A single layer stub-patch phoenix cell for large band reflectarrays

A novel Phoenix cell for large band reflectarray antennas is presented here. The cell starts with a simple square patch whose phase shift is controlled by its sides' length. The size of the patch is then fixed and open-stubs with variable length are connected to it. To complete the phase range at the central frequency, the stub-loaded patch then shrinks gradually until it disappears completely allowing the cell to rebirth. The cell is characterized by a phase range of 360° at the central frequency, linear phase responses with respect to frequency and a reduced phase dispersion of less than 34°/GHz within a 40% bandwidth. The suggested cell retains the same bandwidth when accounting for incidence angles of up to 30° and a reduced bandwidth of 32% accounting for higher incidence angles of up to 45°.