Metamaterial covered modified antipodal Vivaldi antenna with lens.

In order to obtain a narrower half power beamwidth (HPBW) and a higher antenna gain in a wide frequency band, metamaterial layers and constant refracting‐index lens are used to optimize the antenna performance in this article. The proposed metamaterial covered modified antipodal Vivaldi antenna with lens (M‐MAVA with lens) has an operating frequency band of 1–8 GHz, and the maximize gain here is 18.81 dBi at 8 GHz, which increase about 9 dB. The HPBW in the entire frequency range is decreased significantly. Beyond this, the simulation results are in good accordance with the measurements. Based on these characteristics, the proposed M‐MAVA with lens has an application in optimizing the structure of ground penetrating radar, microwave imaging, UAV countermeasures system and other system which need the good radiation gain and directivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]