Simultaneous Transmitting and Reflecting Reconfigurable Array (STAR-RA) With Independent Beams

Abstract

A simultaneous transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable array (STAR-RA) with independent beams is proposed in this communication. This STAR-RA can realize bidirectional beams simultaneously and the forward and backward beam directions can be controlled independently. To realize this function, a novel element consisting of the forward and backward phase-controlling patches is proposed. With the help of two pairs of p-i-n diodes, it divides the incident wave into a 1 bit reconfigurable reflecting part and a 1 bit reconfigurable transmitting part. Further, a STAR-RA prototype with <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$16\times16$ </tex-math></inline-formula> elements is designed, fabricated, and measured. The measured results show a good beam-scanning capability of ±60° with a maximum gain fluctuation of 5.5 dB in E- and H-planes for both the transmitting and reflecting beams. The 1 dB gain bandwidth of the STAR-RA is 8.4% from 5.7 to 6.2 GHz. The distinctive advantage of the proposed design is the independently controlled bidirectional beams that work simultaneously, which is suitable for bidirectional wireless communication applications.