A Compact Pattern Reconfiguration Antenna Based on Multimode Plane Spiral OA
Zelin Zhu, Shilie Zheng, Xiaowen Xiong, Yuqi Chen, Xiaofeng Jin, Xianbin Yu, Xianmin Zhang
Abstract
Over the past decades, orbital angular momentum (OAM) has attracted great interest due to its helical phase characteristics. It has been proved that plane spiral OAM (PSOAM) waves have a potential in azimuthal pattern reconfiguration. PSOAM waves could be termed as a special form of OAM wave, which avoids the inconsistency of the divergent angles for different OAM waves. However, from a practical point of view, such a PSOAM-based pattern reconfiguration scheme badly needs a compact high-purity multimode PSOAM antenna. In this communication, a compact high-purity eight-mode PSOAM antenna consisting of a coaxial resonator group (CRG) and a rotating parabolic reflector (RPR) is fabricated and measured. The prototype is designed for X-band operation with a bandwidth of 140 MHz, and the simulated efficiencies of the PSOAM modes ±1, ±2, ±3, and ±4 are 88.86%, 92.18%, 90.93%, and 91.25%, respectively. The constructed pattern may have the directivity, vorticity, and nondistortion azimuthal 360° scanning capability. This scheme realizes these pattern characteristics with a simpler algorithm and a lower system complexity compared with the phased array antenna-based pattern reconfiguration scheme. It will have potential in next-generation radar and wireless communication system.