Reconfigurable and dual-polarization folded reflectarray antenna

This paper proposes a novel version of folded reflectarray antenna that allows a full electronic reconfigurability of the radiation pattern. The reconfigurability is obtained adopting an elementary cell on the main reflector able to provide at the same time the required phase-shift to the incident field and the necessary twist of the incident polarization. Since in many applications an antenna with dual-polarization operation is required, the proposed design allows the reflectarray to manage at the same time two orthogonal linear polarizations in two adjacent frequency bands. This achievement is obtained by replacing the polarizing grid, as typically adopted, with a dualband and dual-polarized FSS. As a proof of concept, two test antennas have been designed, manufactured and tested.