A low-cost reflectarray antenna based on liquid-crystal cells that provides beam scanning at millimeter-waves with improved reliability
ESCAM (Electronic Scanning Antenna for Millimeter-wave applications) is a low-cost solution for electronic beam scanning at frequencies above 100 GHz is desirable, as an alternative to mechanical scanning, for certain applications in communications, radar, image reconstruction for security and scientific missions in space.
This invention provides a technological solution for low-cost and reliable antennas based on liquid crystals to provide electronic beam scanning in mm-wave and Terahertz ranges. The invention improves the antenna performance by using multi-resonant cells in one or two layers of liquid crystal. At present, there is not any available technology that provides electronic beam scanning at frequencies around 100 GHz and above. The main advantages of the new technology with respect to mechanical scanning using motors are: low-cost, higher reliability and low power consumption.
Electronic beam scanning would be desirable at frequencies above 100 GHz for certain applications. Prior demonstrators of beam scanning antennas based on liquid crystals used a single resonant patch above a layer of liquid crystal (LC) as phasing cells. This configuration showed significant limitations in bandwidth, range of phase and losses, which made them unsuitable for practical applications.
ESCAM solves the problems mentioned above, by using multi-resonant cells, which provide an improvement in range of phase, bandwidth and losses. The multiple resonances can be implemented in each phasing cell by using 3 parallel dipoles, where the dipole lengths are optimized to improve the bandwidth and phase range. Another alternative is to use two layers of LC for a further improvement of the scanning performance.
“Development of low-cost antennas based on liquid crystals to provide electronic beam scanning in mm-wave and Terahertz ranges”
“The Global Satellite Industry Revenues has increase 7 % in 2012, with 189,5 billion dollars, outpacing both worldwide economic growth rate (2,3%) and U.S. growth (2,2%)”
This invention is being developed with financial support from the Spanish Government (CICYT and Consolider) and from ESA. A reference from ESA is: “this approach can be used to create a new class of fully integrated electronically controlled antenna systems, ‘smart sensors’, and tunable FSS for space science instruments at mm, sub - mm and THz wavelengths”
ESCAM (Electronic Scanning Antenna for Millimeter-wave applications) Contact
J.A. Encinar, G. Pérez-Palomino, M. Barba, X. Quintana, M. Andreas, J.M. Oton, A. Broquetas, J. Abril, E. Novae {jose.encinar@upm.es, xabi@tfo.upm.es, broquetas@tsc.upc.edu}
UPM contact
Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship Area
Centre of Support for Technological Innovation – UPM
e: innovacion.tecnologica@upm.es