ANALYSIS OF A REFLECT ARRAY ANTENNA USING MICROSTRIP PATCHES OF VARIABLE SIZE

Microstrip reflectarrays tyically use tuning stubs on each clement to adjust the phase of the reflected field. This Letter describes a new a pproach in which the need for tuning stubs is eliminated and phase con trol is achieved simply by adjusting the resonant length of the patch elements. The advantages of this approach are described, as are a full -wave analysis technique for computing the phase of the reflected fiel d as a function of patch size and a design curve giving the change in patch size for a desired reflected field phase shift.