A switched-beam linearly-polarized transmitarray antenna for V-band backhaul applications

Abstract

This paper presents the design of linearly-polarized switched-beam transmitarray antennas operating in V-band for wireless backhaul applications in future mobile communication networks. These arrays are based on a simple printed-circuit-board structure with only three metal layers and no via connection in order to minimize the insertion loss, the fabrication complexity and the overall cost of the system. In a fixed-beam configuration, the antenna exhibits a broadside gain of 32 dBi at 60 GHz with a 3-dB bandwidth of 20% and a very low cross-polarization level. Beam switching can be implemented using an array of five switched patch antennas as a focal source. A beam-switching capability of ±6.1° in one plane with a maximum gain of 29.3 dB and less than 3 dB of gain ripple are demonstrated.