One dimensional capacitive loading in a frequency selective surface for low profile antenna applications

In this paper, the impact of adding discrete capacitive loading along one dimension of a frequency selective surface for low profile antenna applications is presented for the first time. The measured data demonstrates comparable performance between a non-loaded and a capacitively-loaded FSS with a significant reduction in the number of cells and/or cell geometry size. Additionally, the provision of discrete capacitive loads reduces the FSS susceptibility to fabrication tolerances based on placement of a fixed grid capacitance. The bandwidth increased from 1.8% to 7.3% for a total antenna thickness of ~λ/22, and from 1.5% to 9.2% for a thickness of ~λ/40. The total antenna area for each case was reduced by 55% and 12%, respectively.