A 2-D Passive Van Atta Retrodirective Array Using Dual-

Polarized Microstrip Antenna

Heba I. El-Sawaf 1, Atef M. Ghuneim 2 and Ayman El-Tager 3
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University
Port Said, Egypt, 42526, Egypt
Heba.elsawaf@eng.psu.edu.eg
2
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University
Port Said, Egypt, 42526, Egypt
atghuniem@yahoo.com

3
Department of Electronics, Military Technical College
Cairo, Egypt
aeltager@yahoo.ca

Abstract
A Two dimensional passive Van Atta retrodirective array is proposed using dual port dual polarized microstrip square patch
antenna at a frequency of 2 GHz. The dual polarized microstrip antenna is designed using the aperture coupled feeding
technique. A parametric analysis is performed till reaching the optimum design which yields 7.4 dB peak gain, 140º half power
beam width. Full 3D EM simulation of the designed antenna array is performed. The Monostatic Radar Cross Section for the
proposed structure is presented. The double-substrate structure used enhanced the bandwidth of the antenna element by 41%
than previous references. The proposed array configuration achieved excellent cross-polarized monostatic RCS within ±55º
compared to other recent publications. In addition, the cross-polarized level of the array is easily distinguished from that of the
flat plate by greater than 30 dB.

Keywords: Aperture Coupled, Dual Polarized, Retrodirective, Van-Atta array.

Published In: 1st International conference on "New Paradigms in Electronics & Information
Technologies“(PEIT 011), Oct. 9-12, 2011, Alexandria, Egypt.

References
[1] R. Y. Miyamoto and T. Itoh, “Retrodirective arrays for wireless communications,” IEEE Microwave Magazine,
vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 71–79, March 2002.
[2] L.G. Van Atta, “Electromagnetic Reflector,” U.S. Patent 2908002, Oct. 6, 1959.
[3] C.Y. Pon, “Retrodirective array using the heterodyne technique,” IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation, vol.
12, pp. 176-180, Mar. 1964.
[4] Y. C. Guo, X. W. Shi, and L. Chen, "Retrodirective array technology," Progress In Electromagnetic Research
B, Vol. 5, pp. 153-167, 2008.
[5] K. W. Wong, L. Chiu, and Q. Xue, "A 2-D Van Atta Array Using Star-Shaped Antenna Elements, "IEEE Tran
Antennas and Propagation, Vol.55, no. 4, pp.1204-1206, April 2007.
[6] W. J. Tseng, S. B. Chung, and K. Chang, "A planar Van Atta array reflector with retrodirectivity in both E-
plane and H-plane", IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation, Vol.48, no. 2, pp. 173-175, Feb. 2000.
[7] M. Fujita and C. Murakami, “Experimental study of a polarization-rotating Van Atta array with reduced co-
polarized radar cross section,” Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2003 IGARSS, Toulouse, France, 21-
25 July 2003.
[8] S.J. Chung and K. Chang, "A Retrodirective Microstrip Antenna Array," IEEE Trans. Antennas and
Propagation, Vol. 46, No. 12, pp. 1802–1809, Dec. 1998.
[9] Christodoulou, M. G. and D. P. Chrissoulidis, "2D Van Atta retrodirective array using dual polarized two-port
square microstrip patches," International Conference on Antennas and Propagation, No. 480, April 17-20, 2001.
[10] T. N. Chang and J. S. Wu, "Retrodirective Array Composed using Two-port Dual Polarized Elements,
"Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 450–453, February 2008.
[11] T. N. Chang and J. S. Wu, "Retrodirective Array Composed of Two-port Dual Polarized Elements," Progress
in Electromagnetics Research Symposium Proceedings, Moscow, Russia, pp. 701–703, August 18-21, 2009.
[12] S. K. Padhi, N. C. Karmakar, Sr., C. L. Law, and S. Aditya, " A Dual Polarized Aperture Coupled Circular
Patch Antenna Using a C-Shaped Coupling Slot,” IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation, Vol. 51, no. 12, Dec.
2003.
 A Proposed 2-D Active Van Atta Retrodirective Array Using
Dual-Polarized Microstrip Antenna
Heba I. El-Sawaf 1, Ayman M. El-Tager 2 and Atef M. Ghuneim 3
1
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University
Port Said, Egypt, 42526, Egypt
Heba.elsawaf@eng.psu.edu.eg

2
Department of Electronics, Military Technical College
Cairo, Egypt
aeltager@yahoo.ca
3
Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Port Said University
Port Said, Egypt, 42526, Egypt
atghuniem@yahoo.com

Abstract
A Two-dimensional active Van Atta retrodirective 2x2 array is designed using dual port dual polarized microstrip square patch
antenna at a frequency of 2 GHz. The dual polarized microstrip antenna is designed using aperture coupled feeding technique in
a double-substrate structure. This structure facilitates the assembly of the RFIC amplifiers layer with the patch antenna layer. The
Monostatic Radar Cross Section for the proposed structure is presented. The proposed array configuration achieved excellent
cross-polarized monostatic RCS within ±55º compared to other recent publications. In addition, the cross-polarized level of the
array is easily distinguished from that of the flat plate by greater than 30 dB. The proposed structure promises enhancement in
the cross polarization level of the array.

Keywords: Aperture Coupled, Dual Polarized, Retrodirective, Van-Atta array, Active.

Published In: Acia Pacific Microwave Conference 2012 (APMC2012), Dec. 4-7, 2012, kaohsiung, Taiwan.

References

[1] R. Y. Miyamoto and T. Itoh, “Retrodirective arrays for wireless communications,” IEEE Microwave Magazine,
vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 71–79, March 2002.
[2] Y. C. Guo, X. W. Shi, and L. Chen, "Retrodirective array technology," Progress In Electromagnetic Research
B, Vol. 5, pp. 153-167, 2008.
[3] W. J. Tseng, S. B. Chung, and K. Chang, "A planar Van Atta array reflector with retrodirectivity in both E-
plane and H-plane", IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation, Vol.48, No. 2, pp. 173-175, Feb. 2000.
[4] Christodoulou, M. G. and D. P. Chrissoulidis, "2D Van Atta retrodirective array using dual polarized two-port
square microstrip patches," International Conference on Antennas and Propagation, No. 480, April 17-20, 2001.
[5] T. N. Chang and J. S. Wu, "Retrodirective Array Composed of Two-port Dual Polarized Elements," Progress in
Electromagnetics Research Symposium Proceedings, Moscow, Russia, pp. 701–703, August 18-21, 2009.
[6] H. I. El-Sawaf, A. M. Ghuneim and A. El-Tager, "A 2-D Passive Van Atta Retrodirective Array Using Dual-
Polarized Microstrip Antenna,” 1st International conference on New Paradigms in Electronics & Information Tech.
(PEIT 011), Alexandria, Egypt, Oct. 9-12, 2011.