High impedance holographic metasurfaces for conformal and high gain antenna applications

We present simulated and experimental results from a conformal meta-antenna that was designed with a holographic-derived surface impedance for placement on a cylindrical surface. This class of antenna relies on the interaction between a surface wave generated by a simple radiator, e.g., a vertical monopole, and a spatially modulated surface impedance to generate high gain and predictable far-field radiation profiles. The surface impedance profile was formed using a distribution of sub-wavelength isotropic metal patches printed on a thin grounded dielectric substrate. An analysis of the meta-antenna radiative performance on both planar and cylindrical substrate geometries illustrates the importance of appropriately tailoring the surface impedance profile to account for the influence of curvature.