Muthanna Journal of Engineering and Technology
Volume (14), Issue (4), Year (2026), Pages (118-128)
DOI:10.52113/3/eng/mjet/2026-14-04-/118-128
Research Article By:
Hatem Oday Hanoosh
Corresponding author E-mail: hatem.oday@mu.edu.iq
ABSTRACT
In this paper, a compact circular microstrip patch antenna integrated with a metasurface superstrate is designed and analyzed for flexible 5G applications at 33 GHz. The proposed antenna is implemented on a thin FR-4 board with overall dimensions of 9 × 9 × 1.7 mm³. The antenna is excited by an inset-fed microstrip line, and a metasurface superstrate composed of 49 circular-ring elements arranged in a 7 × 7 array is employed to enhance the electromagnetic performance. The antenna was designed and simulated using CST Studio Suite, and its performance was evaluated in terms of reflection coefficient, −10 dB impedance bandwidth, directivity, realized gain, radiation pattern, and surface current distribution. The results show that the metasurface superstrate improves impedance matching, bandwidth, radiation characteristics, and gain compared with the conventional circular patch antenna. The conventional antenna achieves a −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 1.5 GHz, whereas the metasurface-integrated antenna achieves 3.7 GHz. The simulated metasurface-integrated antenna exhibits an S11 of −47 dB, directivity of 8.7 dBi, and realized gain of 8.2 dBi. The fabricated prototype achieves a measured −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 2.9 GHz, S11 of −40 dB, directivity of 8.1 dBi, and realized gain of 7.3 dBi. These results confirm the suitability of the proposed antenna for compact Ka-band 5G and IoT wireless communication applications.
Keywords: circular patch antenna; circular-ring metasurface; FR-4 substrate; 33 GHz; Ka-band; flexible 5G; realized gain.