Preface

Summary

In recent years, electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures have attracted increasing interests because of their desirable electromagnetic properties that cannot be observed in natural materials. In this respect, EBG structures are a subset of metamaterials. Diverse research activities on EBG structures are on the rise in the electromagnetics and antenna community, and a wide range of applications have been reported, such as low profile antennas, active phased arrays, TEM waveguides, and microwave filters. We believe that the time is right for a focused book reviewing the state of the art on electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures and their important applications in antenna engineering.

The goal of this book is to provide scientists and engineers with an up-to-date knowledge on the theories, analyses, and applications of EBG structures. Specifically, this book will cover the following topics:

• a detailed overview of the EBG research history and important results;

• an advanced presentation on the unique features of EBG structures;

• an accurate and efficient numerical algorithm for EBG analysis and an evolutionary optimization technique for EBG design;

• a wealth of examples illustrating potential applications of EBG structures in antenna engineering.

The book is organized into seven chapters and one appendix. Chapter 1 introduces the background and basic properties of EBG structures. The EBG analysis methods and antenna applications are also summarized.

In Chapter 2, the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is presented with a focus on periodic boundary conditions (PBC), which is used as an efficient computation engine for the analysis of periodic structures.