Low-profile, Broadband, and High-gain Circularly Polarized Metasurface Antenna using Characteristic Mode Analysis

Authors

  • Yibiao Fan College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering Longyan University, Longyan 364012, China
  • Zhan Jin College of Communication and Electronic Engineering Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China
  • Zhihe Fu College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering Longyan University, Longyan 364012, China
  • Xiaowei Cai College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering Longyan University, Longyan 364012, China
  • Qi Lin College of Communication and Electronic Engineering Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13052/2025.ACES.J.400503

Keywords:

Broadband, characteristic mode analysis, circular polarization (CP), high-gain, low-profile, metasurface antenna (MSA)

Abstract

In this paper, a low-profile broadband and high-gain circularly polarized (CP) metasurface antenna (MSA) is proposed. The characteristic mode analysis is employed to select the valuable modes for the 4×4 square metasurface elements printed on the top of the single-layer dielectric slab. The coplanar waveguide feeding structure combines a horizontal aperture and two slots rotated in a counter-clockwise direction is utilized to excite the CP radiation of the MSA. The proposed CP MSA is fabricated and measured, which achieves a -10 dB impedance bandwidth ranging from 4.83 GHz to 6.35 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 27.2%, the overlapped 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth is 20.1% (covers from 4.83 GHz to 5.91 GHz). Furthermore, the peak boresight gain measured at 5.2 GHz reaches 9.88 dBic. The average gain consistently maintains 8.94 dBic throughout the overlapped AR bandwidth, while the 3 dB gain bandwidth fully encompasses the entirety of the 3 dB overlapped AR bandwidth showing good performance for 5G Wi-Fi band utilization.

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Author Biographies

Yibiao Fan, College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering Longyan University, Longyan 364012, China

Yibiao Fan received his B.S. degree from Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou, China, in 2006, and M.S. degree from Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, China, in 2015. Presently, he serves as an associate professor and M.S. Candidate Advisor for College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering of Longyan University, Longyan, China. His current research interests include metamaterial and microwave antennas.

Zhan Jin, College of Communication and Electronic Engineering Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China

Zhan Jin received the B.S. degree in Electrical and Information Engineering from Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China, in 2005, and M.S. degree and Ph.D. degree in Information and Communication Engineering from Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China, in 2009 and 2020, respectively. She joined Qiqihar University, Qiqihar, China, in 2009, where she is currently an associate professor and M.S. Candidate Advisor with the College of Communication and Electronic Engineering. Her current research interests include signal processing, sparse adaptive filtering, and microwave antennas.

Zhihe Fu, College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering Longyan University, Longyan 364012, China

Zhihe Fu was born in Longyan, China, in 1970. He received the B.S. degree in materials physics from Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China, in 1992, and the M.S. degree in electronics and communications from Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, in 2011. He joined Longyan University, Longyan, China, in 1992, where he is currently a professor and M.S. Candidate Advisor for College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering of Longyan University, Longyan, China. His current research interests include electric power systems measurement and control technologies.

Xiaowei Cai, College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering Longyan University, Longyan 364012, China

Xiaowei Cai was born in Zhangzhou, Fujian, China, in 1986. He received the B.S. degree in electronic information engineering and the M.S. degree in control engineering from Nanchang University, Jiangxi, China, in 2007 and 2013, respectively. Presently, he serves as an associate professor and M.S. Candidate Advisor for College of Physics and Mechatronic Engineering of Longyan University, Longyan, China. His current research interests include intelligent sensing and circularly antennas.

Qi Lin, College of Communication and Electronic Engineering Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China

Qi Lin is currently pursuing the B.S. degree in communication engineering with Qiqihar University, Qiqihar, China. Her research interests include signal processing, sparse adaptive filtering, and microwave antenna design.

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Published

2025-05-30

How to Cite

[1]
Y. . Fan, Z. . Jin, Z. . Fu, X. . Cai, and Q. . Lin, “Low-profile, Broadband, and High-gain Circularly Polarized Metasurface Antenna using Characteristic Mode Analysis”, ACES Journal, vol. 40, no. 05, pp. 401–408, May 2025.