High-gain and Wideband Fabry-Perot Resonator Antenna based on a Pixelated single PRS layer for Ku-band Applications

In this paper, a wideband and high-gain Fabry Perot Resonator Antenna (FPRA) is proposed. It is based on a synthesized compact, single partially reflective surface (PRS) layer acting as a superstrate to a slot-coupled feed antenna, which acts as a radiating source element for the proposed design. The PRS uses a 2-D printed unit cell, where the lower part is a simple circular-ring Frequency Selective Surface (FSS), incorporated with a synthesized FSS unit cell. This latter acts as the upper part of the proposed PRS layer and provides a positive phase gradient. It is almost perfectly resembles that of the optimum PRS over the desired frequency range, with a relatively high reflection magnitude, making it an efficient superstrate candidate for wideband and high gain FP resonator antennas. The proposed design achieves important performance in terms of impedance bandwidth ranging from 11.9 to 17.6 GHz (38.64 %). In addition, the 3-dB gain bandwidth is 39.11 % from 11.6 to 17.24 GHz, with a maximum peak gain of 14.21 dB achieved at 16 GHz. Consistent and almost invariant radiation patterns are achieved over the Ku-band frequency band of interest.