Sparse Wire Grid S-Band Reflector Antenna

The trend towards developing new antenna types based on traditional designs has emerged to meet the stringent demands of modern communication systems. These antennas are characterized by their smaller size and reduced mass while still delivering the necessary performance levels. In this paper, the solid metal surface of an S-band reflector antenna is replaced with a grid of interconnected wires to achieve mass reduction. The calculated results for the wire grid structure using the method of moments are compared with the measured ones for the solid metal prototype. Substantial agreement is revealed, which demonstrates the feasibility of using such wire grids as a lighter alternative while maintaining the required characteristics. Furthermore, the Optimal Current Grid Approximation approach is applied to the resulting wire grid to generate sparse structures, and to further reduce the antenna mass. The antenna characteristics of these sparse structures are compared with those of the original wire grid across the operating frequency range and at specific ones. The comparisons indicate strong agreement between sparse and original structures. However, it is demonstrated that this agreement is subject to the change in the grid element elimination tolerance value.