Reconfigurable Reflectarrays and Array Lenses for Dynamic Antenna Beam Control: A Review

Advances in reflectarrays and array lenses with electronic beam-forming capabilities are enabling a host of new possibilities for these high-performance, low-cost antenna architectures. This paper reviews enabling technologies and topologies of reconfigurable reflectarray and array lens designs, and surveys a range of experimental implementations and achievements that have been made in this area in recent years. The paper describes the fundamental design approaches employed in realizing reconfigurable designs, and explores advanced capabilities of these nascent architectures, such as multi-band operation, polarization manipulation, frequency agility, and amplification. Finally, the paper concludes by discussing future challenges and possibilities for these antennas.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Dual-Layer Single-Varactor Driven Reflectarray Cell for Broad-Band Beam-Steering and Frequency Tunable Applications

A dual-layer active reflectarray configuration is proposed for broad-band beam-steering and/or frequency-tunable applications. A unit cell composed by two stacked fixed-size rectangular patches, properly loaded with a single varactor diode, is designed to realize the dynamic phase tuning mechanism. The proposed approach offers wider bandwidths, with respect to the existing varactor-based reflectarray cells, and quite good frequency reconfigurability features, as demanded by several radar or satellite communication applications. An X-band reflectarray cell is fabricated and tested, to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach, achieving a 318° phase agility within a measured frequency range of about 14.6% with respect to the central design frequency (i.e., 11 GHz). Wideband beam-steering reflectarray designs are demonstrated, showing 1-dB gain bandwidths equal to 9-10%

Tunable Reflectarrays and Metasurfaces

Fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication networks have been rapidly expanding in recent years. However, due to the higher frequency bands used in 5G applications compared with previous generations, it is more difficult for electromagnetic waves to transmit through the air or pass through buildings. To avoid the costs of increasing assembled antenna density, one possible solution is beam-steering antennas. Reflectarrays and metasurfaces play an important role in beam-steering applications. Reflectarrays and metasurfaces basically use the same concepts that originated from other types of directive antennas, such as parabolic reflectors, except that the structure size and periodicity of reflectarrays are around half a wavelength, whereas those of metasurfaces are usually sub-wavelength. Reflectarrays and metasurfaces are normally installed on a flat surface that consists of a large amount of well-organized meta units and an illuminating feed antenna. Their working principle is phase discontinuity across the surface. Numerous applications, including wavefront shaping, beam steering, frequency selecting, power amplifying, power combining, etc., are based on this principle. The construction of dynamically tunable reflectarrays or metasurfaces is relatively easy and can be accomplished by changing the external conditions or adjusting one or more of the unit cell characteristics. All unit cells can be managed the same way to manipulate plane wave reflections and transmission coefficients. The unit cells can also be tuned separately for wavefront shaping, beam steering, etc. In general, intrinsic losses associated with control components, as well as their tunability range, limit the effectiveness of tunable reflectarrays and metasurfaces. The objective of the present research is to investigate the performance of several possible tunable reflectarrays and metasurfaces used for beam steering. The use of different types of controlling methodology, including mechanical and electrical tuning, is examined in depth. The simulation results demonstrate the possibility of a tunable reflection with a phase shift range over 180 degrees. As well, an electrically tunable reflectarray is realized using varactor diodes

Recon gurable Antennas Based on Varactor-Loaded Stubs

The term “reconfigurable” is typically used for devices which exhibit some flexibility of functionalities and agility in their operation characteristics, with the aim of achieving high performance in various conditions. In antenna technology, the reconfiguration can be fulfilled through several techniques that provide an ability to modify the electrical current on the antenna’s structure, primarily to accomplish a physically realised new response. The main key to the reconfigurable antenna application is their potential to avoid the use of multiple antennas for multi-functionality, thus facilitating miniaturisation of the antenna system configuration. In this context, several novel reconfigurable antennas with a wide performance range are proposed in this thesis. Varactor-loaded stubs are used as tuning mechanism for these microwave antenna designs with improved performance throughout this thesis. Two types of electromagnetic structures are studied in this work, namely reconfigurable antennas and reconfigurable periodic structures, with these two main topics building the two main major parts of this thesis. In its first main part, the thesis proposes reconfigurable antenna designs with combined frequency and pattern reconfigurable characteristics. The main focus is first on the manipulation of near-resonant current distributions in a two-element array antenna as well as the optimisation of their feeding through T-junction power dividers. Each element has a controllable active component that allows the antenna to be tuned to different operating frequencies, while the concurrent adaption of the two elements is the basis of continuous beam scanning characteristics. Next, the thesis examines the exploitation of a single-element antenna structure based on the same operation principle. An optimisation procedure including a study of relevant design parameters is also presented. The core contribution for the two-element array and the single-element antenna is that they combine frequency-reconfigurability with effective beam scanning. The main difference between the two designs however is that they scan in the H-plane and the E-plane, respectively. In the second main part, the thesis focuses on a reconfigurable reflectarray antenna design. Potential applications of this advanced antenna design include the development of high gain antennas with various controllable reflection beam directions throughout a wide range of operation frequencies. The proposed reflectarray antenna unit cell is firstly proposed, together with an opimisation of the antenna characteristics in terms of reflection loss and phase range performance. It is further shown that the proposed antenna provides an excellent performance compared to the state-of-the-art. Performance measures include a near full phase tuning range of about 300 to 320 with a reflection loss of magnitude better than 3 dB within a fractional frequency range of operation of 18%. In contrast, most reflectarray antenna designs in the literature provide a limited phase range at a fixed operating frequency or within a narrower frequency tuning range. Experimental validation is provided with a 12-element linear reflectarray tested in twodimensional settings, for which the experimental challenges are also discussed in detail. The capability of reflected beam scanning is verified and successfully demonstrated.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, 201

Reconfigurable Reflectarray Antennas with Bandwidth Enhancement for High Gain, Beam-Steering Applications

Reconfigurable reflectarrays are a class of antennas that combine the advantages of traditional parabolic antennas and phased array antennas. Chapter 1 discusses the basic operational theory of reflectarrays and their design. A review of previous research and the current status is also presented. Furthermore the inherent advantages and disadvantages of the reflectarray topography are presented. In chapter 2, a BST-integrated reflectarray operating at Ka band is presented. Due to the monolithic integration of the tuning element, this design is then extended to V band where a novel interdigital gap configuration is utilized. Finally to overcome loss and phase limitations of the single resonant design, a BST-integrated, dual-resonance unit cell operating at Ka band is designed. While the losses are still high, a 360° phase range is demonstrated. In chapter 3, the operational theory of dual-resonant array elements is introduced utilizing Q theory. An equivalent circuit is developed and used to demonstrate design tradeoffs. Using this theory the design procedure of a varactor tuned dual-resonant unit cell operating at X-band is presented. Detailed analysis of the design is performed by full-wave simulations and verified via measurements. In chapter 4, the array performance of the dual-resonance unit cell is analyzed. The effects of varying angles of incidence on the array element are studied using Floquet simulations. The beam scanning, cross-polarization and bandwidth performance of a 7 x 7 element reflectarray is analyzed using full-wave simulations and verified via measurements. In chapter 5 a loss analysis of the dual-resonant reflectarray element is performed. Major sources of loss are identified utilizing full-wave simulations before an equivalent circuit is utilized to optimize the loss performance while maintaining a full phase range and improved bandwidth performance. Finally the dual-resonance unit cell is modified to support two linear polarizations. Overall, the operational and design theory of dual resonant reflectarray unit cells using Q theory is developed. A valuable equivalent circuit is developed and used to aid in array element design as well as optimize the loss and bandwidth performance. The proposed theoretical models provide valuable physical insight through the use of Q theory to greatly aid in reflectarray design

3D BEAMSTEERING LOW COMPLEXITY RECONFIGURABLE MULTILEVEL ANTENNA

The main idea of the thesis is to develop a new reconfigurable antenna that makes beamsteering in 3D, with the minimum number of possible switches (maximum 9) and as simple as possible for use in a car vehicle. The design will explore an active dipole located in the center of the antenna (which is fed by a tapered balun), and 4 parasitic dipoles around, placed so that the steering can be done in 9 3D directions according to which parasites we activate by means of switches. The basic idea is to study the physical principle of double reflection, the first reflection due toBeamforming, in its many variants, is a key spatial processing technique to improve user throughput, system capacity, system coverage as well as reducing interference. Simple architectures enabling beamforming either in predefined or arbitrary directions are very desirable for the Fifth Generation of Mobile Communications (5G) to boost power efficiency. Furthermore, it is expected that the number of 5G mobile subscribers grows from 5 million in 2019 to nearly 600 million by 2023, increasing traffic, connections density, and latency which will increase the demand of capacity to the network. Therefore, a broadband intelligent antenna must be at the basis to provide reliable data service, capable to adapt the antenna's capabilities to environment changes. The scope of this thesis focuses on a novel multilevel reconfigurable antenna incorporating beamsteering capabilities by using the lowest number of switches possible

Tunable antenna design by metamaterial structures operating at S band

Un “metamaterial” por su definición ampliamente aceptada es una estructura construida artificialmente que obtiene sus propiedades materiales de su estructura en lugar de la composición de su material intrínseco. El ámbito de los materiales ha ganado mucha atención dentro de la comunidad científica en la última década. Con los continuos avances y descubrimientos conducen al camino de las aplicaciones prácticas; los metamateriales han ganado la atención de las empresas de base tecnológica y los organismos de defensa interesados en el uso de dispositivos de próxima generación. Las superficies selectivas en frecuencia (FSS) son una variedad potente de metamateriales que, dependiendo de la geometría de la superficie, se pueden utilizar para diseñar propiedades de radiación específicas tales como la emisión direccional, emisión polarizada circular y lineal, y la selectividad espectral. Los elementos de la FSS pueden ser tanto elementos metálicos sólidos como elementos metálicos con aberturas, y en los diseños tradicionales, la superficie selectiva en frecuencia (FSS) normalmente opera en torno a la resonancia de media longitud de onda de los elementos. En este proyecto se va a utilizar una superficie selectiva de frecuencia (FSS) con el fin de realizar metamateriales sintonizables -una amplia clase de metamateriales controlables diseñados artificialmente, y desarrollar una antena sintonizable que trabaje a 2.4 GHz. La FSS consiste en una serie de elementos rectángulos cargados con varactores y capacitores con una película delgada de material ferroeléctrico sintonizable (BST) para el ajuste externo de los parámetros de medio efectivo. Por lo tanto se diseñan unos varactores BST que son colocados entre los elementos metálicos que conforman la FSS. El efecto de la superficie selectiva en frecuencia es estudiado en dos antenas diferentes – antena ELPOSD (End-Loaded Planar Open-Sleeve Dipole) y una antena de parche microstrip. La antena ELPOSD consiste en un dipolo plano convencional con dos elementos parásitos muy juntos, y una carga en cada extremo del dipolo. Los beneficios principales de este tipo de antenas es que, además del rendimiento similar de la antena POSD (Planar Open-Sleeve Dipole) convencional, las antenas ELPOSD pueden ser miniaturizadas. La antena parche utilizada en este trabajo es un elemento metálico cuadrado plano alimentado a través de una línea microstrip. El material ferroeléctrico Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) es un material muy bien conocido hasta el momento. Para diseñar los varactores se utiliza una película delgada de BST, junto con los capacitores interdigitales (IDCs) que se utilizan en la capa del metal. La antena general consiste en un sustrato de múltiples capas donde en una capa se encuentra la Superficie selectiva en frecuencia (FSS) sintonizable y en otra la antena dipolo o antena de parche. La capacidad de la FSS completa varía introduciendo el material ferroeléctrico BST en el varactor. Como puede verse en los resultados, variando la permitividad del material BST de 200 a 300 se consigue una variación en frecuencia de 4.15 GHz a 3.5 GHz con una distancia alrededor de 100 MHz entre frecuencias resonantes. Esto equivale a una variación de la frecuencia alrededor del 8% entre los valores de permitividad adyacentes.A “metamaterial” by its widely accepted definition is an artificially engineered structure that gains its material properties from its structure as opposed to its intrinsic material composition. The field of metamaterials has gained much attention within the scientific community over the past decade. With continuing advances and discoveries leading the way to practical applications, metamaterials have earned the attention of technology-based corporations and defense agencies interested in their use for next generation devices. Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS) are a potent variety of metamaterials that, depending on the surface geometry, can be used to engineer specific radiation properties such as directional emission, linear and circular polarized emission, and spectral selectivity. The elements of the FSS can either be patches or apertures, and in traditional designs, the FSS usually operates around the half-wavelength resonance of the elements. In this project a Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) is used in order to realize tunable metamaterials –a broad class of controllable artificially engineered metamaterials, and develop a tunable antenna operating at 2.4 GHz. The FSS consist of an array of square patches loaded with varactors and tunable ferroelectric thin film capacitors (BST) for external tuning of the effective medium parameters. Therefore a BST varactor is designed and located between the patches of the FSS. The effect of the Frequency Selective Surface is studied in two different antennas –an End-Loaded Planar Open-Sleeve Dipole (ELPOSD) and a Square Patch. An End-Loaded Planar Open-Sleeve Dipole consist of a conventional planar dipole with two closely spaced parasitic elements, or sleeves, and loaded stubs at the end of the dipole. The main benefits of this type of antennas is that in addition to retaining similar performance to that of conventional planar open-sleeve dipole, end-loaded planar opensleeve dipole (ELPOSD) antennas can be miniaturized. The Square Patch antenna used in this work is a conventional planar square patch feed with a microstrip line. Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) is a well-known ferroelectric material and up to now. A BST thin film is used to design the varactors, along with the Interdigital Capacitors (IDCs) geometry used in the metal layer. The overall antenna consists of a multilayer substrate with tunable FSS layer and dipole or patch antenna. The capacitance of the whole FSS changes introducing the BST ferroelectric material into the varactor. As can be seen in the results, by varying the BST permittivity from 200 to 300, a variation in frequency is achieved from 1.98 GHz to 1.717 GHz with a distance around 100 MHz between resonance frequencies, which equals a variation of the frequency about 8% in the adjacent permittivity values.Ingeniería de TelecomunicaciónTelekomunikazio Ingeniaritz

Analysis, Implementation and Considerations for Liquid Crystals as a Reconfigurable Antennas Solution (LiCRAS) for Space

The space industry has predominantly relied on high gain reflector dish antenna apertures for performing communications, but is constantly investing in phase array antenna concepts to provide increased signal flexibility at reduced system costs in terms of finances and system resources. The problem with traditional phased arrays remains the significantly greater program cost and complexity added to the satellite by integrating arrays of antenna elements with dedicated amplifier and phase shifters to perform adaptive beam forming. Liquid Crystal Reflectarrays (LiCRas) offer some of the electrical beam forming capability of a phased array system with the component and design complexity in lines with a traditional reflector antenna aperture but without the risks associated with mechanical steering systems. The final solution is believed to be a hybrid approach that performs in between the boundaries set by the two current disparate approaches. Practical reflectarrays have been developed since the 90s as a means to control reflection of incident radiation off a flat structure that is electrically curved based on radiating elements and their reflection characteristics with tailored element phase delay. In the last decade several methods have been proposed to enable tunable reflectarrays where the electrical shape of the reflector can be steered by controlling the resonating properties of the elements on the reflector using a DC bias. These approaches range from complex fast switching MEMS and ferroelectric devices, to more robust but slower chemical changes. The aim of this work is to investigate the feasibility of a molecular transition approach in the form of liquid crystals which change permittivity based on the electrical field they are subjected to. In this work, particular attention will be paid to the impact of space environment on liquid crystal reflectarray materials and reflector architectures. Of particular interest are the effects on performance induced by the temperature extremes of space and the electromagnetic particle environment. These two items tend to drive much of the research and development for various space technologies and based on these physical influences, assertions can be made toward the space worthiness of such a material approach and can layout future R&D needs to make certain LC RF devices feasible for space use. Moreover, in this work the performance metrics of such a technology will be addressed along with methods of construction from a space perspective where specific design considerations must be made based on the extreme environment that a typical space asset must endure.\u2

Microstrip Patch Electrically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiators

This dissertation explores the expansion of the Electrically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator (ESPAR) technology to arrays using microstrip patch elements. Scanning arrays of two and three closely-coupled rectangular patch elements are presented, which incorporate no phase shifters. These arrays achieve directive radiation patterns and scanning of up to 26° with maintained impedance match. The scanning is effected by tunable reactive loads which are used to control the mutual coupling between the elements, as well as additional loads which compensate to maintain the appropriate resonant frequency. The design incorporates theoretical analysis of the system of coupled antennas with full-wave simulation. A prototype of the threeelement array at 1 GHz is fabricated and measured to exhibit a maximum gain of 7.4 dBi with an efficiency of 79.1%. Further, the microstrip ESPAR is thoroughly compared to uniformlyilluminated arrays of similar size. To satisfy the need for higher directivity antennas with inexpensive electronic scanning, the microstrip ESPAR is then integrated as a subarray. The three-element subcell fabrication is simplified to a single layer with an inverted-Y groove in the ground plane, allowing for DC biasing without the need for the radial biasing stubs or tuning stubs found in the two-layer design. The 1 GHz ESPAR array employs a corporate feed network consisting of a Wilkinson power divider with switchable delay line phase shifts, ring hybrid couplers, and achieves a gain of 12.1 dBi at boresight with ±20° scanning and low side lobes. This array successfully illustrates the cost savings associated with ESPAR subarray scanning and the associated reduction in required number of phase shifters in the RF front end