A 5-Bit Programmable Phased Array in C-Band with Two-Dimensional Beam Scanning Capability

A low-cost and low-profile 5-bit programmable phased array in C -band is presented. The antenna array is composed of $8 \times 8$ elements, and each of them can be individually addressed by the well-designed direct current (DC) bias circuit. A Wilkinson power divider is employed as the feed network. The antenna element consists of a 1-bit magnetic dipole and a 4-bit reflection-type phase shifter. Therefore, this design provides 5-bit coding states and a maximum phase shift of 348.75°. The simulations demonstrate that the proposed antenna array exhibits good impedance matching at 5 GHz, and can perform twodimensional (2-D) dynamic beam scanning for the range of $0^{\circ}-60^{\circ}$. The beam steering errors in the E-plane and H-plane are within 2° for the range of $0^{\circ}-45^{\circ}$, while the gain variation remains below 3.5 dB.