Design and Validation of a Reflectarray Antenna with Optimized Beam for Ground Target Monitoring with a DVB-S-Based Passive Radar

A reflectarray antenna with an optimized sectorial beam is designed for the surveillance channel of a DVB-S-based passive radar (PR). The employment of satellite illuminators requires a high gain antenna to counteract the losses due to the great distance from the transmitter, but without forgetting a beamwidth wide enough to provide angular coverage. A method based on optimizing the position of several contiguous beams is proposed to achieve the required sectorial pattern. Different reflectarray elements are designed to achieve S-curves with smooth slopes and covering all the required phases (the S-curve represents the reflection phase of a single element, as a function of size, rotation and incidence angle). The real phase and modulus of the reflection coefficient of each element are considered in the optimization process to achieve the best real prototype. Geometry has been studied and adapted to employ commercial elements for the feed, feed-arm and the structure that holds the aperture. The designed prototype has been characterized in an anechoic chamber achieving a stable gain greater than 19 dBi in almost the complete DVB-S band, from 10.5 GHz to 12 GHz with a sectorial beam of 8.7 degrees x5.2 degrees. The prototype has also been validated in PR trials in terrestrial scenarios allowing the detection of cars at distances up to 600 m away from the PR, improving the performance achieved with commercial parabolic dish antennas.