Dual-Band Beam-Scanning Antenna at Ka-Band by Rotation of Two Transmitarrays

A dual-band beam-scanning antenna by rotation of two transmintarrays (TAs) operating at 20 and 30 GHz has been presented in this letter. TA's unit cell has three metal layers and demonstrates almost completely independent performance at two frequency bands. Two designed TAs have unit cells of different sizes to achieve dual-band with different linear phases. By rotating the two TAs synchronously around the axis orthogonal to the planes of the TAs, it enables two-dimensional (2-D) beam scanning with maximum scanning angles of +/- 40 degrees. The achieved simulated peak gains are 19.9 dBi, 20.5 dBi and 22.5 dBi, 23.2 dBi at phi = 0 degrees, phi = 90 degrees at 20 and 30 GHz, respectively. The maximum beam scanning losses are 1.7 dB, 2.6 dB and 1.5 dB, 2.7 dB. Moreover, the two beams at the two frequencies can basically point to the same direction at the same time. To validate the design, a prototype is fabricated and tested. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulated results.

Automated summary

This letter presents a dual-band beam-scanning antenna achieved by rotating two transmitarrays operating at 20 and 30 GHz. The designed transmitarrays have independent performance at two frequency bands, with different unit cell sizes for dual-band operation. By rotating the transmitarrays synchronously, the antenna enables two-dimensional beam scanning with a maximum scanning angle of +/- 40 degrees. The measured results from the prototype are in good agreement with the simulated results.