E- and H-plane beam control of a microstrip patch antenna using high index superstrates

This paper proposes a novel mechanism to control and manipulate gain and beam direction of a microstrip patch antenna by partially covering it with a high refractive index superstrate. It has been shown by full-wave electromagnetic simulations that the main beam of the antenna can be tilted in a desired direction by placing the high dielectric superstrate at specified locations. To understand the beam deflection mechanism, the microstrip patch can be replaced by four magnetic current sources and plane-wave approximations can be applied. The beam deflection takes place as a result of phase imbalance between the electromagnetic radiations emitted from the four magnetic sources. By covering a quarter of the patch (half of the radiation slot), the patch beam can be deflected in both E and H planes. Traditionally, the beam tilts are obtained by using phased arrays consisting of multiple antenna elements. This method is interesting in the sense that only one microstrip patch is used. Furthermore, the phase shifting networks are replaced by the superstrate cover.