A Novel Azimuth-Wide-Angle Scanning Phased Array Based on Pattern-Reconfigurable Element

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel azimuth-wide-angle scanning phased array based on pattern reconfigurable elements. The pattern reconfigurable element is composed of a printed dipole and two L-shaped parasitic structures, where two PIN diodes are embedded. Switching the state of the PIN diodes can change the current distribution on the L-shaped parasitic structure, and thus the element pattern can be reconfigured realizing wide equivalent 3-dB beamwidth in the azimuth plane. To overcome the asymmetry of the printed dipole feeding structure and reduce the array spacing, the overall structure of the phased array adopts the form of centrosymmetry, and the L-shaped parasitic structure of different array elements is inclined with different angle. Finally, a 1×8-element linear array is designed, and the simulation results are given. The simulation results show that the proposed phased array can obtain wide 3-dB gain fluctuation scanning range from - 75.2° to 75.2° in the azimuth plane at 3.7 GHz.