MSMW'O4 Symposium Proceedings.

Kharkov, Ukraine,June 21-26, 2004

CASSEGRAIN REFLECTOR ANTENNA

BASED ON PRINTED ELEMENTS REFLECTARRAYS

Alexander Kasyanov
Taganrog State University of RadioEngineering, Russia.
Russia, 347928, Taganrog, GSP-17 A, Nekrasovslq street, 44,
Phone +7(8634)37-17-33, Fax +7(8634)66-50-19, E-mail: kasao@mail.ru

Introduction.
The microstrip antennas attract attention of the developers due to their numerous advantages. However
any single printed antenna has a low directivity. Microstrip arrays have not this shortage. The optical feed circuit
application for radiators excitation is an antenna array cost reducing way. Usually these antenna arrays are
supplied with such circuits for a radiator feed, which are applied for reflector and lens antennas excitation. Such
antenna arrays have little bit lower values of efficiency on a comparison with the prototypes, namely, reflector
antennas. These antennas allow realizing electronic scanning and they can be made conformal. However, large
depth of reflector antennas limits their applications. Cassegrain reflector antennas are a compromise for this
problem, but have limitation concerning aperture blockage. A reduction of aperture blockage may be achieved
using a polarizing filter as subreflector and twist reflector based on the surface of the focusing main reflector [ 11.
The problems of constructive synthesis of Cassegrain reflector antenna as integral circuit are considered.
On a comparison with known constructions of such antennas the offered antenna has a series of advantages,
namely, greater adaptability to manufacture of printed elements reflectarrays and more high level of a
transparency of a polarizing filter due to introducing in antenna construction of a ((clarifying))grating [2].
The primary and auxiliary reflectors have been executed as microstrip reflectarrays. This provides low
cost, small losses, lightness and compactness of constructions, because in this case Cassegrain antenna contains
of feed and only two printed reflectarrays.
Basic Principle of the Printed Cassegrain Reflector Antenna.
W.Menze1 and D.Pilz [3 - 41 have proposed the principal function of a printed and folded reflector
antenna. The radiation of the feed is reflected by a printed grid or slot array at the front of the antenna. Then the
wave is incident on the printed reflector. The dipole axes are tilted by 45' with respect to the incident electric
field. The dimensions of the dipoles are designed in such a way that, on the one hand, a phase difference of 180"
occurs between the two components of the reflected wave - giving the twisting performance. On the other hand,
an overall phase shift is adjusted according to the focusing (phase shifting) requirements. The outgoing plane
wave then can pass the grid or slot array. The original design of this antenna once again is done on the basis of
periodic structures. For varying dipole dimensions, the reflection phase angles are calculated for both principal
polarizations. The optimum combination of phases then is selected from this set of data according to both
twisting and focusing requirements.
The feature of such folded reflectarrays is to both primary and auxiliary reflectors are arrays of
rectangular microstrip re-radiators. In this case, however, variation of phase reflection ratio as frequency
function has great velocity. To overcome this shortage it is proposed the complex shape microstrip elements of
printed focusing twist-reflector. These microstrip re-radiators are broadband and have low sensitivity to
fabrication errors.
Mathematical Model.
The microstrip reflectarray being used as a focusing system has a large number of re-radiating elements.
So proposed mathematical model is based on the periodical structures conception and integral equation system
solution. The vector integral equations are formulated by Lorentz lemma. The application of periodicity
condition has allowed reducing the solution area to single Floquet channel. In this paper the application of
periodic microstrip reflectarray for a construction flat focusing twist-reflector is considered.
The magnetic current density distribution on the array aperture is determined from integral equation
system based on the boundary conditions. The moment method is used for integral equation numerical solution.
The subsectional rooftop function set is used for magnetic current approximation.
The numerical analysis results are scattering fields and reflection factor of the reflectarray. This model
allows realizing a choice of reflectarray radiator parameters, basing on computing experiment results. The
numerical analysis bases on the following initial parameters: radiator topology, substrate permittivity and
permeability, and also sizes of an array unit cell. The numerical results can be used to develop antennas with
optimum parameters.

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 MSMW'04 Symposium Proceedings. Kharkov, Ukraine,June 21-26, 2004

Design of the Focusing Twist-Reflector.

The purpose of the following numerical researches is to select such topologies of reflectarray microstrip
elements and substrate parameters, which provided smooth variation of the reflection factor phase of the
reflectarray when these parameters are changed. First of all we will research of the possibility to realization of
the necessary phase delay and possibility of reflected field polarization transformation in case of rectangular
microstrip elements with tunable stubs. It is known [5], that such reflectarrays have good smoothness of phase -
frequency characteristics of reflection factor. The topology of such reflectarray reradiator is shown in Fig. 1,a. In
order to phase correction and simultaneous transformation of reflected field polarization we will change the
length of tunable stub Lsh and define phase of field with transformed polarization.

a21,
rPaA
510

450

390

330
0 0,17 0.33 0,5 0,67 0,83 1,o Lsh/L
a b
Figure 1 Phase and frequency characteristics of microstrips patches with stubs
In Fig.1 it is shown the relationships of the reflection factor phase by the twist-reflector from

relative length of the tunable stub and frequency characteristics of the scattering polarization matrix

elements
ISpqI . The reflective-type antenna array has a following parameters: dl = 11,7 mm;d,
- steps of array along axis Ox and axis @ ; w = 9,9 mm; L = 7,2 mm - sizes of the microstrip
= 16,O m m

element; t = 1,59 mm; &R = 2,2 - dielectric substrate thickness and permittivity. It is shown the range of
phase variation of A@,] is about 180" (from di,, = 330" to = 510") when operation frequency is
equal f, = 8,6 GHz . In this case reflected wave is completely transformed to wave with orthogonal
polarization. It is shown twist-effect exists both f, and more high frequency , which depends from lengths
of tunable stub. The frequency band Af = - f, it can be increased by stub length adjustment, but the
polarization losses in this frequency band will higher.
In order to twist-reflector has focusing properties it is necessary to expand of adjustment range till
360". This aim can be achieved by using other shapes of reradiators besides considered microstrip elements.
The numerical researches have been shown, that in this case it may be used elements, which is shown in Fig. 2
(left insertion). Besides inversion from topology of microstrip element with tunable stub, last topology is
distinguished by presence of two stubs which have fixed lengths Lo = 4 m m .

The relationships versus relative length of tunable slot LsL

A l sppl %
and versus (curves 1) it

is shown in Fig.2. It is shown phase di,, is adjusted in phase delay sector, which complete A@,, to 360" and
such reflectanay also is twist-reflector upon any length of the tunable slot. However, this phase characteristic

( has high steepness. This circumstance obstructs the constructive realization of reflective phase

shifter on base such reflectarray.

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 MSMW'OI Symposium Proceedings. Kharkov, Ukraine,June 21-26, 2004

0 0,17 0,33 0,5 0,67 0,83 1,0 LsdL

a b
Figure 2 Phase and frequency characteristics of microstrips-slot re-radiators

The reflectarray with smoother phase characteristics must have shapes of microstrip reradiators, which

are shown in right insertion in Fig. 2. The relationships @, (Lsd)IsppI(%)

and for such reflectarray are

presented by curves 2 in Fig. 2. It is shown that now we can be achieved smoother adjustment @, by the stub
length Lsh variation. However, now the range of phase @,, variation is reduced. By analyzing graphs, which
are presented in Fig. 1-2, it can be concluded that phase delays in sector from 270" to 330" are not realized
yet. In order to solve this problem we have used microstrip elements, which topologies differ from all considered
above shapes. It is appeared, that in this case re-radiators of suitable shape have the topology suggested [6]. This
topology has been used for realization of phase delays in last sector. The analysis of numerical results for this
sector is given in the report.

Conclusions.
Design and numerical results have been demonstrated for the focusing twist-reflector as main part of
Cassegrain reflector antenna based on printed reflective type antenna arrays. If the dual polarization properties
are used to provide a polarization twisting operation, low profile, low loss, and potentially, low cost mm-wave
antennas can be realized. In report some efforts will been described to do a full wave analyze of these
reflectarrays; this ongoing effort probably will allow to optimize these antennas and to further reduce their depth.

References

1. D.Pilz, W.Menze1, Folded Reflectarray Antenna//Electronics Letters 30" April 1998 Vol. 34 No. 9. -
P.832-833.
2. A.O.Kasyanov, Cassegrain Reflector Antenna Based on Printed Elements Reflectarrays//Antennas #6(73),
2003, MOSCOW, IPRZHR, 2003. -P.17-22.
3. D.Pilz, W.Menzel: Printed MM-wave folded reflector antennas with high gain, low loss, and low profile//
Proceedings of the 2000 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium and
USNCKJRSI Meeting. -P. 790-793.
4. W.Menze1, D.Pilz, M. Al-Tikriti, Millimeter-wave folded reflector antennas with high gain, low loss, and
low profile// IEEE Antenna's and Propagation Magazine, Vol. 44, No.3, June 2002. -P.24-29.
5. J.Huang, Analysis of a microstrip reflectarray antenna for microspacecraft applications// TDA Progress
Report 42-120, February 15,1995. -P. 153-173.
6. K.Y.Sze, L.Shafai, Microstrip patches for a reflectarray// Proceedings of the IEEE Antennas and
Propagation Society International Symposium, Orlando, Florida, 11-16 July 1999. -P. 1666-1669.

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