Manufacturing of 3D-metallic electromagnetic metamaterials for feedhorns used in radioastronomy and satellite communications

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new type of metallic metamaterial meta-ring with record bandwidth, demonstrating its manufacturability and application in a compact microwave antenna for radioastronomy and satellite communications.

Contribution

It presents a theoretical justification for a novel meta-ring design with record bandwidth and demonstrates its successful fabrication and application in a compact antenna.

Findings

Record bandwidth in cross-polarization performance

Successful fabrication of the meta-ring

Implementation in a compact microwave antenna

Abstract

The electromagnetic metamaterials at microwaves frequencies are well established in industrial applications nowadays. Recent research has shown that a specific kind of metallic metamaterial can contribute to improve the performance of the microwave feedhorns used in radioastronomy and satellite telecommunications. In this article, we theoretically justify this argument finding a new type of meta-ring with a record bandwidth in terms of cross-polarization, and we explore the manufacturability of these particular metamaterials, successfully fabricating a meta-ring and applying it to a novel and very compact prototype microwave antenna which covers a 2:1 bandwidth.