Multifunctional Tri-Band Dual-Polarized Antenna Combining Transmitarray and Reflectarray

Abstract

A multifunctional tri-band antenna combining transmitarray (TA) and reflectarray (RA) is presented in this communication. Five-layer patches etched on three dielectric substrates with two air gaps are used as the unit cell. Cross dipoles inserted in cross slots control transmission characteristics at <italic>Ku</italic>-band (14 GHz). Double square rings on the top and bottom layers control reflection characteristics at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation= LaTeX >${K}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> (21 GHz)- and <italic>Ka</italic> (30 GHz)-bands, respectively. The antenna has dual-polarized characteristics in each band. The phase shift range that can be obtained is 360° for 3 dB transmission magnitude at <italic>Ku</italic>-band and 0.15 dB reflection magnitude at <inline-formula> <tex-math notation= LaTeX >${K}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>- and <italic>Ka</italic>-bands. The tri-band dual-polarized TA/RA antenna is designed, manufactured, and measured to verify the performance. The simulated results keep consistent with the measured ones. The measured results show that the TA has a peak gain of 23.8 dBi with an aperture efficiency of 40% at 14.25 GHz and 1 dB gain bandwidth of 6.5%. The RA has a peak gain of 28 dBi with an aperture efficiency of 44% at 21 GHz and 1 dB gain bandwidth of 7.3%, and has a peak gain of 31.5 dBi with an aperture efficiency of 47% at 30.5 GHz and 1 dB gain bandwidth of 7.1%.