Millimeter wave array-HIS antenna for imaging applications

Abstract The combination of a patch array antenna with a High Impedance Surface (HIS) metasurface at mmWave frequencies has been studied. The antenna is intended for a collision avoidance imaging application, which will help blind or visually impaired people in their daily lives. A compact and cost-effective uniplanar design, operating in the mmWave unlicensed frequency band (24.05–24.25 GHz), has been reached. Multiple arrangements and dispositions of the HIS unit-cells with the array have been explored in order to improve the radiation parameters of the basic design. Both, the basic array and the array-HIS combination, have been manufactured using laser micromachining. Prototypes have been measured in an anechoic chamber and measurement results have been confronted with the simulation ones in terms of bandwidth and radiation properties. A comparison with the state-of-the-art antennas at 24 GHz has been performed to endorse the achievements of this work.