Performance evaluation of near-field plane wave generated by a reflectarray for 5G testing

Abstract

In this work a reflectarray is proposed to be used as a plane wave generator (PWG). The reflectarray works at 𝟐𝟖 𝐆𝐇𝐳 and produces a plane wave in the Fresnel region of the antenna in order to obtain a compact structure. The generated wave front must satisfy tight requirement both in amplitude and phase in order to be considered as an uniform plane wave. The designed reflectarray based on a three-parallel-dipole cell has been manufactured. The prototype is measured in a planar range facility to evaluate the performances of the plane wave generated. The antenna satisfies the tight requirements and shows low ripple both in phase and amplitude and, therefore, promising results are obtained.