A single‐channel transmitarray antenna with abilities of super resolution and digital beamforming

Abstract A single‐channel transmitarray antenna with abilities of super resolution and digital beamforming (DBF) is proposed. The amplitude and phase distributions on the array aperture are reconstructed through beam switching with a single channel. By finding and solving relations between distributions and received signals of beams, aperture distributions can be reconstructed. The ill‐conditioned problem caused by limited scanning range and angular interval is solved using the regularization method. The obtained distributions can then be delivered to super‐resolution algorithm to obtain super resolution, or used to produce shaped beams by DBF. On the basis of the proposed theory, a bifocal beam‐reconfigurable transmitarray is designed and tested as a single‐channel DBF antenna without special and additional hardware design. It has the outstanding advantages of low cost, simple structure, low energy consumption, and high working frequency.