Periodic Frequency Selective Surfaces for Reduction of Specular Scatter in Indoor Applications

This thesis investigates the use of a variety of passive frequency selective surfaces for specular scatter reduction. Motivation from this work stems from the increased interest in controlling propagation in indoor environments. Influencing the propagation environment using both passive and active structures is of current research interest due to the increased use of wireless devices inside building structures. This thesis aims to develop surfaces suitable for installation on corridor walls to work alongside existing solutions.

An initial literature review of frequency selective surfaces; particularly for use inside buildings to create smart environments, suggests reducing the propagation down corridors could be beneficial in decreasing co-channel interference although no solutions have been offered.

Development of the initial comb frequency selective surface (CR-FSS) enabled measurement systems and simulation models to be constructed and compared. Due to the various limitations of the CR-FSS, design modifications and evolutions are investigated to overcome issues with poor angular performance, polarisation dependant performance, and experimental manufacture. The initial challenge was to create a rotationally symmetrical surface which could reduce specular scatter from additional angles of incidence in the elevation plane. A pin reflection FSS (PR-FSS) was created, however investigation of the structure showed that it was ineffectual for TE polarisation. In a multipath environment this could be an issue which effects performance. Investigation of additional variations of the CR-FSS such as the slanted comb FSS (SC-FSS) and crenelated CR-FSS complete the analysis.

A validation of a frequency selective comb structures is conducted with in-building multipath simulations. Statistical plots show that a comb structure can be used to significantly improve the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of co-channel transmitters at 2.4 GHz by reducing propagation down a corridor.