Reconfigurable Reflectarray Antenna: A Comparison Between Design Using PIN Diodes And Liquid Crystals

• Main Authors: Abbasi, Muhammad Inam, Ismail, Muhammad Yusof, Kamarudin, Muhammad Ramlee, Qammer, H. Abbasi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2021
• Online Access: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/25925/2/PUBLISHED%20WCMC%20INAM%202835638.PDF; http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/25925/; https://www.hindawi.com/journals/wcmc/2021/2835638/; https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/2835638

This work presents the design and analysis of active reflectarray antennas with slot embedded patch element configurations within an X-band frequency range. Two active reflectarray design technologies have been proposed by digital frequency switching using PIN diodes and analogue frequency tuning using liquid crystal-based substrates. A waveguide simulator has been used to perform scattering parameter measurements in order to practically compare the performance of reflectarray designed based on the two active design technologies. PIN diode-based active reflectarray unit cell design is shown to offer a frequency tunability of 0.36 GHz with a dynamic phase range of 226°. On the other hand, liquid crystal-based design provided slightly lower frequency tunability of 0.20 GHz with a dynamic phase range of 124°. Moreover, the higher reflection loss and slow frequency tuning are demonstrated to be the disadvantages of liquid crystal-based designs as compared to PIN diode-based active reflectarray design