This invention is a detection system including a reflectarray and a millimeter wave radar. The reflectarray comprises an array of patch elements designed to shift a phase of an incident polarized electromagnetic (EM) wave by a predetermined phase angle.

The specific embodiment of the radar transforms linearly polarized EM waves into circularly polarized EM waves and that can receive both left-hand and right-hand elliptically polarized electromagnetic waves.

Thanks to this embodiment, the radar signature of high-voltage power lines is easier to identify and increases the probability to correctly detect them.

ADVANTAGES

- detection of long and thin obstacles as high voltages power lines
- inexpensive
- compact size (few millimetric wave sources necessary)