Antenna reflector emulation by simplified metamaterial-coated plates

Abstract

The optical transformation has been found to be an exceptional tool for determining the permittivity and permeability tensors ε and μ that are required to provide desired patterns of electromagnetic energy flow. In a previous application of the optical transformation, a planar metamaterial-coated plate (MMCP) was designed which will scatter waves in the same manner as a three-dimensional parabolic reflector. The required ε and μ, however, were not diagonal. A new method is proposed which can be applied to cylindrically symmetric reflectors of general geometry, and which results in ε and μ tensors which are diagonal. This is accomplished (a) by dividing the original region into two sub-regions and performing the transformation on each one separately, and (b) by performing the transformation along orthogonal surfaces that include the reflector boundaries. The method is applied to conical, parabolic, and spherical reflectors. The MMCP that is equivalent to each of these geometries is numerically validated for wave guide and plane wave radiation sources.

Keywords:

• metamaterials
• optical transformation
• reflector antennas
• diagonal tensor

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Dr. Matty Levanda for many useful, interesting and authoritative discussions. The author also wishes to thank Dr. Avri Frenkel for his scientific insights and dedicated assistance in the use of the CST program.