Tunable artificial magnetic conductor ground for multiple functions: Antenna bandwidth enhancement, low scattering, and low-profile performance

In this article, an innovative method to improve antenna radiation and scattering performance is proposed and demonstrated. By utilizing a tunable artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) as the antenna ground plane, multiple functions can be realized, including antenna bandwidth enhancement, low scattering, and low-profile performance. For the AMC ground, the in-phase reflection band can be tuned by adjusting the varactor diode value loaded on each unit. To improve radiation performance, AMC ground is tuned to dipole antenna working frequency points; thus, the bandwidth is enhanced, exceeding double that of the antenna without AMC (from 2.6 to 4.5 GHz). Meanwhile, the antenna profile is reduced from 20 to 6 mm. To improve scattering performance, the chessboard configuration of the AMC ground is applied to reduce the antenna array’s out-of-band radar cross section. Experimental results demonstrate good agreement with simulations, validating the proposed design. This work provides a new method to improve antenna-related performance and has great promise for future applications.