Efficient metamaterial-inspired electrically-small electric-based antennas: Two- and three-dimensional realizations

This paper introduces the first two- and three-dimensional physical realizations of metamaterial-based electrically small antenna (EESAs) obtained by integrating an epsilon-negative medium with an electrically small printed monopole antenna over a finite perfect electric conductor (PEC) ground plane. The two-dimensional version is designed as an electrically small printed monopole antenna radiating in the presence of a 2D meanderline. The three-dimensional version uses a 3D spherical helix strip as a matching element that is excited by an electrically-small monopole. These antenna systems are naturally matched to a source and can be scaled to a wide range of frequencies without any compromise in their performance.