A Novel Beam Scanning/Directivity Reconfigurable M-Ebg Antenna Array

Abstract

Abstract-In this paper, we introduce a new technique for an electronic beam scanning/directivity reconfigurable which can be carried out by using a joint array of Metallic Electromagnetic Band Gap (M-EBG) sectoral antennas. This study opens new avenues of research on M-EBG sectoral antennas by combining multiple radiating elements in an array. Usually M-EBG structures are designed in passive configurations to radiate fixed/shaped beams thanks to a specific radiating aperture at the surface of the M-EBG antenna. However by opting this new technique, we are able to control the radiating aperture, and therefore provide a tunable directivity/beam pattern. The objective of the paper is to propose a solution for M-EBG antennas in order to achieve Beam Scanning and Directivity reconfigurability. The main advantage of the proposed technique is that the array have negligible mutual coupling between the radiating elements, simplifying therefore the conception of the beam-forming network and the problems of constrained beam scanning. Another objective of the paper is to be able to achieve wide angle beam scanning −/ + 58 degrees. This method makes it possible to obtain in a simple way an agile M-EBG antenna without the need of the expensive active electronic components. Several results show the effectiveness and the capabilities of the proposed technique.

A New Agile Radiating System Called Electromagnetic Band Gap Matrix Antenna

“…For a linear patch array ( Figure 6) which presents the same elements number (17 elements) and the same element spacing (0.5 ) of the 1D EBG matrix (Figure 5(b)), the elementary radiating aperture overlaps the neighboring elements, which induces a significant mutual coupling. The originality of the 1D EBG matrix is to limit each elementary radiating aperture at the pixel's dimensions in order not to disturb the neighboring pixels [9]. In addition, the formed radiating aperture is square, equiamplitude, and equiphase along the pixel's dimensions (Figure 7(b)), which is not the case for the patch array (Figure 7(a)).…”

“…The first observation which appears in the 1D EBG matrix is the weak mutual coupling between neighboring pixels for small element spacing [9]. Indeed, the presence of metallic walls at the pixel's edges and the presence of the EBG mode inside each pixel's cavity insure a good isolation between neighboring pixels, making them independent from each other.…”

Reconfigurable frequency selective surface for beam‐switching applications

“…This is precisely why many researchers have focused on manufacturing agile antennas with beam steering functionalities. A reconfigurable antenna with switching characteristics based on the electromagnetic band gap (EBG) has been explored in [9,10]. However, the required number of active elements in the agile EBG antenna is relatively important, which reduces its efficiency and makes it costly to manufacture.…”

A Distributed Variable Delay Line for Wideband Beam-Formers

“…There is a recent surge of interest in using antenna arrays for commercial applications. Broadly speaking, there are two categories of antenna arrays: those used for beam-forming and those used for spatial diversity [6][7][8][9]. In the first type, also referred to as phased arrays in narrowband systems or time arrays in wideband systems, a linear summation of complexweighted signals is formed to create an appropriate beam and enable spatial selectivity [10].…”