Electronically Reconfigurable Transmitarray at Ku Band for Microwave Applications

Abstract

Abstract-An electronically reconfigurable transmitarray device at 12 GHz is presented in this work. This paper highlights the functioning of this kind of device and thoroughly examines the proposed reconfigurable transmitarray. The architecture is discussed along with the design and selection of all the constituting elements and the prototypes for all of them. In order to add reconfigurability to the transmitarray structure, 360° reflective phase shifters were designed, prototyped and validated for direct application. Eventually, a demonstrative prototype for an active transmitarray with phase shifters was assembled, and radiation pattern measurements were taken in an anechoic chamber to demonstrate the capabilities of this structure.

Electronically tunable phase response for phased array patches

“…3a the phase component owing to distance d has been subtracted from measurements). According to linearity, a quite linear phase/ voltage relation is obtained (enough for phased array or transmit-array lens application [6]), as it is observed in Table 1. This device is of interest for microwave systems, such as phased array antennas, and is being applied in the development of electronically reconfigurable transmit-array lenses for space application.…”

“…In the literature, tunable lumped elements (pin diodes, varactors, MEMs) are typically used in the electric configuration of a radiating element to vary the working frequency of the antenna, maintaining a required matching level for this frequency [5]. However, there are applications in which the importance does not remain in frequency tuning but in transmission phase response tuning, for a fixed working frequency [6]. In this case (multilayered patch structure), modifying the patch equivalent impedance, it is possible to change the working frequency of the patch and, as a consequence, its behaviour in terms of S-parameters.…”

“…Regarding the inductance in the LC circuit, the needed inductance value is replaced by an equivalent printed circuit [6]. Figs, la and b show the selected design model, which has been widely studied with electromagnetic simulation software (CST Microwave Studio 2009), where a radiating horn (port 2) is the excitation probe that illuminates the structure (port 1) with normal incidence.…”

Electronically Reconfigurable Reflective Phase Shifter for Circularly Polarized Reflectarray Systems

“…The first strategy is the one that this letter affords with the design of an electronically tunable phase shifter for reflectarray systems. There is a lot of experience in the design and manufacturing of passive reflectarrays, but electronically tunable reflectarray requires the design of active devices, that is still an ongoing issue [6], [7]. This letter presents an electronically reconfigurable phase shifter for circularly reflectarray devices, based on reflective circuits whose tuning ability is provided by the use of varactors.…”

A Wideband Transmitarray Using Double-Petal Loop Elements

“…A triple-layer transmitarray antenna is designed in [6], which achieves high gain of 28.9 dB at 11.3 GHz and bandwidths of 9% for 1-dB gain. Another approach is receiver-transmitter designs [10][11][12][13]. In this approach, a transmitarray antenna typically consists of two planar arrays of printed-type elements.…”