Design of the Flat Metamaterial Lens to Improve Signal Strengths of the Antenna for K-Band Satellite Communication and Observation of its Frequency Response

Satellite communication requires a long-distance wireless link, which necessitates a sufficiently high gain from the antenna, the entry point of a wireless communication device. Array antennas, commonly used to achieve high gain, face challenges such as cumulative metal and dielectric losses in the feed system and large physical volume. The use of optical curved lenses for high gain at millimeter-wave frequencies has been proposed, but such lenses have drawbacks, including large volume, as well as high manufacturing, installation, and maintenance costs. This paper addresses the design of a planar metasurface lens capable of amplifying millimeter-wave signal strength, serving as an alternative to array antennas and curved lenses. A planar lens with a 100 mm × 100 mm area that enhances the radiation gain of K-band antennas, a representative frequency range for satellite communication, by more than 9 dB is implemented. To verify the design, the radiation characteristics of the source antenna combined with the metasurface lens are measured and analyzed using a Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) and an Anechoic Chamber. Observations of the proposed antenna's frequency response characteristics demonstrate that the antenna gain increases by more than 10 dB in the K-band, and the beamwidth narrows, indicating high directivity.