistive sheets with the critical resistivity values. Alternatively, we observed that transmission is independent from frequency and layer number and it can be controlled only by the initial and final layer’s dielectric constants. Two cases are analyzed as air to air and air to dielectric. Absorptivity, transmittivity and reflectivity variations are presented versus frequency in 0–20 GHz band, in both cases. It is shown that choosing three layers backed with a final layer (εrb=20) structure in air to air case gives absorptivity greater than 90% in 5.45–14.55 GHz band where fractional bandwidth is 91% at 10 GHz design frequency. The design is performed at normal incidence and also wide angular stability at a reasonable level is presented. CST Microwave Studio and AWR simulation programs are also used to prove the correctness of the proposed method.

A Novel Low-Cost Compact High-Performance Flower-Shaped Radiator Design for Modern Smartphone Applications

This manuscript examines the design principle and real-world validation of a new miniaturized high-performance flower-shaped radiator (FSR). The antenna prototype consists of an ultracompact square metallic patch of 0.116λ0 × 0.116λ0 (λ0 is the free space wavelength at 3.67 GHz), a rectangular microstrip feed network, and a partial metal ground plane. A novel, effective, and efficient approach based on open circuit loaded stubs is employed to achieve the antenna's optimal performance features. Rectangular, triangular, and circular disc stubs were added to the simple structure of the square radiator, and hence, the FSR configuration was formed. The proposed antenna was imprinted on a low-cost F4B laminate with low profile thickness of 0.018λ0, relative permittivity εr = 2.55, and dielectric loss tangent δ = 0.0018. The designed radiator has an overall small size of 0.256λ0 × 0.354λ0. The parameter study of multiple variables and their influence on the performance results has been extensively studied. Moreover, the impact of different substrate materials, impedance bandwidths, resonance tuning, and impedance matching has also been analyzed. The proposed antenna model has been designed, simulated, and fabricated. The designed antenna exhibits a wide bandwidth of 5.33 GHz ranging from 3.67 to 9.0 GHz at 10 dB return loss, which resulted in an 83.6% fractional impedance bandwidth; a maximum gain of 7.3 dBi at 8.625 GHz; optimal radiation efficiency of 89% at 4.5 GHz; strong intensity current flow across the radiator; and stable monopole-like far-field radiation patterns. Finally, a comparison between the scientific results and newly published research has been provided. The antenna's high-performance simulated and measured results are in a good agreement; hence, they make the proposed antenna an excellent choice for modern smartphones' connectivity with the sub-6 GHz frequency spectrum of modern fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication application.

Highly Sensitive Biosensor Based on Metamaterial Absorber With an All-Metal Structure

In this article, an all-metal metamaterial absorber as a sensitive biosensor is proposed in the terahertz regime for biomolecular detection, such as protein, bacillus bacteria, and cancer cells. Here, the highly sensitive characteristic of the proposed absorber is implemented by the enhanced electromagnetic loss of symmetry-broken metal structures, where two discontinuous hollow rectangular metal arms are arranged orthogonally above the metal ground plane in geometry. Finite integral theory (FIT)-based software is utilized for modeling and full-wave numerical simulation. The results show that a near-perfect absorption of 100% at 1.99 THz is achieved with a quality factor value of 87, which could be an excellent performance in the terahertz regime below 2 THz. The electric and magnetic field distribution analysis is performed to reveal the mechanism, which is the significant confinement of electromagnetic field in the specially designed metal structure. The sensing performance of a refractive index is also investigated, and the resonance frequency and peak absorption of the spectra will get shift due to the variation of biological samples. The maximum sensitivity and figure of merit reach 540 GHz/RIU and 23.5 RIU−1, respectively. In addition, the effect of polarization angles and performance under different incident angles is also discussed. The presented biosensor with high sensitivity and feasible fabrication is a good candidate for biomedical detection in the terahertz regime.

FSS Sandwiched Dual-Frequency Reflectarray for Mobile Communication Applications

Sandwiched frequency selective surface (FSS) is proposed as an additional reflection surface for a dual-frequency reflectarray system. The range of reflection phase for a reflectarray depends on the substrate thickness sensitively. Usually, a tradeoff between the smooth linear level and the wide reflection phase range is needed, especially for a dual-frequency system. By inserting an FSS between the ground plane and the reflecting element layer, a selective plane for the dual-frequency band is provided. For the higher frequency band, the FSS layer is a reflection plane. For the lower frequency band, it is transparent and the reflection plane is changed into the metal ground plane. A dual-band reflectarray with a scattering angle of 30 degrees is simulated and measured to validate this concept.

Dual-band terahertz absorber based on square ring metamaterial structure.

In this paper, a dual-band terahertz absorber based on metamaterial structure is designed, fabricated, and measured. The metal periodic array is located on the upper surface of a silicon wafer with a metal ground plane, while the metamaterial structure is created utilizing a square metal ring with four T-shaped metal strips loaded inside of the ring. Two absorption peaks are realized at 0.715 and 1.013 THz with high Q-factors of 152.1 and 98.3, respectively, under normal TE and TM polarized incidence. A prototype of the proposed metamaterial absorber is fabricated by electron beam lithography (EBL) and electron beam evaporation (EBE) technology. Furthermore, a terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS) measurement system is employed to test the absorber sample, with good measurement results obtained. This work provides a new option for the design of multi-band terahertz metamaterial absorbers.

Dielectric Resonator Antenna-Induced Conduction Current on the Metallic Ground Plane: Interesting observations on its impact and usefulness

This article addresses the role of conduction current, caused by a dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) on its metallic ground plane (GP), in influencing its radiation and also in predicting accurate directivity patterns. Extraction of the surface current and its translation to the far field have been systematically studied using different methods. In contrast to what was reported earlier in <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref6" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">[6]</xref> , the conduction current alone is eventually found insufficient to predict the radiation successfully. An additional requirement of the passive DRA block to compensate fields over the front hemisphere has been identified, and an effective method of computation has been demonstrated. Measured and simulated data have been used as references to validate the method. A few examples have been furnished using different DRA shapes, feeding structures, and GP shapes with a special focus on different modes and polarizations. The provided method of computation will be helpful in understanding the physics of radiation from a DRA and interpreting its behavior under special conditions. This method shows that, by controlling the GP current and without disturbing the DRA resonance, the radiation patterns can be easily reconfigured.

A New CPW-Fed Semicircular Inverted Triangular Shaped Antenna Based on Mixed-Alternate Approach for 5G Millimeter-Wave Wireless Applications.

This paper presents the design and development of a new semicircular inverted triangular shaped antenna for 5G millimeter-wave wireless applications. An alternate-mixed approach based on cavity, slots and loaded stubs is employed in the designed antenna lattice. The suggested antenna structure is formed by a radiator, partial defected metal ground plane and a 50 Ω coplanar waveguide. The proposed antenna resonated at multiple frequencies by the setting up of the proper dimensions and locations of the rectangles, elliptical cut slots and cavity stubs. Furthermore, a parametric analysis is carried out to examine the antenna's effectiveness and impedance-matching controls. The proposed structure is realized on the low-cost RT/Duroid Rogers RO3010™ laminate with an overall small size of 1.381λ0 × 1.08λ0 × 0.098λ0, where λ0 represents the wavelength corresponding to the minimum edge frequency of the 23 GHz at 10 dB impedance bandwidth of the antenna. The antenna's key characteristics in terms of bandwidth, gain, radiation patterns and current distribution have been investigated. The antenna exhibits high performance, including an impedance bandwidth of 19 GHz ranging from 23 GHz to 42 GHz, results in 58.46% wider relative bandwidth calculated at 10 dB scaled return loss, a peak realized gain of 6.75 dBi, optimal radiation efficiency of 89%, stable omnidirectional-shaped radiation patterns and robust current distribution across the antenna structure at multiple resonances. The designed antenna has been fabricated and simulation experiments evaluated its performance. The results demonstrate that the antenna is appropriate and can be well integrated into 5G millimeter-wave wireless communication systems.

High performance antenna-on-chip inspired by SIW and metasurface technologies for THz band operation

In this paper, a high-performance antenna-on-chip (AoC) is implemented on gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafer based on the substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) and metasurface (MTS) technologies for terahertz band applications. The proposed antenna is constructed using five stacked layers comprising metal-GaAs-metal-GaAs-metal. The conductive electromagnetic radiators are implemented on the upper side of the top GaAs layer, which has a metallic ground-plane at its underside. The metallic feedline is implemented at the underside of the bottom GaAs layer. Dual wrench-shaped radiators are framed by metallic vias connected to the ground-plane to create SIW cavity. This technique mitigates the surface waves and the substrate losses, thereby improving the antenna’s radiation characteristics. The antenna is excited by a T-shaped feedline implemented on the underside of the bottom GaAs substrate layer. Electromagnetic (EM) energy from the feedline is coupled to the radiating elements through the circular and linear slots etched in the middle ground-plane layer. To mitigate the surface-wave interactions and the substrate losses in the bottom GaAs layer, the feedline is contained inside a SIW cavity. To enhance the antenna’s performance, the radiators are transformed into a metamaterial-inspired surface (i.e., metasurface), by engraving periodic arrangement of circular slots of sub-wavelength diameter and periodicity. Essentially, the slots act as resonant scatterers, which control the EM response of the surface. The antenna of dimensions of 400 × 400 × 8 μm3 is demonstrated to operate over a wide frequency range from 0.445 to 0.470 THz having a bandwidth of 25 GHz with an average return-loss of − 27 dB. The measured average gain and radiation efficiency are 4.6 dBi and 74%, respectively. These results make the proposed antenna suitable for AoC terahertz applications.

W-Band Low-Profile Transmit Array Based on Wideband Partially Reflecting Surface

This communication presents a wideband low profile transmit array (TA) with a small height-to-diameter (H/D) ratio of 0.285 working at a center frequency of 100 GHz, which consists of a waveguide feed source, a metal ground plane, a partially reflective surface (PRS), and a transmission surface (TS). A PRS with not only a positive reflection phase gradient, but also a negative transverse reflection magnitude gradient is designed above the ground plane to reduce the height as well as to broaden the bandwidth of the TA. The proposed TS is composed of eight unit cells (UCs) with a high transmission magnitude and phase differences of 45° in a broadband range. Four passive antenna prototypes with different beam directions are fabricated to validate the design concepts, and good agreements are obtained between the radiation patterns, gain curves, and return losses. The measured peak gain is 20.7 dBi with aperture efficiency (AE) of 10.5% at 99.5 GHz. A relative bandwidth of 15.2% is obtained within 3 dB gain variations, making it a promising candidate for sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication applications.

The effects of the dielectric substrate thickness and the loss tangent on the absorption spectrum: a comprehensive study considering the resonance type, the ground plane coupling, and the characterization setup

In this study, the effects of dielectric substrate thickness and the dielectric loss tangent on the absorption spectrum are investigated parametrically in S-band. The study has been conducted on two different absorber topologies, one is closed ring resonator (CRR) and the other is composed of a split ring resonator (SRR), to observe the effects on both LC - and dipole-type resonances. The studies on the substrate thickness have been performed both numerically and experimentally, whereas the studies on the dielectric loss tangent have been performed numerically. The results agree with the literature such that the substrate thickness has significant effects on the resonant frequency and the absorption peak level which is explained by the impedance matching phenomenon. Besides, we show that the frequency shift behavior (i.e. redshift or blueshift) in response to substrate thickness change highly depends on the coupling between the resonator structure and the metallic ground plane. Moreover, the responses of absorption spectra to the changes of substrate thickness and dielectric loss are very similar whether it is due to an LC or a dipole-type resonances. We believe that the comprehensive and systematic parametric analyses in whole contributes to the literature especially considering the experimental studies in microwaves.

Plasma-Based Intelligent Reflecting Surface for Beam-Steering and Polarization Conversion

The design of a reflective surface operated in the GHz range is proposed to enable beam-steering and polarization conversion simultaneously. The concept presented in this work relies on plasma-based Intelligent Reflecting Surfaces (IRS) in which the plasma is magnetized. Plasma-based IRSs have been introduced recently and consist of rectangular plasma discharges placed on top of a metallic ground plane. The reflected signal can be reconfigured electronically by varying the plasma parameters (e.g., density). First, a theoretical model is exploited to evaluate the capability of a plasma-based IRS to implement beam-steering and polarization conversion simultaneously. Second, the preliminary design of two plasma-based IRSs is presented to combine beam-steering with 1) cross-polarization or 2) linear-to-circular polarization conversion. According to the numerical results, the proposed concepts are feasible assuming the plasma density can be reconfigured in the range <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$4.9\times 10^{17}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> - <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$13.7\times 10^{17}\,\,\text{m}^{-3}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and the intensity of the magnetostatic field in the range 60–183 mT; these values are consistent with the plasma technology at the state-of-the-art. The operation frequency is 10 GHz, and the bandwidth is between 0.5-0.8 GHz for the two plasma-based IRSs presented in this work.

Wideband to narrowband/dual band characteristics of monopole antenna using frequency selective surfaces

SummaryA monopole antenna having desirable transmission characteristics with high gain is proposed. The monopole antenna comprises 45° tilted square shaped patch and modified rectangular metallic ground plane on FR4 dielectric substrate. The proposed monopole antenna operates from 2.6 GHz to 9.7 GHz with maximum peak gain of 2.3 dBi. Now, a dual‐layer aperture‐type FSS is designed having a passband from 5.9 GHz to 9.2 GHz and incorporated with the proposed monopole antenna. Thus, the combination only covers the selective frequency band from 5.5 GHz to 8.7 GHz with a stable gain of around 5 dBi. Second, another FSS is designed, which has one stop‐band from 4.1 GHz to 5.4 GHz and two passbands on the both sides of this stop‐band. This combination does not work from 4.1 GHz to 5.5 GHz but covers dual band from 2.48 GHz to 3.3 GHz with a peak gain of 5 dBi and 5.5 GHz to 10 GHz with a peak gain of 5.5 dBi. Therefore, without modifying the antenna design, any tunable transmission band can be achieved by the proposed combination. The proposed antenna and FSS combination structure may be suitable for military wireless applications for its band selection characteristics.

A High Q-factor Metamaterial Absorber and Its Refractive Index Sensing Characteristics

High quality ( <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula> )-factor metamaterial absorbers are an emerging technology, which can be used in refractive index sensing for dielectric coating and in radar cross Section (RCS) reduction for concealment of an object. Nevertheless, angular-sensitive or the required complex structure hampered its application. Here, a metamaterial absorber based on a simple inverted-cross-star (ICS) structure with high <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula> -factor operating within microwave frequencies is demonstrated. The metamaterial absorber is composed of ICS metallic pattern and a metal ground plane on the sides of a Rogers RT5880 dielectric slab with a thickness of 0.127 mm. The excellent angular insensitivity for both TE and TM polarizations of the proposed metamaterial absorber is demonstrated by Finite Integeral Technology (FIT) numerical simulation, i.e., the absorptivity is about 85% for TE polarization and more than 99% for TM polarization under the incident angle as wide as 70°. The RCS of a manufactured prototype is measured in an anechoic chamber. In addition, the potential application of the proposed metamaterial absorber in refractive index sensing is also studied. This proposed prototype, with the advantages of high <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$Q$ </tex-math></inline-formula> -factor, structural simplicity, small thickness, angular- and polarization-insensitiveness, and frequency flexibility, has potential application in the field of antennas with RCS reduction and metamaterial sensing.

Analysis and Design of Tunable THz 1-D Leaky-Wave Antennas Based on Nematic Liquid Crystals

The tunable properties of nematic liquid crystals (NLC) are here exploited in a peculiar leaky waveguide with artificial magnetic conductors as the lateral walls, a bottom metal ground plane, and a homogenized metasurface on top to obtain dynamic beamsteering at a fixed terahertz frequency. The waveguide consists of an NLC cell sandwiched between two dielectric layers. The proposed antenna system works on its transverse-magnetic leaky mode and is capable of radiating a beam that scans either by frequency or by changing the bias voltage applied across the NLC cell. The design parameters are optimized through a rigorous modal analysis of the structure, and the radiation performance is validated through full-wave simulations. The results are promising for the realization of next-generation tunable terahertz leaky-wave antennas.

High‐gain ultra‐wideband quasi‐conical beam Fabry‐Perot antenna based on beam switching

To solve the contradiction between the high gain and wide coverage, the concept of the quasi-conical beam is proposed by using the high-gain pencil beam electrically switching along a cone to make full use of time redundancy. In a periphery-fed Fabry-Perot (FP)-type multi-beam antenna, the electrically switching is used to activate the different port corresponding to the different beam for the beam switching in the azimuthal plane, and the varying frequency is used for the continuous scanning in the elevation plane. Different from the lens or matrix multi-beam arrays, in this scheme, the FP cavity serves as both the beamforming network and the radiator to produce the multi-beam. Around eight planar antipodal Fermi-tapered slot antennas are placed around the FP cavity between the partially reflective surface and the metal ground plane as the primary feeds. The simulation and measurement results show that a relative impedance bandwidth of 53.3% with reflection coefficients below −10 dB from 11 to 19 GHz is obtained and the peak gain is 17.1 dBi at the central frequency of 15 GHz. The results also show that a high-gain beam scanning from 22° to 59° in the elevation plane is achieved and the peak gains are between 16 dBi and 20 dBi. In addition, when the electrically switching of the beam is along a cone, the proposed antenna may form quasi-conical beam. And in some applications, it may replace the conventional conical beam antenna with the advantages of wide coverage and high gain.

A Theoretical Proposal for an Actively Controlled Ultra-Wideband Absorber Based on Vanadium Dioxide Hybrid Metamaterials

In this study, an ultra-wideband actively tunable terahertz absorber composed of four identical arc-shaped structures made of phase transition material vanadium dioxide (VO2) is presented. A metal ground plane is placed at the bottom and an insulating spacer (quartz) as the middle dielectric layer. Simulation results demonstrate 90% absorption with a broad bandwidth spanning 3 THz (2.7 THz–5.7 THz) under normal incidence. The proposed structure transforms from a reflector to an absorber by changing the conductivity from 200 S/m to 2 × 105 S/m; the absorbance at peak frequencies can be consistently tuned from 4% to 100%. Absorption spectra demonstrate that the polarization angle does not affect the response of the proposed structure. Power loss density (PLD) and impedance-matching theory are further analyzed to learn more about the physical origin of ultra-wide absorption. The ultra-wide operating bandwidth, high absorption efficiency, active tunability, and independence of polarization make the proposed structure an excellent candidate for integration into profound THz applications such as sensors, modulators, and optic-electro switches.

Electromagnetic Radiation Mechanism Analysis and Field Strength Prediction of an Elementary Digital Inverter with Cables

In this paper, common mode (CM) and differential mode (DM) far-field radiation models of a typical digital inverter with cables are built up to predict electromagnetic field strength and analyze field characteristics. The CM current model and its analyses are based on the imbalance difference method. It is found out that the voltage between the drain and the source electrodes of upper transistor is the key equivalent source of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Far-field radiation strength of the digital inverter in free space is predicted by using the asymmetrical antenna radiation method and current loop radiation method. The accuracy of these methods is verified by the CST electromagnetic simulation results in the frequency range from 1 MHz to 400 MHz. Furthermore, the radiation models are improved by using the mirror method, which enables to include the reflection effect of the metal ground plane at the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) test site. Both the results of measurements in a semi-anechoic chamber and the simulation results confirm the proposed electromagnetic radiation prediction method.

Design of an ultra-thin hepta-band metamaterial absorber for sensing applications

An ultra-thin metamaterial absorber (MMA) comprises of a split-ring-cross (SRC)-shaped resonator coupled with graphene and dielectric layer backed by metallic ground plane is presented theoretically and numerically for hepta-band applications. The proposed absorber demonstrates multiple absorption peaks at 2.33, 5.24, 7.74, 8.25, 10.05, 10.97, and 12.61 THz with average absorption of more than 96%. The physical mechanism of the hepta-band absorption is analyzing by electric field distribution and attributed to the combination of dipolar and LC resonance. Furthermore, the effect of geometric parameters is analyzed to validate the optimal selection of the structural parameters. In addition, the proposed MMA is analyzed for different incident and polarization angles suggesting that absorption response is insensitive to polarization angles. Compared with the previously reported MMAs, the proposed design is ultra-thin (0.036λ) and compact (0.21λ) at the lowest operational frequency. The absorptivity at 12.61 THz is 99.81% and the corresponding quality (Q) factor is 31.52 for a bandwidth of 0.40 THz. The proposed absorber can be potentially utilized in detection, sensing, and imaging. Moreover, the sensing performance of the proposed MMA has been investigated using overlayer thickness and overlayer permittivity.