Antenna beam control using finite reactive surface ground planes for automotive windshield applications

The use of reactive surface ground planes for controlling the antenna beam pointing direction off of a vehicle windshield is presented. An analytical and numerical study of quarter-wave monopoles with reactive surface ground planes demonstrated that the beam pointing direction was dependent upon the magnitude of the surface reactance. Experimental studies using various frequency selective surface (FSS) ground planes to realize reactive surfaces confirmed the beam control capability of this approach.