Enhanced EIRP and Reconfigurable Polarization Multi-Feed Active Antenna Module for Millimeter-Wave Beamforming Phased Arrays

This paper introduces a novel enhanced effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) and polarization reconfigurable multi-feed active antenna module (MAAM). The proposed MAAM consists of a dual-differential patch antenna element connected to the outputs of a beamforming integrated circuit (BFIC). The EIRP enhancement is achieved by utilizing a multi-feed antenna structure, whereas the real-time polarization reconfigurability of the MAAM is enabled by capitalizing on the variable phase-shift circuits within the BFIC. These polarization states comprise both linear and circular polarization (left- or right-handed). A proof-of-concept prototype was fabricated for operation in the millimeter-wave frequency band. The fabricated prototype demonstrated a measured 10 dB return loss bandwidth covering 36-41~GHz for all polarization states. When excited with an 800 MHz 256-QAM orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signal and using linearization technique, the proposed MAAM was able to achieve a linear EIRP of 22 dBm while maintaining an error vector magnitude (EVM) less than 2%.