Embedded Wideband Metaresonator Antenna on a High-Impedance Ground Plane for Vehicular Applications

A conformal embedded wideband metaresonator antenna is proposed for military vehicular applications. Metamaterials are artificial materials that exhibit plasmonic resonances with subwavelength sizes of metallic structures. Metaresonator antennas use metamaterial structures as radiators to reduce the size of antennas and design multiband antennas. A small-dipole antenna is placed on a high-impedance ground plane with a conjoined split-ring resonator (SRR). The total volume of the antenna, including the effectively high impedance ground plane, is only 0.51λ₀ × 0.41λ₀ × 0.05 λ₀. The embedded multilayer ceramic antenna was fabricated using a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technique and is well suited for embedment in the armor. Very good agreement was obtained between full-wave simulation results and measurements of the reflection coefficient and radiation pattern.