Project data

Funding entity: Italian Ministry of University and Research

Call: PRN 2017

Coordinator: UNIVERSITA’ DEGLI STUDI DI SIENA

UNISI Principal Investigator: Stefano Maci

Department: Information engineering and mathematics

Start date: 27 January 2020 – End date: 27 July 2023

 

Description

This project proposes design and experimental characterisation of new modulated metasurface antennas (MTSA) for satellite applications. MTSA are based flat structure, whose texture can be approximated by an equivalent spatially variable impedance surface. When a surface wave is launched on such a structure, it interacts with the impedance modulation, and it generates the desired radiated field properties.

The metasurface can be realised by printed sub-wavelength patches or with metallic pins (mini-pillars); the latter can be implemented by additive manufacturing. In this project we extend the use of MTSA to design of contoured beam and multi-beams for satellite applications. This extension requires a theoretical advancement in the “adiabatic” Floquet-wave method for curvilinear sinusoidal modulation proposed by the team, together with the extension of a full-wave analysis based on continuous impedance approximation. Moreover, an accurate integral equation formulation based on a hybrid Multi-Level Fast-Multiple/Synthetic Functions method is proposed as a final step of the design cycle. The above advancements constitute the kernel of an Integrated Multiscale Software-Design platform. The latter tool will be used for designing three antennas prototypes in Ku and Ka bands.

 

This project has received funding from Ministry of University and Research (MUR) – PRIN 2017