Patent ID: 11923608
Assignee: VIASAT INC.
Field: Telecommunications (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 16:
17. A method of deploying an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) antenna on an unmanned carrier, the method comprising:
storing the AMC antenna in a retaining structure, the AMC antenna comprising: (i) an antenna element layer; and (ii) a ground plane with a conductive base surface, a frequency selective surface (FSS) layer, and a plurality of memory metal wires electrically and mechanically coupling the conductive base surface to the FSS layer, the plurality of memory metal wires being in a collapsed, non-memory-shaped state when the AMC antenna is stored; and
removing, using an actuator, the AMC antenna from the retaining structure to deploy the AMC antenna,
wherein the memory metal wires automatically transform from flexible to rigid states when ambient temperature exceeds a threshold, causing the FSS layer to be fixedly spaced from the base surface following the removal of the AMC antenna from the retaining structure.