  The quest for increasing the scanning range of a phased array is a
challenging task for antenna engineers, and its solution could lead to
significant advances in different applicative scenarios, ranging from 5G and
beyond 5G communications to radar and satellite systems. For this purpose, the
use of a deflecting meta-dome is one of the most promising solutions recently
proposed that, however, still presents some inherent limitations, such as the
significant reduction of the broadside gain of the array, due to the diverging
effect of the dome, as well as the complexity of the implementation due to the
need of a continuous phase profile. In this framework, the paper aims at
proposing some technical solutions for maximizing the meta-dome performance and
relaxing the implementation complexity. In particular, by properly discretizing
and engineering the phase profile along the dome and by taking into account the
different angles of incidence onto the meta-cells, we show how it is possible
designing realistic meta-domes with reduced insertion loss at broadside,
improved steering capabilities, and a reduced profile. In addition, a complete
design workflow for a realistic meta-dome based on cascaded metasurfaces is
presented.
