Abstract:In response to the application requirements of drone communication systems, a novel metamaterial antenna is designed. This antenna employs periodic metamaterial unit cells as the radiating structure, achieving excellent performance such as broadband and high directivity through efficient manipulation of electromagnetic waves. The antenna consists of a 3×3 rectangular metamaterial array as the radiating element, fabricated using 0.15 mm thick copper foil attached to a 7.8 mm thick polymethylmethacrylimide(PMI) foam substrate. A coplanar waveguide with a coupled aperture feeding structure is utilized to reduce the antenna profile. The antenna measures 188 mm ×111 mm×7.8 mm, with a profile height of 0.034λL (where λL is the wavelength corresponding to the lowest operating frequency), and weighs only 52 g. It is mounted within an aluminum housing. Simulation and test results indicate that the antenna has a Voltage Standing Wave Ratio(VSWR) of less than 2, an impedance bandwidth of 28.4%(1.30~1.73 GHz), and a gain of 8.1~10.0 dBi within the operating frequency band.