Beam steering

Beam steering is a technique for changing the direction of the main lobe of a radiation pattern.

In radio and radar systems, beam steering may be accomplished by switching the antenna elements or by changing the relative phases of the RF signals driving the elements. As a result, this directs the transmit signal towards an intended receiver. In recent days, beam steering is playing a significant role in 5G communication because of quasi-optic nature of 5G frequencies.^[1]

In acoustics, beam steering is used to direct the audio from loudspeakers to a specific location in the listening area. This is done by changing the magnitude and phase of two or more loudspeakers installed in a column where the combined sound is added and cancelled at the required position. Commercially, this type of loudspeaker arrangement is known as a line array. This technique has been around for many years but since the emergence of modern digital signal processing (DSP) technology there are now many commercially available products on the market. Beam steering and directivity Control using DSP was pioneered in the early 1990s by Duran Audio who launched a technology called DDC (Digital Directivity Control).

In optical systems, beam steering may be accomplished by changing the refractive index of the medium through which the beam is transmitted or by the use of mirrors, prisms, lenses, or rotating diffraction gratings. Examples of optical beam steering approaches include mechanical mirror-based gimbals or beam-director units, galvanometer mechanisms that rotate mirrors, Risley prisms, phased-array optics, and microelectromechanical systems using micro-mirrors.

Beam steering techniques

Several beam-steering techniques have been developed to direct the main beam in the desired direction. The three primary methods that can effectively implement beam-steering antenna systems are: (i) aperture phase-tuning, (ii) feed-tuning (or translation), and (iii) near-field meta-steering or hybrid approaches ^[2].

In the aperture phase-tuning approach, the phase of each element can be individually controlled using methods such as a delay-line microwave network, adjusting the geometric dimensions of the scattering elements, or rotating the elements on the metasurface aperture ^[3]^[4].

In the feed-tuning approach, the main beam is steered by altering the phase center of the feed through feed translations ^[5]. This translation can be achieved either by in-plane (lateral) displacement, circular-arc displacement of the feed ^[6], or by sequentially exciting multiple feeds ^[7].

In the near-field meta-steering or hybrid approach, beam scanning in the elevation, azimuth, or both planes is achieved by mechanically rotating a pair of phase-gradient metasurfaces, utilizing the concept of the Risley prism ^[8].

Source: from Federal Standard 1037C

References

^ A S, Pradeep; Bidkar, G A; D, Thippesha; Nagaraj; M P M, Spurthi; Vishal (October 2020). "Design of Compact Beam-Steering Antenna with a Novel Metasubstrate Structure". 2020 IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing, VLSI, Electrical Circuits and Robotics (DISCOVER). pp. 96–99. doi:10.1109/DISCOVER50404.2020.9278085. ISBN 978-1-7281-9885-9. S2CID 229358777.
^ Ahmed, Foez; Singh, Khushboo; Esselle, Karu P. (2023). "State-of-the-Art Passive Beam-Steering Antenna Technologies: Challenges and Capabilities". IEEE Access. 11: 69101–69116. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3278570. ISSN 2169-3536.
^ Fusco, V.F. (2005). "Mechanical beam scanning reflectarray". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 53 (11): 3842–3844. doi:10.1109/tap.2005.858828. ISSN 0018-926X.
^ Mei, Peng; Zhang, Shuai; Pedersen, Gert Frolund (2020). "A Low-Cost, High-Efficiency and Full-Metal Reflectarray Antenna With Mechanically 2-D Beam-Steerable Capabilities for 5G Applications". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 68 (10): 6997–7006. doi:10.1109/tap.2020.2993077. ISSN 0018-926X.
^ Rengarajan, Sembiam R. (2010). "Scanning and Defocusing Characteristics of Microstrip Reflectarrays". IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. 9: 163–166. doi:10.1109/lawp.2010.2045217. ISSN 1536-1225.
^ Al-Nuaimi, Mustafa K. Taher; Mahmoud, Abd-Elhady; Hong, Wei; He, Yejun (2020). "Design of Single-Layer Circularly Polarized Reflectarray With Efficient Beam Scanning". IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. 19 (6): 1002–1006. doi:10.1109/lawp.2020.2986274. ISSN 1536-1225.
^ Kausar, Shafaq; Shad, Saeideh; Kausar, Ahmed; Mehrpouyan, Hani (2019). "Design of High Gain Low Cost Beam-Steering Reflectarray Antenna". 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting. IEEE: 315–316. doi:10.1109/apusncursinrsm.2019.8888928.
^ Afzal, Muhammad U.; Esselle, Karu P. (2017). "Steering the Beam of Medium-to-High Gain Antennas Using Near-Field Phase Transformation". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 65 (4): 1680–1690. doi:10.1109/tap.2017.2670612. ISSN 0018-926X.

External links

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[1] A S, Pradeep; Bidkar, G A; D, Thippesha; Nagaraj; M P M, Spurthi; Vishal (October 2020). "Design of Compact Beam-Steering Antenna with a Novel Metasubstrate Structure". 2020 IEEE International Conference on Distributed Computing, VLSI, Electrical Circuits and Robotics (DISCOVER). pp. 96–99. doi:10.1109/DISCOVER50404.2020.9278085. ISBN 978-1-7281-9885-9. S2CID 229358777.

[2] Ahmed, Foez; Singh, Khushboo; Esselle, Karu P. (2023). "State-of-the-Art Passive Beam-Steering Antenna Technologies: Challenges and Capabilities". IEEE Access. 11: 69101–69116. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3278570. ISSN 2169-3536.

[3] Fusco, V.F. (2005). "Mechanical beam scanning reflectarray". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 53 (11): 3842–3844. doi:10.1109/tap.2005.858828. ISSN 0018-926X.

[4] Mei, Peng; Zhang, Shuai; Pedersen, Gert Frolund (2020). "A Low-Cost, High-Efficiency and Full-Metal Reflectarray Antenna With Mechanically 2-D Beam-Steerable Capabilities for 5G Applications". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 68 (10): 6997–7006. doi:10.1109/tap.2020.2993077. ISSN 0018-926X.

[5] Rengarajan, Sembiam R. (2010). "Scanning and Defocusing Characteristics of Microstrip Reflectarrays". IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. 9: 163–166. doi:10.1109/lawp.2010.2045217. ISSN 1536-1225.

[6] Al-Nuaimi, Mustafa K. Taher; Mahmoud, Abd-Elhady; Hong, Wei; He, Yejun (2020). "Design of Single-Layer Circularly Polarized Reflectarray With Efficient Beam Scanning". IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. 19 (6): 1002–1006. doi:10.1109/lawp.2020.2986274. ISSN 1536-1225.

[7] Kausar, Shafaq; Shad, Saeideh; Kausar, Ahmed; Mehrpouyan, Hani (2019). "Design of High Gain Low Cost Beam-Steering Reflectarray Antenna". 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting. IEEE: 315–316. doi:10.1109/apusncursinrsm.2019.8888928.

[8] Afzal, Muhammad U.; Esselle, Karu P. (2017). "Steering the Beam of Medium-to-High Gain Antennas Using Near-Field Phase Transformation". IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. 65 (4): 1680–1690. doi:10.1109/tap.2017.2670612. ISSN 0018-926X.

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Beam steering techniques

See also

References

External links