Bandwidth response of a reflectarray antenna working as a Compact Antenna Test Range probe

Abstract

A reflectarray antenna working at 28 GHz is proposed to replace the reflector antenna of a Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) system. As a first approach, the quiet zone obtained using a far-field collimated reflectarray is analysed. Due to the size of this area is not large enough, the generalized Intersection Approach is employed to carry out an optimization of the near-field for both phase and amplitude in order to maximize the size of the quiet zone at one plane. Simulations are compared for the near-field before and after the optimization process, showing an important enhancement of the size of the quiet zone, especially in the main cuts. From the obtained phase distribution a design is carried out. The unit cell chosen is based on a two-layer stacked patch, having good agreement between optimization and design results. Finally, the bandwidth response of the designed reflectarray is analysed, in order to assess its performances as probe in a CATR system.