Planar Wide-Angle Scanning Periodic Sparse Phased Array Using Pattern Reconfigurable Antenna

In this paper, a planar periodic sparse phased array using two-dimensional pattern reconfigurable antenna elements is proposed to realize wide-angle scanning performance. The pattern reconfigurable element consists of a circularly polarized microstrip antenna and four parasitic elements with diode switches. The antenna element can radiate towards the normal direction or steer its main beam in four different space quadrants by changing the states of the diode switches. For each dimension of the array, the distance between neighboring elements is 0.7 lambda. Simulation results indicate that the array can scan its main beam from -60 degrees to 60 degrees with a gain fluctuation less than 2 dB. The coverage of 3-dB beamwidth of the array is from about -71 degrees to 71 degrees Meanwhile, the side lobe level (SLL) maintain bellows -8.2 dB. Then, comparisons to a conventional phased array are performed to highlight its advantages.