Coordinatore Scientifico: Stefano Maci
Titolo: Metasurface Antennas for Space Applications
Settore ERC: PE - Physical Sciences and Engineering
Costo totale del progetto: 524.544 euro
Contributo MIUR per l’Università di Siena: 177.278 euro
Altri Partner del progetto: Politecnico di Torino
durata: 36 mesi
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.