Fast Phase-Only Synthesis of faceted reflectarrays

When designing conformal/faceted reflectarrays, the non planar geometry prevents the use of canonical fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithms so that the computational complexity required by phase-only synthesis techniques can become prohibitive for the large antennas normally exploited in satellite applications. In this paper, a new approach, based on the use of a proper approximation of the far field pattern expression, is presented. The method allows a massive use of FFTs, along with advanced FFT algorithms, known as FFTW, capable to adapt their performance to the hardware platform. The results for a faceted shaped-beam reflectarray providing the Galaxy 17 coverage are reported.