Millimeter-Wave Antenna with Integrated Phase-Controlled Metasurface for Adaptive B5G Applications

Abstract

A millimeter-wave antenna design with an integrated phase-controlled metasurface for advanced B5G adaptive wireless communication systems is presented. The antenna system combines a planar antenna array of 32 patch antennas with an active metasurface based on microresonators with embedded varicaps, which provides a highly focused beam and its electronic deflection in various directions. The power supply network ensures in-phase excitation of the emitters with a phase spread of no more than 16° and an amplitude imbalance of less than 3.8 dB at a frequency of 25.7 GHz. The metasurface unit cell implements a Huygens resonance, resulting in a transmission coefficient no worse than –3.5 dB and a reflection coefficient of less than –15 dB. By varying the varicap bias voltage from 0 to 20 V, an electronic phase tuning range of approximately 304° is achieved, enabling dynamic beam direction control. Numerical simulation confirmed the feasibility of forming a narrow beam with electronic deflection over a wide range of angles (up to 40°). The proposed design has a low profile, is easy to manufacture, and meets the requirements of adaptive antenna systems for advanced communication standards to improve energy efficiency and spatial multiplexing. The results demonstrate the high potential for using the developed antenna in reconfigurable millimeter-wave antenna systems.