A novel polarization independent angularly stable high impedance surface for antenna miniaturization

A novel ultrathin high impedance surface (HIS) whose response is independent of polarization and incidence angle of the incident wave is presented. The proposed HIS reflects the incident electromagnetic wave with unity magnitude and zero phase reversal over the operating frequency band 1.7–3 GHz. Due to very small unit cell size 0.1λ, the surface does not cause any scattering and surface waves. The designed HIS is then applied to a standard patch antenna to improve the gain. The use of HIS results in a very compact antenna design as compared to the conventional ground plane that must be placed at distance of λ/4 to attain maximum gain. Increase in gain, compactness in size and prevention of the surface waves are the major advantages achieved by using proposed HIS instead of conventional ground plane.