Electronically Sweeping-Beam Antenna Using a New Cylindrical Frequency-Selective Surface

An electronically sweeping radiation-pattern antenna using a new active cylindrical frequency-selective surface (ACFSS) is presented for 2.45-GHz operating frequency. The ACFSS screen is constructed by a new reconfigurable hybrid unit cell, providing more freedom to control the antenna radiation characteristics. A design guideline based on the reflector antenna principles is also introduced to estimate the overall dimensions of the antenna geometry, and then the required number of unit cells for the ACFSS surface is calculated. Furthermore, to confirm the proposed design guideline, the performance of the designed antenna is compared to three conventional reflector antennas constructed with solid perfect electric conductors. The achieved simulation results for these antennas are carefully examined and the impact of the FSS surface on enhancing the ACFSS antenna gain is discussed. Moreover, parametric studies for the crucial dimensions of the unit cell are also presented to demonstrate the effect of each parameter on the antenna radiation characteristics. To completely examine the achieved results, the transmission coefficient response of the applied FSS sheet is experimentally assessed, and the antenna measured parameters are accordingly interpreted.