Gain Enhancement and Side-Lobe Suppression of an X-Band Dual-Polarized Deployable Mesh Reflector Antenna Using a Symmetrical, Angle-Insensitive Reflective Metasurface

Abstract

This paper presents a metasurface-loaded X-band dual-polarized deployable mesh reflector antenna with a high gain of 48 dBi and a low side-lobe level (SLL) of −32 dB. The proposed unit used to comprise the metasurface features structurally symmetric, angle-insensitive, and a smooth phase gradient. The architecture of the metasurface-loaded mesh reflector antenna is investigated in detail. A prototype experiment to demonstrate the focusing capability of such proposed metasurfaces is conducted. The simulation and measurement results are in good agreement and indicate this type of the proposed planar metasurface can effectively enhance the gain and suppress the SLL of the mesh reflector antenna. It is believed that the designed metasurface unit, as well as the metasurfaces formed by such units, has potential in the applications of large antennas for Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites.