Semi-analytical Model of Multi-tile Rectangular Waveguide-fed Metasurfaces using Coupled Dipole Modeling Framework

TL;DR

This paper introduces a semi-analytical coupled-dipole model for multi-tile metasurface antennas, enabling efficient prediction of their electromagnetic performance and facilitating design optimization.

Contribution

The work develops a novel semi-analytical framework combining coupled-dipole and multi-port network analysis for accurate, low-complexity modeling of large metasurface antennas.

Findings

Model accurately predicts S-parameters, radiation patterns, and gain.

Reduces computational complexity for large-aperture metasurfaces.

Validated against full-wave numerical simulations.

Abstract

We present a semi-analytical model to analyze multi-tile metasurface antennas consisting of a set of metasurface tiles and a practical power-dividing network that excites the tiles. The metasurface tiles consist of arrays of rectangular waveguides with subwavelength metamaterial radiators etched into their top walls, each of which can be accurately modeled as polarizable dipoles. The feed structure for the arrays comprises a slotted waveguide attached to their bottom wall, with coupling slots inserted into the common wall that are likewise modeled as polarizable dipoles. The proposed semi-analytical model employs a coupled-dipole framework that accurately captures dipolar interactions among constituent elements within the metasurface tiles, along with a multi-port network analysis technique that accounts for electromagnetic interactions between the tiles and the power divider, thereby forming a self-consistent formulation. The proposed model enables the prediction of key performance metrics, including overall S-parameters, radiation patterns, and gain, and is validated through full-wave numerical simulations. By significantly reducing the computational complexity associated with electrically large apertures, the proposed framework enables rapid and efficient modeling of the overall structure, thereby facilitating iterative optimization. The proposed model has potential applications as an efficient forward model for the design of wireless systems requiring large-aperture metasurface antennas, including remote sensing and next-generation wireless communication networks.