Single Motor-Controlled Mechanically Reconfigurable Reflectarray

In this article, a mechanically reconfigurable 1-D reflectarray actuated by a single motor is proposed. The elements are designed as metal tubes that are lifted by the ejectors. To achieve continuous phase growth in a limited space, the discontinuity of the Archimedean spiral is utilized. Then, a novel drive mechanism is constructed to transfer the power of the motor to each element. The combination of the Archimedean spiral cam and the follower effectively converts the rotation of the shafts to the linear motion of the element. In conjunction with the timing pulleys and timing belts, the Archimedean spiral cams generate a periodic changing phase gradient over time. The whole structure is supported by low-cost acrylic plates with fasteners. The main parts are composed of standard components and the overall structure is easy to realize. The reflectarray at normal incidence offers a beam steering range from -60 degrees to 60 degrees in one dimension at 5 GHz. The beam coverage test demonstrates a maximum improvement in the received signal level of 16 dB in the multipath environment. This work provides a new solution to the design of mechanically reconfigurable reflectarrays.

Automated summary

This article proposes a mechanically reconfigurable 1-D reflectarray that is actuated by a single motor. The reflectarray consists of metal tubes lifted by ejectors, and utilizes the discontinuity of the Archimedean spiral to achieve continuous phase growth. A novel drive mechanism, consisting of Archimedean spiral cams and followers, is designed to convert the motor rotation to linear motion of the elements. The reflectarray, supported by low-cost acrylic plates, achieved a beam steering range of -60 degrees to 60 degrees in one dimension at 5 GHz and showed a significant improvement in the received signal level in a multipath environment.