Experimental demonstration of narrow beam monopole antenna embedded in low effective index of refraction (n < 1) wire medium.

A narrow beam monopole antenna is realized by embedding the antenna within a periodic metallic wire array. The 2D wire array is designed to have an effective index of refraction smaller than unity (neff < 1) at the X-band frequencies (8–12 GHz), within which the antenna operates. The narrow beam effect due to the low refractive index of the wire medium is demonstrated in both simulation and experiment. Measured antenna properties including return loss and radiation pattern are in good agreement with simulation results. This simple and straightforward antenna design methodology can be applied at any microwave frequency. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 50: 2341–2345, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.23653 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]