A new accurate design method for millimeter-wave homogeneous dielectric substrate lens antennas of arbitrary shape

The synthesis and the optimization of three-dimensional (3-D) lens antennas, consisting of homogeneous dielectric lenses of arbitrary shape and fed by printed sources, are studied theoretically and experimentally at millimeter(mm)-wave frequencies. The aim of the synthesis procedure is to find a lens profile that transforms the radiation pattern of the primary feed into a desired amplitude shaped output pattern. This synthesis problem has been previously applied for dielectric lenses and reflectors. As far as we know, we propose, for the first time, to adapt and implement it for the design of substrate lens antennas. The inverse scattering problem is solved in two steps. In the first one, the geometry of the 3-D lens is rigorously derived using geometrical optics (GO) principles. The resulting second-order partial-differential equation is strongly nonlinear and is of the Monge-Ampe/spl grave/re (M.A) type. The iterative algorithm implemented to solve it is described in detail. Then, a surface optimization of the lens profile combined with an analysis kernel based on physical optics (PO) is performed in order to comply with the prescribed pattern. Our algorithms are successfully validated with the design of a lens antenna radiating an asymmetric Gaussian pattern at 58.5 GHz whose half-power beamwidth equals 10/spl deg/ in H plane and 30/spl deg/ in E plane. The lens is illuminated by a microstrip 2/spl times/2 patch antenna array. Two lens prototypes have been manufactured in Teflon. Before optimization, the measured radiation patterns are in very good agreement with the predicted ones; nevertheless, the -12 dB side lobes and oscillations appearing in the main lobe evidence a strong difference between the desired and measured patterns. This discrepancy is significantly reduced using the optimized lens.     

Linear programming from generalised scattering matrix analysis of array for minimum sidelobe level and prescribed nulls

A pattern synthesis technique for arbitrary planar arrays which are characterised in terms of a generalised scattering matrix and whose radiated field is expressed as a spherical mode expansion is introduced. The procedure yields the complex-valued excitations to achieve a minimum-maximum sidelobe level given a specified pointing direction and mainlobe width, as well as prescribed field nulls. All inter-element coupling effects coming from complex radiating structures used as array elements are inherently taken into account. Numerical results are presented for arrays of dielectric resonator antennas.     

Diverging/focusing of electromagnetic waves by utilizing the curvedleakywave structure: application to broad-beam antenna for radiatingwithin specified wide-angle

A new “broad-beam antenna” for radiating electromagnetic energy in a specified wide angular region is proposed, utilizing the “curved leakywave structure”. This structure consists of the leakywave structure curved physically and longitudinally into the form of an equi-angular spiral. The expression of the radiation field from this structure is given, the effects of various geometrical parameters on the radiation properties is discussed numerically for the design of the broad-beam antennas, and a simple experiment is also performed to verify the beam broadening by the proposed method. The concept in this paper may be easily applied to any leakywave structure such as a periodic dielectric antenna and a leaky nonradiative dielectric (NRD)-guide antenna for millimeter-wave application     

An electromagnetic analysis of a cylindrical homogeneous lens

Radially symmetric lenses are ideally suited for use as multiple-beam antennas. In recent years, several investigations using a geometrical optics approach have indicated that simple lens structures such as homogeneous lenses might be suitable antennas. This paper presents an electromagnetic analysis of a cylindrical homogeneous lens as well as examining in detail the effect upon performance of parameter variations such that engineering and design evaluations can be made. It is shown that a lens with a relative dielectric constant of 3.5 gives the best performance. With the use of simple matching techniques, overall performance comparable to the more complex Luneburg lens is obtained.     

A complete procedure for the design and optimization of arbitrarily shaped integrated lens antennas

This paper proposes a new design methodology of arbitrarily shaped integrated lens antennas (ILAs). First, we describe the design principles and numerical techniques of the optimization iterative loop. The starting lens shape, deduced from a general synthesis method based on geometrical optics principles, is optimized so that the radiation pattern of the ILA complies with an arbitrary amplitude-shaped template. The optimization procedure is local and is based on a multidimensional conjugate gradient method. Then, the capabilities and potentialities of this approach are demonstrated numerically using two examples. In the first one, an ILA radiating a secant-squared beam in one principal plane and a flat-top beam in the orthogonal plane is designed for indoor communications in V-band. In the second example (Gaussian/flat-top beam), we show for the first time that the joint optimization of the feed together with the lens shape is a very promising design methodology. Finally, our design tools are validated experimentally in Q-band through the synthesis and optimization of a peculiar small shaped ILA (28 mm/spl times/28 mm/spl times/15 mm) fed by an aperture-coupled microstrip patch antenna.     

Design of Dielectric Grating Antennas for Millimeter-Wave Applications

At theoretical procedure well suited for generating design data on dielectric grating antennas for the millimeter-wave region is presented. The procedure utilizes the effective dielectric constant (EDC) method to determine the phase constant of the leaky modes supported by the antenna structure of finite lateral width. The radiation or leakage constant of these modes is obtained from the relatively simple boundary value problem of dielectric grating antennas of infinite width. For single-beam radiation, the practicably interesting case, the phase and leakage constants completely determine the field distribution in the antenna aperture, from which the directivity gain and radiation pattern are then calculated. The dependence of the antenna characteristics on the dimensions of the radiating structure is presented and discussed for epsilon = 12, the dielectric constant of typical millimeter-wave materials, such as silicon and GaAs.     

Equivalent network of transverse dipoles in inset dielectric guide:application to linear arrays

The inset dielectric guide (IDG) is an alternative to the image line, retaining most if its advantages without its main disadvantages. In particular, IDG makes it possible to realize low-cost leaky wave antennas with very pure polarization properties by laying thin metal strips (dipoles) on the air-dielectric interface. The scattering properties of thin metal strips are analyzed by means of a Ritz-Galerkin variational approach, taking into proper account the edge singularities. A variational expression for the equivalent circuit of the radiating dipole is derived, and this information is applied to the design of a tapered linear array by network methods. The array was built and tested, and it showed excellent performance     

Dielectric Slab Rotman Lens for Microwave/Millimeter-Wave Applications

A new form of a Rotman lens is proposed for microwave/millimeter-wave applications such as a collision-avoidance radar. The proposed lens can be described as a dielectric slab fed by slot lines. The new form is expected to show lower loss and lower mutual coupling than the conventional Rotman lenses fabricated with conducting plates at millimeter-wave frequency. Taking the field distribution inside the dielectric slab into account, the$ TE_0$mode was chosen to excite the dielectric slab lens. The dielectric Rotman lens consists of a dielectric slab, tapered slot structure, and the transitions between the antipodal slots and microstrip lines for subminiature A connectors. The conventional design equations have been modified for use in designing the dielectric slab Rotman lens with a high dielectric material. A prototype was implemented with nine beam ports and nine array ports. Measurements from 10 to 20 GHz show that mutual coupling can be lowered at higher frequency. The obtained efficiency of the dielectric slab lens system is approximately 30%. The efficiency of the lens is comparable to that of the conducting plate lenses even though there is a spillover loss from the dielectric slab.     

77 GHz Stepped Lens With Sectorial Radiation Pattern as Primary Feed of a Lens Based CATR

We describe the design, fabrication and measurements of an axisymmetric dielectric lens, featuring a sectorial radiation pattern at 77 GHz. It will be used as the primary feed of a lens-based compact antenna test range (CATR). Due to symmetry of revolution, the sectorial lens profile can be designed in one dimension by using phase only control. The phase variation is echoed on the lens depth. The resulting stepped lens is simulated using France Telecom Orange Labs SRSRD software (“in-house” software developed for dielectric axisymmetric radiating structures) and measured in an anechoic chamber at 77 GHz. Two lenses were fabricated with different materials: PVC and polyurethane, respectively. Good agreements were obtained between simulations and measurements. Less than 0.2 dB ripple in the central beam are obtained for the polyurethane lens although relatively high secondary lobes occur at 11$^{circ}$. Comparisons between the near field of a CATR illuminated by a small horn providing a uniform amplitude taper and the sectorial lens are conducted using numerical simulations. Results show that on-axis oscillations are reduced from 6 to 1 dB with the sectorial lens.      

毫米波低副瓣赋形介质透镜天线设计

通过对介质透镜赋形,把初级馈源方向图转变为透镜口径面上所需的场分布函数,便可获得所需要的各种波束。本文给出了一种基于几何光学的简单而实用的透镜赋形方法,通过赋形能实现介质透镜天线低副瓣的要求。     

A shaped single reflector offset antenna with lowcross-polarization fed by a lens horn

A novel compact primary-fed offset reflector antenna with the potential of radiating circular as well as elliptical beams with low cross-polarization, is proposed. The reflector is fed by a horn with a phase-correcting lens in the aperture. Compared to the dual-reflector offset antenna, the concept is easier to assemble and mechanically more robust. The antenna has been synthesized and analyzed by computer programs resulting from modifications of corresponding PO programs for dual-reflector offset antennas. The synthesized antenna exhibits similar cross-polarization, side-lobe level, and aperture efficiency as those of dual-reflector offset antennas, although the one-to-one correspondence between zero cross-polarization and conformal mapping from the feed to the aperture, is not exactly valid for this approach     

Very Broadband Extended Hemispherical Lenses: Role of Matching Layers for Bandwidth Enlargement

The design and optimization of very broadband integrated lens antennas (ILAs) constitutes one of the future trends in lens antenna field. To this end we investigate numerically the radiation performance of millimeter wave ILAs coated with multiple anti reflection layers. We propose lens structures of moderate size (four wavelengths in diameter at the center frequency) and made from a dense dielectric material (ceramic). They are illuminated by two kinds of on-axis primary sources, namely a dielectric-loaded metallic waveguide and a patch antenna. This enables to assess the role of the lens illumination law on the performance of broadband ILAs. In particular, we demonstrate that ILAs coated with three stacked quarter wavelength matching layers exhibit a very broadband promising features. First their radiation characteristics remain very stable over a large frequency band: a 36% relative bandwidth is achieved using dielectric-loaded waveguide feeds. Secondly very high values of aperture efficiencies (beyond 91% over a 21% bandwidth) are obtained using printed feeds. The truncation effects of the ground plane and substrate of planar feeds upon the beam characteristics are also studied. We conclude that they must be taken into account at the very first stages of the design process of ILAs.      

A 24-GHz high-gain Yagi-Uda antenna array

A compact 24-GHz Yagi-Uda antenna has been developed using standard design tables and simple scaling to take into account the added capacitance due to the supporting dielectric substrate. The antenna results in a directivity of 9.3 dB, a front-to-back ratio of 11 dB, and a bandwidth of 2.5-3%. The Yagi-Uda antenna has been implemented in an 11-beam system using a planar array and a 2-inch Teflon spherical lens. The measured patterns show a 22 dB gain beam, a cross-polarization level of -24 dB, and a crossover level of -6 dB. The design method presented in this paper is quite straightforward, and can be used to develop low-, medium-, and even high-gain endfire Yagi-Uda antennas.     

Performance of reduced size substrate lens antennas for Millimeter-wave communications

This paper presents the theoretical performance (input impedance, -10 dB return-loss bandwidth, radiation patterns and surface efficiencies) of reduced size substrate lenses fed by aperture-coupled microstrip patch antennas. The diameter of the extended hemispherical homogeneous dielectric (/spl epsiv//sub r,lens/) lenses varies between one and five wavelengths in free-space, in order to obtain radiating structures whose directivity is comprised between 10 and 25 dB. A lot of configurations of lenses are investigated using the finite-difference time-domain methods technique and compared in the 47-50 GHz band as a function of their diameter, extension length and dielectric constant. In particular, the analysis of internal reflections-in time and frequency domains-shows that the latter have potentially a strong influence on the input impedance of small lens antennas, even for low values of /spl epsiv//sub r,lens/(2.2), whereas the usual limit (beyond which anti-reflection coatings are required) is /spl epsiv//sub r,lens/=4. We also demonstrate that the diffraction limit of reduced size lenses is reached for extension lengths varying between 50% and 175% of the extension of synthesized ellipses, depending on the lens material and diameter. Finally, we show that superdirective structures with surface efficiencies reaching 250% can be obtained with small lens diameters, justifying the interest in reduced size lens antennas.     

A millimeter wave dielectric waveguide antenna

This paper describes the theoretical and experimental results of a novel leaky-wave antenna incorporating a homogeneous dielectric transmission line and radiating aperture into a single structure. The primary objective of this investigation is to demonstrate the ability to control aperture radiation by simply cutting slots into a metal-free dielectric transmission line. Experimental line source antennas with identical periodic slots were designed to operate in the 35 GHz frequency region. The successful performance of these antennas resulted in the design of a dielectric line source antenna with a symmetrical amplitude taper which provided a lower sidelobe level. The design represents a significant breakthrough in achieving affordable, low-loss, lightweight antennas in the millimeter wave region. The most significant applications for this type of antenna include radar surveillance and tactical missile-seeker terminal guidance.     

Multilevel fast physical optics algorithm for radiation from non-planar apertures

A novel multilevel algorithm for computing the radiation patterns of nonplanar aperture antennas over a range of observation angles is presented. The proposed technique is directly applicable to reflector and lens antennas as well as to radomes. The multilevel computational sequence is based on a hierarchical decomposition of the radiating aperture and comprises two main steps. First, computation of the radiation patterns of all subapertures of the finest level over a very coarse angular grid. Second, multilevel aggregation of the radiation patterns of neighboring subapertures into the final pattern of the whole aperture via a phase compensated interpolation. The multilevel algorithm attains computational complexity comparable to that of the fast Fourier transform based techniques while avoiding their limitations.     

Analysis of infinite arrays of microstrip-fed dipoles printed onprotruding dielectric substrates and covered with a dielectric radome

A method for analyzing infinite arrays of antennas printed on both sides of substrates protruding from a ground plane and covered with a dielectric radome is described. Using the equivalence principle, the array unit cell is decomposed into homogeneous regions where the fields are expressed as Floquet summations, and an inhomogeneous cavity region where the fields can be found by a combination of the method of moments and modal analysis. The approach is rigorous in the sense that the combined effects of the radiating element and feed geometry printed on opposite sides of a protruding substrate are taken into account. The method is quite general, capable of modeling any antenna elements with substrate currents that are perpendicular and/or parallel to the ground plane. In addition, both the radiating and scattering/receiving modes of operation are treated in the analysis. The method is used to calculate the active element impedance of an infinite array of dipoles transmission line-coupled to microstrip feeds. Examples of numerical results are presented for various scan conditions and the effects of a near-field dielectric radome are demonstrated     

Application of an algebraic tool to fast analysis and synthesis ofconformal printed antennas

The analysis and synthesis of conformal printed antennas on conical surfaces are investigated. The theoretical model is based on the cavity model and the concept of dynamic permittivity to take into account the thickness and the fringing field effects. The originality comes from the use of a computer algebra system to generate the polynomial expression of the zeros of characteristic equations and the analytical relation between the half-angle of the cone and the order of the associated Legendre functions. Fast and accurate expressions for the resonance frequency are given for a rectangular radiating element operating in TM₁₀ and TM₀₁ modes. This model is easily included in a CAD package. Very good agreement is observed between numerical results and experiments     

Radiation characteristics of multilayer periodic dielectric structures

Radiation characteristics of multilayer periodic dielectric structures are investigated by the method which combines the building block approach of multimode network theory with the rigorous mode matching procedure. The multilayer periodic structure is composed of uniform dielectric layers and single periodic layers. Two examples are given in this paper; first, radiation property of the double dielectric grating antenna is analyzed. The results indicate that the double dielectric grating antenna has relatively smaller dimensions than that of the single one. It is undoubtly of great importance in the case that the limitation of the weight and the volume of the system is strictly required. Secondly, some curved profile grating antennas are analyzed by combining the present method with the staircase approximation. In such a way, the effects of groove profile on the performance of the grating antennas are systemetically studied and some useful guidelines for the design of the dielectric grating antennas are thereby suggested.     

Ku波段TM01模介质透镜加载天线

随着高功率微波技术的发展,适用于辐射高功率轴对称模的天线备受关注。基于一般圆锥喇叭天线多用于TE11模的辐射,对TM01的辐射存在缺陷,针对高功率、小型化、较高增益以及最大辐射方向在天线轴向的要求,提出一种多扇区介质透镜天线,介质采用扇形台阶的形式加载在喇叭天线口径的前端,可以进行相位补偿,并使得天线的方向性变好。利用HFSS仿真软件分析表明,所设计的Ku波段的透镜天线具有较好的方向性和增益。