Reconfigurable Linear Antennas Through Metasurface Coatings

We review our recent results about the design of cylindrical metasurface coats for linear antennas enabling either frequency or radiation pattern reconfigurability. First, we show how, by a judicious tuning of the characteristics of a homogeneous metasurface coating, the resonant frequency of a dipole antenna can be shifted within a broad frequency range without modifying its length. Then, we explore the possibility enabled by inhomogeneous metasurfaces in shaping the antenna radiation pattern. The results may further boost the research toward the design of smart antennas and repeaters for next-generation communications.