Passive and active metamaterial-inspired radiating and scattering systems integrated into structural composite materials

Several passive and active meta-structures have been successfully integrated into load-bearing high performance aerospace structural composite materials. These include an electrically small, metamaterial-inspired Egyptian Axe Dipole (EAD) antenna; a high impedance ground plane (HIGP) to mitigate any cross talk between adjacent antennas; and passive and active circuits including wide bandwidth and conformal amplifiers, bias-tees, and powered LEDs. Several different manufacturing techniques have been tested and the outcome is a well-defined manufacturing process. These structures enable streamlined aerodynamic functional smart skins.