Metamaterial‐based linear phased array antenna with improved wide‐angle scanning bandwidth by parasitic metal strips

Abstract Two metamaterial‐based linear phased array antennas with improved wide‐angle scanning bandwidth are designed in this study. Metamaterial antenna element consists of a metamaterial patch, periodic metal strips, distributed metal strips and slot coupling feeding structure. The bandwidth of the metamaterial antenna is improved by loading the periodic metal strips. Wide‐angle scanning bandwidth of arrays is attributed to the distributed metal strips. For an E‐plane array, the central element has a relative bandwidth of 30.0% (4.33‐5.86 GHz) for Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) <2 and the main beam can scan up to ±70° with a gain fluctuation less than 3.3 dB. For an H‐plane array, the central element has a relative bandwidth of 26.2% (4.41–5.74 GHz) for VSWR <2 and the main beam can scan up to ±70° with a gain fluctuation less than 2.5 dB. Two 7‐element linear phased array antennas are fabricated to verify the scanning performance. The measured and simulation results are in good agreement. The proposed antennas can be promising candidates for C‐band radar and satellite communication.