Accurate analysis of printed reflectarrays considering the near field of the primary feed

An analysis technique is proposed for the analysis of reflectarrays placed in the Fresnel zone of the primary feed. The technique is based on the classic analysis of reflectarrays considering local periodicity, improved by considering the near field radiated by the feed horn instead of ideal feed models. The incident field on each reflectarray cell is obtained by applying field transformation to the measured far field (FF) of the horn antenna. The stronger variation of the incident field is considered by increasing the number of samples per reflectarray cell for the incident and reflected waves. This enhanced analysis has been applied to the analysis of a multi-fed and multiple-shaped beam reflectarray placed in the Fresnel zone of the feed horns. The antenna was proposed as a central station antenna for a local multipoint distribution system in the 24.5-26.5-GHz band. The antenna was designed by considering an approximate FF feed model in the radiation pattern synthesis and the reflectarray design. The results obtained through the enhanced analysis are compared with those from measurements of a prototype, validating the proposed analysis procedure and providing a significant improvement with respect to conventional analysis.