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3D-printed wideband reflectarray antennas with mechanical beam-steering

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2023

Andrea Massaccesi Open the ORCID record for Andrea Massaccesi [Opens in a new window] ,
Michele Beccaria Open the ORCID record for Michele Beccaria [Opens in a new window] ,
Valentina Bertana ,
Simone Luigi Marasso ,
Matteo Cocuzza ,
Gianluca Dassano  and
Paola Pirinoli
Andrea Massaccesi*
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Michele Beccaria
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Valentina Bertana
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Sciences and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (TO), Italy
Simone Luigi Marasso
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Sciences and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (TO), Italy IMEM-CNR, Parma, Italy
Matteo Cocuzza
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Sciences and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy Chilab-Materials and Microsystems Laboratory, Politecnico di Torino, Chivasso (TO), Italy IMEM-CNR, Parma, Italy
Gianluca Dassano
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Paola Pirinoli
Affiliation:
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy IEIIT-CNR, Torino, Italy
*
Corresponding author: Andrea Massaccesi; Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper investigates the performance of 3D-printed dielectric reflectarray antennas (RAs) with wideband behavior and beam-steering capabilities. The designed unit cell consists of a single-layer dielectric element perforated with a square hole, whose side is used to control the local variation of the reflection coefficient. The numerical analysis of the unit cell and of first $52\times52$ reflectarray working in Ka-band, whose scanning capabilities are tested just moving the feed along an arc, confirms that the unit cell has a stable behavior with respect to both the frequency and the direction of arrival of the incident field. In view of these promising capabilities, the proposed unit cell is used to design a bifocal reflectarray with the same size and working in the same frequency band of the first one. Its numerical characterization and the measurements of a prototype prove that the RA is able to provide less than 0.8 dB of gain losses over a scanning range of ±40∘ in the vertical plane, while the bandwidth varies between 13.5% and 28%, depending on the pointing direction. The obtained results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and highlight the potential of 3D-printing technology for producing high performance, cost-effective RAs with wideband behavior and excellent beam-steering features.

Keywords

3D-printingadditive manufacturingperforated dielectricperiodic structuresreflectarray antennas
Type
MMS 2022 Special Issue
Information
International Journal of Microwave and Wireless Technologies , Volume 16 , Special Issue 1: MMS 2022 Special Issue , February 2024 , pp. 21 - 29
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press in association with the European Microwave Association

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