Photodiode-coupled active metamaterial antenna with boosted radiation efficiency

Photodiode-coupled active antennas (PDCA) are capable of mitigating de-coupling issues when applied to electrically small antennas (ESA). The ESA presented in this paper demonstrates a significant advantage over conventional antennas with an increased radiation efficiency of 10dB due to its metamaterial structure. These types of antennas can find applications in radio-over-fiber links.