Patent ID: 8547286

Claim:
An antenna device based on a composite right and left handed (CRLH) metamaterial antenna structure, comprising: a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a cell patch formed on the first surface; a launch pad formed on the first surface and separated from the cell patch by a gap, the launch pad being electromagnetically coupled to the cell patch through the gap to direct a signal to or from the cell patch; a feed line formed on the first surface and coupled to the launch pad to conduct the signal to or from the cell patch; a via line formed on the second surface and coupled to a ground electrode outside a footprint of the cell patch on the second surface; and a via formed in the substrate to couple the cell patch on the first surface to the via line on the second surface; wherein the substrate, the feed line, the cell patch, the launch pad, the via line, and the via form a CRLH metamaterial antenna structure, wherein the cell patch, the launch pad and the gap are structured to effectuate spatially varying electromagnetic coupling that provides impedance matching for different operating frequencies over a wideband; and wherein the launch pad includes an opening in which the cell patch is located, the launch pad configured to entirely surround the cell patch in a region defined by the opening.