A phased array design using a novel pattern reconfigurable antenna element.

A novel pattern reconfigurable patch antenna is proposed. For the proposed antenna, the surface of the radiation patch is vertical to the ground plane, and it can be considered as a one‐dimensional wire antenna. By embedding two positive‐intrinsicnegative diodes into the radiating patch, a pair of tilted beams can be generated in the E plane, and they are directed to θ = ± 30°; besides, a side lobe level of less than −15 dB is also obtained. The mechanism of generating the tilted beams is explained. Based on the pattern reconfigurable antenna, a 1 × 8 phased array is designed. Both measured and simulated results demonstrate that the phased array operated at 3.45 GHz can give a gain fluctuation of less than 1 dB when the beam is scanned from −70° to 70°, and a side lobe level of lower than −11 dB is realized in the scanning range from −60° to 60°. Details of antenna structures and array performances are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]