On the Practical Limitations of Electronic Beamsteering using Metamaterials at 28 GHz

In this paper, the practical limitations and constraints of electronic (active) beamsteering using metamaterials at 28 GHz, in terms of the parasitic elements introduced by varactor diodes, are addressed. Parametric studies will be presented to ascertain the insertion losses of both series inductance and resistance of the varactor diodes used at unit-cell level, in addition to their bandwidth, frequency of resonance and maximum phase shift yielded. This study and characterisation has been performed in simulation environment using CST Microwave Studio.