# Experimental Investigation of Reflectarray Antennas for High-Power Microwave Applications

## TL;DR

This paper studies how reflectarray antennas can handle high-power microwave energy, showing they can direct beams effectively even at very high power levels.

## Contribution

The paper presents new full-wave simulations and experimental validation of reflectarray antennas for high-power microwave applications.

## Key findings

- Simulated power handling capacities of 7.17 MW/m2 and 2.3 GW/m2 were achieved for two RA elements.
- An RA prototype maintained beam direction when subjected to 1 GW of power.
- The study provides a foundation for practical HPM applications of reflectarray antennas.

## Abstract

The power capacity of reflectarray antennas (RAs) is investigated through full-wave simulations and high-power microwave (HPM) experiments in this paper. In order to illustrate the results in detail, two RA elements are designed. The simulated power handling capacity of two RA elements are 7.17 MW/m2 and 2.3 GW/m2, respectively. To further study the HPM RA, two RA prototypes operating at 2.8 GHz are constructed with the aperture size of 1 m × 1 m. Simulations and experimental measurements are conducted for the two prototypes. The experimental results demonstrate that, even when subjected to 1 GW of power, the radiation beam of the RA with the second elements can still propagate in the intended direction. This research will establish a basis for advancing the practicality of RAs in HPM applications.