Reflectarray Antenna Designs

High-gain antennas are crucial for applications like radar, satellite communication, and long-distance communication. Traditionally, bulky parabolic reflectors or complex antenna arrays have fulfilled this role. However, parabolic reflectors pose significant limitations due to their large size and curved surfaces. This translates to a high mass-to-volume ratio, making them cumbersome and impractical for many applications, particularly those requiring mobility. Additionally, achieving optimal performance at high frequencies necessitates precise fabrication of the parabolic surface, further adding complexity. This chapter highlights the need for alternative high-gain antenna designs that address the limitations of traditional methods. However, despite their many benefits—including low profile and scan capability—antenna arrays require large, power-hungry electronic circuitry to perform beamforming. On the other hand, reflectarray reaps the advantages of array-based and reflector-based systems. We introduce four types of reflectarray designs in this chapter. Two of the reflectarrays are metal-only designs, while the other two use dielectrics with the metal ground plane. All designs have their own characteristics, and we will discuss all four in this chapter.