Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
AEU - International Journal of Electronics and Communications, cilt.213, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
This work presents a dual-layer Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ) metamaterial superstrate designed to enhance the realized gain in microstrip antennas while preserving acceptable bandwidth performance. Unlike conventional ENZ-based designs, the proposed approach combines a subwavelength unit-cell configuration with a systematically optimized antenna–superstrate spacing, enabling both significant gain improvement and reliable experimental validation. The ENZ unit cell is arranged into a two-dimensional 7 × 7 periodic array, and both single-layer and dual-layer configurations are investigated through full-wave simulations. The design parameters are carefully optimized to maximize radiation performance without shifting the operating frequency. A prototype operating at 10GHz is fabricated and characterized experimentally. The measured results demonstrate an enhanced gain of 8.24dB compared to the reference antenna, with good agreement between simulations and measurements. In addition, the trade-off between gain enhancement and fractional bandwidth is addressed. The dual-layer configuration achieves 1-dB and 3-dB gain bandwidths of 4.01% and 10.3%, respectively, ensuring acceptable performance over the operating band. The proposed ENZ-based superstrate provides a compact, effective, and experimentally verified solution for high-gain antenna applications, particularly in X-band radar and satellite communication systems.