In this paper, a multi-band slow light metamaterial is presented and investigated. The metamaterial unit cell is composed of three cut wires of different sizes and parallel to each other. Two transparency windows induced by two-two overlaps of absorption bands of three cut wires are observed. The multi-band transmission characteristics and the slow light properties of metamaterial are verified by numerical simulation, which is in a good agreement with theoretical predictions. The impacts of structure parameters on transparency windows are also investigated. Simulation results show the spectral properties can be tuned by adjusting structure parameters of metamaterial. The equivalent circuit model and the synthesis method of the multi-band slow light metamaterial are presented. It is seen from simulation results that the synthesis method accurately predicts the center frequency of the multi-band metamaterial, which opens a door to a quick and accurate construction for multi-band slow light metamaterial.

In this paper, an improved estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT) algorithm is proposed. As to the frequency scanning leaky wave antenna (LWA), the direction of arrival (DOA) can be effectively estimated by the algorithm. Compared with ESPRIT algorithm based on array antennas or electronically controlled beam scanning LWA, the ESPRIT algorithm using frequency scanning LWA obviously simplifies the hardware implementation. Furthermore, the wideband DOA can be simultaneously estimated by this proposed algorithm. The simulation results show that the estimated DOA results are in good agreement with the predicted angles, with root mean square error (RMSE) less than 1.6% on 38% relative bandwidth (ultra wide band).

We proposed, designed and fabricated a high transparency of metasurface-based polarization controller at microwave frequencies, which consists of orthogonal two pairs of cut wires. The high transmission and the strong dispersion properties governed by electromagnetically induced transparency-like (EIT-like) effects for both incident polarizations make our device efficiently manipulating the polarization of EM waves. In particular, the proposed polarization device is ultrathin (~0.017λ), as opposed to bulky polarization devices. Microwave experiments are performed to successfully demonstrate our ideas, and measured results are in reasonable agreement with numerical simulations.

The proposed work describes a corner square-cut square-patch multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna with reduced mutual coupling for circular polarization (CP). A two-port MIMO-CP antenna was designed and operated at 5.6 GHz for wireless local area network (WLAN) applications. The dimensions of the MIMO-CP antenna were $22.5\times 50{\mathrm{mm}}^2$$(0.43{\lambda }_0\times 0.933{\lambda }_0)$ and the FR4 substrate height was 1.6 mm. Between the two-elements, the edge-to-edge distance was 12.2 mm (0.227 ${\lambda }_0$), where ${\lambda }_0$ was the free space wavelength at 5.6 GHz. A slot was created in the middle of the ground in the proposed MIMO antenna to reduce mutual coupling and improve CP. The ground slot improves impedance matching and provides a better S-parameter and axial ratio (AR), according to the antenna results. According to the simulated results, the proposed antenna bandwidth of 5.23–6.42 GHz (21.4%) for S11 were <$-10$ dB, isolation was −37 dB with a peak gain of 6 dB and AR $\le 3$ dB from 5.37 to 5.72 GHz (6.25%). The proposed antennas are simple to fabricate, have low profiles, are inexpensive, have good isolation, and are CP. The diversity gain (DG) and envelop correlation coefficient (ECC) results are better in the simulated frequency band. A MIMO-CP antenna geometry prototype is built and measured for comparison, yielding good results when compared to the simulated and measured results. The MIMO-CP antenna, as designed, is suitable for WLAN applications.

In this paper, a planar waveguide based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) with metals on both sides of the corrugated strip as grounds is firstly proposed in microwave region. Simple and efficient conversion between guided waves and SSPPs is realized by gradient corrugated strip with grounds on both sides. Compared with plasmonic waveguide with flaring ground [Laser Photonics Rev. 8, 146 (2014)], the addition of grounds suppresses the radiation loss effectively and improves the low-frequency performance with tighter field confinement, which leads to a wider operating bandwidth. Moreover, as the asymptotic frequency of SSPPs decreasing, the confinement of SSPPs is further enhanced by a defected ground structure (DGS), which is achieved by the periodic grooves symmetrical to those on the corrugated strip. Therefore, miniaturization of the proposed waveguide can be realized. Measured results validate both high efficiency of momentum and impedance matching and enhanced performance in the region of lower frequencies with the wave vectors close to those in free space. Such results have significant values in plasmonic functional devices and integrated circuits in microwave frequencies.

A complementary structure based on coplanar waveguides (CPWs) with periodical etching slots is proposed to support spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs). In contrast to the traditional slotline-based complementary SSPP structure, a dispersion curve of the second mode by the proposed structure has a much lower starting point from the origin which exhibits greatly improved operating bandwidth. Moreover, tighter confinements of SSPPs in the region of small wave vectors corresponding to lower frequencies can be predicted from the dispersion analysis, which means enhancement of transmission efficiency. Then a simple and efficient transition structure with tapered CPWs and gradient slots is proposed to realize high-efficiency and broadband excitation of the second mode of SSPPs for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. Based on the proposed structure, a seamless connection between CPWs and the SSPP structure can be achieved. The measured insertion loss and return loss below 6.6 GHz is better than $-0.86$ and $-13.62\mathrm{dB}$, respectively. Furthermore, it can be seen from the measurement results that a 3 dB bandwidth ranges from 0 to 10.57 GHz, and the return loss is better than $-10\mathrm{dB}$ from 0 to 8.96 GHz. The proposed structure can promote the development of plasmonic integrate circuits and functional devices at microwave frequencies.