A new planar grating-reflector antenna

A planar grating-reflector antenna with frequency-scanning properties is presented. The antenna system is composed of a point feed and a planar reflector consisting of a frequency-scanned reflection grating. The grating geometry must be selected such that the first higher-order diffracted wave propagates and serves as the frequency-scanned beam. A focus feed position for the diffracted field is obtained by allowing the lattice geometry to vary along the reflector surface. Methods for analyzing and designing the new antenna configuration are presented. The antenna concept is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally by the design, evaluation, and test of an experimental antenna operating over the frequency band 9.5-10.5 GHz