Wide-Angle Scanning Array Based on Reconfigurable Element Integrated of Binary Array

A wide-angle scanning array based on a new pattern-reconfigurable element (PRE) is presented. The PRE is formed by docking two modified coupling planar inverted F-shaped antennas, one as the main element and the other as a parasitic element. Amplitude and phase perturbations are attached to the binary array, forming a tilt pattern and a wide operating band. A 1 × 8 antenna array based on the PRE is designed. The active patterns tilt gradually with the increase of frequency, suppressing the grating lobes appearing at low elevations and realizing wide-angle scanning under a large spacing. The special bias circuitry reduces the impact of additional wires on the array performance. The antenna array prototype was manufactured and measured to verify the design. The dimension is 3.93λ0 × 0.61λ0 × 0.08λ0 (λ0 is the free-space wavelength at 4.1 GHz). The main lobe realized ±70° scanning range at 3.75-4.5 GHz (18.3%) with a gain fluctuation within 3.2 dB. The maximum sidelobe levels remain below -7.2 dB during scanning. The cross-polarization levels are kept below -45 dB. The measurement is consistent with the simulated results.