Angular Response Control in Sub-THz Phased Array Antenna Using Dual Graphene Layers

This paper presents a novel low-profile planar antenna structure for reconfigurable angular response at sub-THz. The angular response is controlled with the aid of dual graphene layers incorporated with a phased array antenna. The antenna array is employing two half-wavelength dipole elements coupled symmetrically to the load through a co-planar strip-line (CPS). The graphene sheets are placed underneath the CPS and employed as a tunable inductive reactance to modulate the boundaries of the CPS at their locations. Beam scanning is introduced through independently modulating the chemical potential of each sheet by applying two adequate DC biasing voltages. Through HFSS simulations, the proposed model has showed versatile operation providing angular response control up to +/- 22 degrees at the D-band. The structure shows a radiation efficiency of about 73% with realized gain peak of 2.18 dB at 150 GHz with zero applied bias on graphene. Along with the simplicity of the structure, the reconfigurable operation is presented via a narrow tuning range of chemical potential, therefore, promoting for viable implementation through the common available micro-fabrication techniques.