Enhancement of directional characteristics of corner reflector antennas using metallic scatters

Corner reflector antennas are widely used in various applications where high directivity is required for point-to-point communication systems. Such antennas, in addition to their high directivity, are very practical due to their simple design which makes them competitive in the market from both financial and electrical aspects. In spite of this fact, reflector antennas suffer from sidelobe radiation due to the fact that the conducting surfaces forming the corner reflector are not infinite in extent. These sidelobes would negatively affect the radiation efficiency, the gain and the security of the system under consideration. Adding rectangular or circular metallic strips to the corner reflector at specific positions and with specific size and geometry would decrease the sidelobe level. A theoretical and practical study has been accomplished based on FEKO simulations and demonstrated a significant reduction of the major sidelobes by about 20dB at frequencies around 1 GHZ.