Improving the phase resolution of a micromotor-actuated phased reflectarray

Phased reflectarray antennas are being developed as a low-cost alternative to traditional phased arrays. For circular polarization applications, element rotation provides a geometrical phasing technique. A side-drive micromotor is suggested for actuating rotation of K-band elements. This device provides a discreet number of phase steps; however, due to symmetry the number of phases is typically only half of the number of steps per rotation. A simple technique is presented to approximately quadruple the available number of array element phases.