W-Band Broadband Circularly Polarized Reflectarray Antenna

Abstract

We propose a W-band circularly polarized reflectarray antenna in this article, which contains a single-layer reflectarray and a linearly polarized horn feed. To realize the proposed antenna, we designed a novel W-band multi-resonant element containing a Rogers RT5880 substrate with copper patches printed on its both surfaces. Then, a circular reflectarray with 12.25 λ0 (39.1 mm) aperture diameter was designed based on the proposed multi-resonant element, whose center frequency is 94 GHz. We further fabricated the proposed circular reflectarray and tested its performance. In the measured results, we can see that the obtained 1 dB gain bandwidth is 19.1% (91~109 GHz) and the obtained 2 dB gain bandwidth can reach as wide as 27.6% (89~115 GHz). Moreover, the 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth is 13.8% (89~102 GHz). The measured gain of our proposed reflectarray antenna at 94 GHz is 29.1 dBi and the corresponding aperture efficiency can reach as high as 52.0%. Those results show that our proposed antenna may be prospective in wireless communication applications due to its strengths in broadband and high aperture efficiency.

Editorial on Antennas

“…The exponential surge in connectivity needs has instigated a notable surge in dedicated research endeavours, underscoring the paramount importance of advancing antenna technologies. The adaptability of these antennas, which is essential to meet the diverse and evolving requirements of wireless services, necessitates not only careful consideration but also a continuous stream of innovative approaches [2]. Navigating the dynamic terrain of wireless communication, antennas are required to embody a plethora of features to ensure efficacy in both current and future systems.…”