Coplanar leaky-wave antenna with optical beam scanning control

Next generation millimeter-wave multimedia satellites will require active antenna arrays capable of providing reconfigurable multibeam operation. The successful deployment of these systems will depend on new active array technologies capable of controlling and combining the performance of hundreds or thousands of elements. A promising approach involves the use of a periodic coplanar leaky-wave antenna structure with optically controlled phase shifters. These antennas are etched on a high resistivity silicon semiconductor substrate and are illuminated by an optical source that generates localized regions of plasma, which load the antenna structure. A dynamic antenna architecture with beam steering capabilities is realized by controlling the location of the illumination, as illustrated in Figure 1a