Mechanically Reconfigurable Linear Phased Array Antenna Based on Single-Block Waveguide Reflective Phase Shifters With Tuning Screws

This work presents the design and prototyping of a reconfigurable phased array in Ku band (16 to 18 GHz) implemented in waveguide technology. The design is based on the use of a novel seamless waveguide module integrating four reconfigurable phase shifters to adjust the relative phase shift between the unitary elements of a linear array, which are illuminated uniformly by a corporate waveguide feeding network. The phase shifters are implemented by a 90° hybrid coupler in waveguide technology where two of its ports are loaded with a tunable reactive load, implemented in this proof of concept with a tuning screw. The four phase shifters have been manufactured in a single part using direct metal laser sintering, avoiding the losses related to bad electric contacts and misalignments associated to multipart devices. This also simplifies the assembly of the full phased array, leading to a modular approach with three parts whose design can be addressed separately. The experimental results for the complete array antenna show great performance and demonstrate that the main-lobe of the radiation pattern can be effectively scanned continuously between the angles −25° and 25°, with a high efficiency in the whole design band thanks to the proposed waveguide implementation.