Low Scattering Microstrip Antenna Array Using Coding Artificial Magnetic Conductor Ground

In this letter, a low scattering microstrip antenna array has been designed and fabricated using a coding artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) ground. Two different AMC unit cells are designed first, and then they are combined to replace the conventional metallic ground of an antenna array. It is found that the radar cross section (RCS) of the novel antenna array is reduced in a wideband from 6 to 13.4 GHz for the broadband diffusion property of an AMC ground. The maximum RCS reduction of 17 and 16.65 dB can be obtained at 10 GHz for both polarizations. Moreover, the antenna radiation properties are hardly influenced owing to the antenna array and an AMC ground work at different frequencies. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulations, verifying the validity of the proposed design method.