A Single-Layer Low-Profile Broadband Metasurface-Inspired Antenna With Monopole-Like Radiation Characteristics

This communication presents a novel single-layer, low-profile broadband metasurface (MTS)-inspired antenna with monopole-like radiation characteristics. To excite symmetric surface waves propagating along an MTS consisting of an array of 4 × 4 metal square patches, a horizontal center-fed monopole structure is used at the center of the MTS. The proposed antenna is further embedded within a square ring to improve the gain and H-plane patterns roundness at the upper-frequency band. The presented antenna achieved a -10 dB bandwidth of 32.62% (5.08-7.06 GHz) and a low-profile of 0.06λ0(λ0 is the free space wavelength at the center of the operating band) distinctive features due, respectively, to the effective excitation of different TM surface wave resonant modes that are close to each other and the in-phase reflection property of the MTS. The planar structure, single-layer, and low-profile merits make the proposed antenna an ideal candidate for various wireless communications systems, such as wireless local area network (WLAN) at 5.2/5.8 GHz, WiMAX at 5.5 GHz, and car to car (C2C) at 5.85-5.925 GHz.