Characterization and performance enhancement of 4 × 4 microstrip antenna array in dusty atmosphere using metasurface based superstrate

The unique interaction between sand and wireless communication components in a dusty environment requires fundamental communication ideas that must be revisited from a different viewpoint. This paper introduces a 4 × 4 microstrip antenna array designed for a 24 GHz radar system, exhibiting high gain and a narrow beamwidth. A metasurface layer, employing a parasitic patch array, serves as a superstrate to enhance the array antenna’s performance and safeguard it against deterioration from direct contact with sand. The paper conducts a theoretical study on the sand model to assess the antenna’s performance in the sand environment, including an analysis of wave attenuation. The proposed antenna, loaded with the metasurface, demonstrates an impedance bandwidth from 23.08 to 24.9 GHz with a peak gain of 16.57 dBi. Evaluating its performance in various dusty atmospheres, the antenna proves effective in such environments, showing an impedance bandwidth of 23.04 to 24.73 GHz and a peak gain of 15.61 dBi. Additionally, the proposed antenna exhibits a minor phase shift in the main beam, with a half-power beamwidth of 15 degrees.