Broadband planar multilayered reflectarray based on circular stacked patches and reflective printed circuits for microwave communication systems

Abstract

This document provides the complete design of a broadband planar multilayered reflectarray based on circular stacked patches and reflective printed lines. These devices are conceived for their use in satellite communications at microwave and millimeter frequencies. The working principle of the reflectarray is based on the reception and front wave correction by means of printed phase shifters embedded in a phased array structure. Our approach is based on an array of circular stacked patches connected to reflective line shifters. Each reflective shifter at each array cell introduces a phase variation that can be modified due to the line length. The work implies the selection and design of the unitary radiating element and reflective lines of the array, along with the complete reflectarray definition and building up based on this constituting array cell. This work provides the initial specifications and constraints, a complete design, and a manufactured prototype with its performance results.