A phased array antenna with a broadly steerable beam based on a low-loss metasurface lens

A new concept for a gradient phase discontinuity metasurface lens integrated with a phased array antenna possessing a broadly steerable beam is presented in this paper. The metasurface lens is composed of a metallic H-shaped pattern and the metallic square split ring can achieve complete 360° transmission phase coverage at 30° phase intervals. The metasurface can refract an incident plane wave to an angle at will by varying the lattice constant. We demonstrate that the beam steering range of the phased array antenna is between 12° and 85° when the metasurface lens with a refracting electromagnetic wave is employed at 45°. Interestingly, the proposed array antenna has a much higher gain than a conventional phased array antenna at low elevation angles. It is expected that the proposed array antenna will have potential applications in wireless and satellite communications. Furthermore, the proposed array antenna is fabricated easily and is also low in cost due to its microstrip technology. (paper)