Reflectarray design using capacitive loading on a slotted patch

A passive phasing technique for the designing microstrip reflectarray antennas is proposed. The antenna elements in the array are identical slotted patches. The slots are loaded with a SMD capacitor to set the required phase shift needed for array implementation. The design procedure and critical parameters are discussed and compared to alternative phase shifting techniques. Simulations show promising results. Mounting a SMD capacitor in such a configuration can be considered as the first step in using capacitive loading on a slotted patch for active microstrip reflectarrays. It is shown that by adjusting the capacitance values it is possible to scan the beam.