Enhancement of the power radiated by a dipole antenna at boresight by means of a left handed superstrate

Abstract

In this paper a comparison between the measured radiation performances of a single dipole and a dipole with a left handed superstrate based on a finite periodic repetition of a unit cell is presented. First of all the return losses and resonant frequency of the dipole has been measured for different sizes of the superstrate, having a good impedance matching and a decrease in the resonant frequency as the number of cells increase. By using an anechoic chamber and a receiver horn antenna, the power transmitted at boresight has been measured for different frequencies, observing a filtering behaviour due to the resonant characteristic of the superstrate and an improvement of the power transmitted at the resonant frequency of around 3 dB. Comparing the H and E plane radiation patterns of a dipole and the dipole with superstrate, more symmetrical and directive radiation patterns can be observed. Finally, a comparison between the simulated and measured aperture efficiency is presented with a good agreement.