The use of dispersive artificial dielectrics in a beam-scanning prism

The direction of a radiated beam can be altered by passing it through a prism. If the prism material is dispersive, the final direction is frequency sensitive and beam scanning can therefore be achieved by frequency modulation. Two types of dispersive artificial dielectric are considered for use in such a prism, one consisting of an array of rods, and the other of an array of sheets containing a pattern of resonant slots. Measured values of the electrical constants of both arrays over a wide range of wavelengths are included, and the properties of the beam-scanning prism are described in detail.