Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 PhD Student, Associate Professor, Aerospace Research Institute, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Aerospace Research Institute, Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran
3 Professor, University of Rennes 1
Abstract
This paper presents a novel approach for designing a reconfigurable and steerable antenna utilizing plasma dielectric slabs along the aperture of a pyramidal horn antenna. The antenna offers electronic control over both the radiation gain and the direction of the main beam. The proposed configuration consists of four plasma slabs aligned perpendicular to the horn aperture along the horn axis, complemented by four diagonally connected plasma slabs. Each plasma slab can be independently switched ON or OFF, enabling dynamic adjustment of the radiation gain and steering of the main beam. Numerical investigations demonstrate that toggling the plasma slabs or controlling the plasma frequency of these slabs allows for fine-grained control over the radiation gain and beam steering of the pyramidal horn antenna. The selection of appropriate dimensions and angles for the plasma slabs plays a crucial role in achieving the desired beam steering angle and radiation gain control. To validate the concept, the proposed antenna configuration is designed and numerically simulated at a frequency of 10 GHz. The results indicate that the radiation gain of the antenna can be significantly enhanced, reaching up to 6.5 dBi. Additionally, the main beam direction can be steered within a range of ±12 degrees.
Keywords
- Horn antenna
- Dielectric plasma slabs
- Beam direction
- Gain control
- Reconfigurable antenna
- Beam steering antenna
- space communication
Main Subjects
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