Phase-delay-type Artificial Dielectrics

This report is based on a survey of the literature on phase-delay artificial dielectrics to examine their suitability for multiple-beam antennas for satellite communications. The conclusions are that arrays of conducting discs appear to be suitable for such application because they can be used with circularly polarized fields and can be built with a desirable index of refraction, in the neighborhood of 1.5. A review of theoretical and measured results is presented, with formulas and curves permitting selection of parameters and permitting determination of the effect of tolerances and of frequency variation. No information was found on the inherent loss of such a medium. In the appendix, digests of 27 selected papers on the subject are presented.