Efficient Radiation by Electrically Small Antennas made of Coupled Split-ring Resonators

In this paper, coupled split-ring resonators (SRRs) are used to construct the electrically small antennas. We show that through strong magnetic coupling, the coupled SRRs composite can oscillate at a wavelength much larger than its total size. Due to its magnetic dipole feature, the coupled SRRs composite allows the electromagnetic (EM) power to radiate and hence forms the electrically small antenna (ESA). Because of the high-Q resonance, the ESA could be easily matched to the driving circuit in the microwave region, through mutual induction approach. We also demonstrate that the radiation efficiency of such ESAs can be drastically improved if the current distribution on individual SRRs is similar, which is achievable by carefully designing the ESAs. From our simulations and experimental measurements, the ESAs’ radiation efficiency can reach up to 41%, with relative footprint of 0.05λ(0) × 0.05λ(0). Our approach would be an effective way to realize ESAs with high efficiency, which can be implemented on chip through the standard planar lithography.