A Passive Adaptive Metamaterial Radome based on PIN Diodes

Automatic protection of EM detecting systems from unexpected high-power incidence is important to the robustness and life of a passive detecting system. In this paper, an adaptive metamaterial radome which automatically shields the receiving antenna from strong incident wave is designed. Based on standard wire medium, PIN diodes are added between adjacent wires. When the incident EM wave is weak, the diodes are in “off” state and affect little to the transmission of the wire medium. When the incident EM wave is strong enough to turn the diodes to “on” state, electric currents will be automatically formed in the diodes and the power transmitted to the antenna will be largely reduced. The adaptive transmission of the proposed radome is validated by the simulation and measurement results.