A Wideband and Low-Profile Phased Array Based on Metasurface Antenna Elements in LTCC Package

This letter presents a novel method for constructing a metasurface phased array antenna (MSPAA) using metasurface antenna (MSA) elements. To ensure the MSPAA has a low profile, wide impedance bandwidth, and large scanning range, Patch-vias-walls and blind cavities are introduced, respectively. Besides, the proposed MSA element is used to design an 8 × 8 phased array antenna based on low-temperature cofired ceramics packaging with a profile of only 0.1λ. Simulated and measured results indicate that the array can achieve a maximum scanning angle of ±45° (around 92.9% to theory limit) from 8 GHz to 12 GHz (40%) while maintaining an active voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR) below 2.5. The array exhibits a high gain of 24.9 dBi and an aperture efficiency of over 80%, with a cross-polarization level below −42.9 dB.