Recent Developments and Challenges on Beam Steering Characteristics of Reconfigurable Transmitarray Antennas

Abstract

This paper highlights recent developments and challenges on beam steering characteristics of reconfigurable transmitarray antennas. It introduces the operating principle of beam forming/beam steering high gain transmitarray antennas to enable the user to opt for economical and high performance solutions. A transmitarray antenna typically consists of a source antenna and a phase transformation structure. The incident waves generated from the source antenna is tilted using the phase transformation structure in a desired direction to steer the beam. Moreover, the phase transformation structure alters the incident wavefront to a plane wavefront using phase change characteristics. In order to steer a beam to a specific desired angle, it can be divided into two methods. There is a method of applying a transmitarray with a variable transmission phase change or a method of changing the shape of the wavefront of the source antenna. This type of beam forming/beam steering high gain antenna has been mainly studied from the point of view of high efficiency, low profile, and low cost. Several solutions of transmitarray unit cells have been presented in the literature, using PIN diodes, varactors, MEMS switches, and microfluids enable electronics to realize reconfigurable characteristics of transmitarray antennas. This paper analyzes the characteristics of various beam steering high gain reconfigurable transmitarrays (RTA) and highlights the future opportunities and challenges of the structure design for transmitarray antennas. This paper also highlights the challenges and gaps in terahertz and optical frequencies related to future work due to the structure complexity and lack of components’ availability. Moreover, the challenges and limitations related to multi-bit structures and dual-band requirements are presented.

Prospective Applications of Microwave Reflectarray Antennas to the Design and Fabrication of Future Radio Telescopes

“…Fixed beam $ 5 À 300 ≲20 $ 10s À 10 5 [7,15] Reflectarray Reconfigurable a $ 5 À 60 ≲7 $ 10s À 10 4 [7,13,15] Reflectarray Multi-band $ 6 À 180 ≲6 $ 10s À 10 4 [15,18] Transmitarray Passive/Active $ 5 À 60 ≲30 $ 10s À 10 3 [22,23] a…”

Design and analysis antennas of transverse polarization on the dielectric waveguide

“…It also exhibits low cross-polarization levels compared to waveguideslot arrays [31][32][33], it means that the antenna can effectively transmit or receive signals with minimal interference from undesired polarizations [34,35]. By carefully designing the dielectric structures, the antenna can achieve desired radiation characteristics, such as beam steering and shaping [36][37][38]. The simplified design and manufacturing process of dielectric waveguide antennas can lead to lower production costs process [39][40][41], which is particularly significant for millimeter-range antennas.…”

A Compact Triple-Band UWB Inverted Triangular Antenna with Dual-Notch Band Characteristics Using SSRR Metamaterial Structure for Use in Next-Generation Wireless Systems

“…In modern and upcoming wireless systems, the most important component in the radio frequency (RF) transceivers is the antenna, which plays a critical part in the way the signal is transmitted to the end-user. Antennas have been assigned functions such as beam-steering/beam-scanning [5,6], multi-band operation [7][8][9], reconfigurability [10], band-notch characteristics [11][12][13], and gain-filtering [14]. Moreover, the need for antennas that can operate in multiple frequency bands has exponentially increased in recent years because of the introduction of new and different variants of Wi-Fi standards [2][3][4].…”