1 Bit Electronically Reconfigurable Folded Reflectarray Antenna Based on p-i-n Diodes for Wide-Angle Beam-Scanning Applications

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation Vol. 68; no. 9; pp. 6806 - 6810
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhenglong, Ge, Yuehe, Pu, Jixiong, Chen, Xuxiang, Li, Guowei, Wang, Yufang, Liu, Kaiting, Zhang, Hai, Chen, Zhizhang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.09.2020; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Antenna arrays; Antennas; Apertures; Beam scanning; Configuration management; Feeds; Field programmable gate arrays; p-i-n diode; PIN diodes; PIN photodiodes; reconfigurable antenna; reconfigurable folded reflectarray antenna; reconfigurable transmitarray; Reflection; Reflector antennas; Scanning; Transmitting antennas
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2020.2975265

In this communication, an electronically reconfigurable folded reflectarray antenna (ERFRA), which includes <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">14 \times 14 </tex-math></inline-formula> reflecting elements and features a fully planar compact configuration and wide-angle beam-scanning performance, was developed, fabricated, and tested. A novel reflecting element that is able to carry out cross-polarization rotation and electronically reconfigurable 1 bit compensation phases was first developed. After experimentally demonstrating its feasibility, the new reflecting element was then applied to the design of a <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">14 \times 14 </tex-math></inline-formula> ERFRA, with a planar feed in the center of the reflectarray and a beam-control system based on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The measurements of the fabricated ERFRA prototype show a wide beam-scanning range, up to ±60°, a peak gain of 17.07 dBi, and an aperture efficiency of about 13.2%.