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. 2022 Feb 3;22(3):1166.
doi: 10.3390/s22031166.

Analysis and Design of an X-Band Reflectarray Antenna for Remote Sensing Satellite System

Shimaa A M Soliman  1 , Eman M Eldesouki  1 , Ahmed M Attiya  1
Affiliations

Analysis and Design of an X-Band Reflectarray Antenna for Remote Sensing Satellite System

Shimaa A M Soliman et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

This paper presents the analysis and design of an X-band reflectarray. The proposed antenna can be used for a medium Earth orbit (MEO) remote sensing satellite system in the 8.5 GHz band. To obtain a nearly constant response along the coverage area of this satellite system, the proposed antenna was designed with a flat-top radiation pattern with a beam width of around 29° for the required MEO system. In addition, broadside pencil beam and tilted pencil beam reflectarrays were also investigated. The feeding element of the proposed reflectarray antennas is a Yagi-Uda array. The amplitude and phase distribution of the fields due to the feeding element on the aperture of the reflectarray antenna are obtained directly by numerical simulation without introducing any approximation. The required phase distribution along the aperture of the reflectarray to obtain the required flat-top radiation pattern is obtained using the genetic algorithm (GA) optimization method. The reflecting elements of the reflectarray are composed of stacked circular patches. This stacked configuration was found to be appropriate for obtaining a wide range of reflection phase shift, which is required to implement the required phase distribution on the reflectarray aperture. The antenna was fabricated and measured for verification.

Keywords: flat-top radiation pattern; genetic algorithm; reflectarray antenna; remote sensing satellite system.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A reflectarray antenna fed by a Yagi–Uda antenna.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proposed Yagi–Uda feeding antenna. (a) Geometry, (b) Simulated Reflection coefficient, (c) Simulated total gain pattern.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Complex field distribution of the feeding element at the plane of the reflectarray: (a) 2D representation, (b) normalized amplitude and phase along the x-axis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Phase distribution of the pencil beam reflectarray: (a) broadside beam, (b) tilted beam with a tilting angle of 15°.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Geometry of the satellite coverage of the MEO satellite system.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Required mask for the normalized radiation pattern.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Flowchart of a general GA approach.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Phase symmetry on half of the elements of the proposed reflectarray antenna.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Optimized phase distribution of a flat-top radiation pattern.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Flat-top radiation pattern obtained using a genetic algorithm.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Geometry of the proposed unit cell.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Reflection phase response of the unit cell.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Simulation layout of the reflecting elements for the broadside pencil beam pattern.
Figure 14
Figure 14
3D radiation pattern of the simulated broadside pencil beam reflectarray antenna.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Simulation layout of the reflecting elements for the tilted beam pattern.
Figure 16
Figure 16
3D radiation pattern of the simulated tilted beam reflectarray antenna.
Figure 17
Figure 17
Reflecting elements for the flat-top pattern: (a) simulated layout, (b) fabricated upper layer, (c) fabricated bottom layer, and (d) fabricated ground plane.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Measurement of the reflection coefficient of the fabricated Yagi–Uda antenna: (a) the fabricated Yagi–Uda antenna, (b) Yagi–Uda antenna connected to the Rhode and Schwartz model ZVA67 VNA, and (c) simulated and measured magnitude of the reflection coefficient.
Figure 19
Figure 19
Fabricated prototype of the proposed reflectarray antenna.
Figure 20
Figure 20
Fabricated antenna inside the anechoic chamber for the radiation pattern measurement.
Figure 21
Figure 21
Measured and optimized radiation pattern of the proposed reflectarray antenna.
Figure 22
Figure 22
Three-dimensional radiation pattern of the proposed reflectarray antenna.
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