Reconfigurable mesh reflector antennas-a review

The authors describes the need for reconfigurable reflector antennas for satellite communications and the possibility of meeting this requirement. The design and structure of a deformable mesh antenna capable of reconfiguration is detailed. Results obtained experimentally at 10 GHz are shown to correspond to theoretically predicted results. Methods of reducing pillowing, that is distortion in mesh shape caused by its elasticity, are given and the author concludes that the performance of the reconfigurable reflector is close to the equivalent, conventional, shaped reflector