Survey of Beam Steering Techniques Available for Millimeter Wave Applications

Pattern reconfigurable antennas (beam steerable antennas) are essential for various applications in electronic engineering such as telecommunication and radar. They mitigate interference by channelling the antenna’s radiation to the direction of interest. This ability is vital for millimetre wave frequency applications such as small cell backhaul links where high path loss, attenuation from obstacles, and misalignment due to wind sway and accidents are prevalent. Several techniques have been used to implement beam steering over the years, most of which achieves steering at the expense of antenna performance. In this article, we surveyed the various techniques used in achieving beam steering and analyse each based on some figures of merit with the aim of identifying areas of improvements for each beam steering technique.