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In this paper, a characteristic mode (CM)-based design methodology is developed for the reconfigurable microwave metasurface absorbers (MMA) with using commercially available substrates. Theoretical intrinsic connection between modal behaviors and absorption properties is first formulated for the design of the structures. As a proof of the method, a broadband MMA consisting of butterfly elements is step-by-step designed. The positions and values of the impedance loading are determined based on the modal significances and modal currents for broadband operation. The absorption performance is evaluated by the formulated theoretical model and verified by full-wave simulation. After that, a flexible implementation a employed for free-form surfaces conformal. Experimentally, the proposed MMA is fabricated and measured. The absorption fractional bandwidth with reflectivity less than –10 dB is achieved from 3.6 to 11.6 GHz (105%). Good agreements between the simulation and measurement results for both planar and cylindrical cases validate the developed CM-based design methodology. The mimicry of time-varying scattering cross section (SCS) is then further realized through real-time coding absorption states, which is a promising candidate for practical electromagnetic systems.

In this paper, a reconfigurable metal rim antenna with a small clearance and compact structure for 4G/5G smartphones is proposed. It consists of the system ground plane and a metal rim with two slits, in which a U-shaped slot of 1 mm (the smallest) clearance is realized between the system ground and metal rim. The theory of characteristic modes is applied to analyze the eigenmodes of the antenna so as to aid the optimum design. The characteristic modes (CMs) in the band of interest are studied, and an inductive coupling exciter is identified as the best since three CMs can therefore be generated in the lower frequency band (0.69-0.96 GHz), and an SP4T switch can be utilized to increase the bandwidth of the whole lower band. A prototype antenna of the optimized design was fabricated. A good agreement was obtained between the measured and simulated results. The 6-dB frequency bands are the lower band (0.69-0.96 GHz), the middle band (1.7- 2.7 GHz), and the higher 5G band (3.4- 3.6 GHz), respectively, and the total efficiencies are over 50% in all these frequency bands. They indicate that the antenna is a very good candidate for smartphone applications.

In this paper, the analysis of an UWB monopole antenna using the Theory of Characteristic Modes is presented. It starts from the modal study of an asymmetric dipole (structure 1), and then complements and compares it with a broadband monopole (structure 2), aiming to understand the operation principle of the proposed antenna. To achieve this, the electromagnetic properties of the structures are analyzed through the generation of its characteristic angles, modal radiation patterns, characteristic currents, and the power contribution percentage of each mode to the total radiated power, providing a vision on how the superposition of individual characteristic modes enables UWB operation. The prototype model is fabricated, and the measured results agree very well with the full-wave simulations results. The proposed prototype has a very low profile and operates in the frequency band from 2.8 GHz to exceed 10 GHz for a reflection coefficient S11 less than -10dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic method based on the Theory of Characteristic Modes (TCM) for finding orthogonal radiation patterns of any electronically steerable parasitic array radiator (ESPAR) is described. This method can be useful for designing single-RF front-end multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems in which orthogonal patterns can be utilized as a basis set for space modulation (SM) or full multiplexed MIMO systems. The method is based on the $N$ -port formulation of TCM and is not restricted to antenna type or array configuration. It can also provide closed formed solutions for the antenna element currents required to generate the orthogonal patterns. In addition an approach to finding the required load reactances in ESPAR for generating the orthogonal patterns is provided and is based on the quasi-Newton method utilizing a closed form expression for the initial approximate solution. Approximate estimation of the effective aerial degrees of freedom of the ESPARs is also discussed. Two simulation examples of ESPARs, a 4-element linear dipole array and an 8-element rectangular planar inverted-F antenna array, using SM as well as full multiplexed MIMO are provided, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hepta-band antenna with high efficiency, small clearance, and simple structure for metal-rimmed smartphones is proposed in this letter. The proposed antenna occupies only 71 × 5 mm2 of the total clearance, and it is mainly composed of a system ground, a metal rim with two gaps, and two shorting strips. The theory of characteristic modes is used to analyze the entire structure. All resonant characteristic modes (CMs) in the target frequency are traced, and their characteristic current distributions are analyzed. By using an L-shaped capacitive exciter, three CMs are excited at the lower bands, and an inverted L-shaped branch is utilized for improving the impedance matching at higher bands. The measured 6 dB impedance bandwidths were 800–1000 and 1700–2780 MHz, respectively, and they can cover seven operating bands. The measured efficiencies were 62%–85.7% at the lower band and 66.9%–91% at the higher band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, new metrics are proposed to provide physical insight into the behavior of metamaterial-based structures by means of the theory of characteristic modes. A relationship between the first eigenmode and an expression of the polarizability is proposed for a split-ring resonator. It thus allows us to describe a link between the artificial magnetic response of a split-ring resonator and modal characteristics. Using the new metrics proposed, a reactive impedance substrate based on metal-dielectric metamaterial excited by a parallel magnetic field is shown to exhibit artificial magnetism. These metrics are shown to propose good agreement with other analytical and numerical methods. This analysis should be useful when such metal-dielectric metamaterial structures are associated to radiating elements like antennas since it could be performed in the near-field region, unlike common approaches based on plane wave and far-field assumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this letter, we propose a horizontally polarized antenna with omni-directivity in horizontal plane. Ripple coefficient of the radiation pattern in horizontal plane improves up to ±0.1 dB. The theory of characteristic modes is used to analyze and illustrate the reason for why the omni-directivity property of the proposed antenna improved. Finally, we verify the antenna performances by experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of a magnetic boundary condition into the plane of symmetry in a radiating ground plane of a portable device is proposed to enhance its radiation efficiency and bandwidth. This magnetic boundary condition is achieved by exciting the antenna through symmetrical feeding. A novel antenna consisting of a symmetrical folded dipole is presented in order to exemplify how a broad bandwidth and very good radiation properties can be obtained with the proposed technique. The Theory of Characteristic Modes is used to analyze and compare a folded dipole with the symmetrical folded dipole. This study shows how the magnetic boundary condition favors excitation of antenna modes in a broad bandwidth while avoiding excitation of transmission line modes. Two different prototype antennas, a monopole and a symmetrical folded dipole with an LC-balun, were implemented and measured. The measured -6 dB impedance bandwidth of the monopole extends from 0.95 GHz to 2.15 GHz. In turn, the bandwidth of the symmetrical folded dipole extends from 0.90 GHz to 1.96 GHz. The average of the measured total efficiencies at the aforementioned bandwidth is -1.6 dB for both prototypes. The measured maximum total gain at 0.95 GHz is 2.6 dBi for the monopole and 1.9 dBi for the symmetrical folded dipole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]