A balanced bridged-T reconfigurable array lens element

Array lenses have been shown to be viable architectures for achieving high-directivity reconfigurable apertures. A reconfigurable array lens element based on proximity-coupled patch antennas and two balanced tunable bridged-T phase shifters is presented. The design is discussed in detail, along with simulated and experimental results. The unit cell is demonstrated at 4.9 GHz, achieving a large phase tuning range of 421° with low insertion loss variation and fabrication complexity.