Improved feeding structures to enhance the performance of the reflector impulse radiating antenna (IRA)

This paper considers the improvement of the feeding structure of the reflector impulse radiating antenna (IRA). Full-wave analysis and measured results of the orthogonal cross-coplanar plate reflector IRA shows that the aperture fields are not uniform. The arm angle is varied as an optimization factor and it is shown that the arm angle of 70/spl deg/ has the maximum radiation efficiency. The termination load and the arm tapering effects are studied using simulation and measurement results. Furthermore, the effect of radius of circle of symmetry is studied and it is shown that a greater circle provides higher gain. A combination of transverse electromagnetic (TEM) horn antenna and the conical coplanar TEM transmission line is investigated to avoid tiny structure at the focal point and make the connection between the coaxial cable and the feeding arms more convenient. It is shown that a small triangle does not degrade the antenna performance but helps to excite the antenna by a coaxial cable. Finally a combination of the Vivaldi antenna and the coplanar transmission line is introduced to improve the antenna performance. The simulation results for the new antenna show that the antenna efficiency is improved to 45% at the frequency band between 2 GHz to 6 GHz in comparison to the 20.9% for the traditional design and 29.7% for the tapered design. The calculated far-field results of all these antennas are used to radiate a 0.5 ns impulse. The radiated impulse from the Vivaldi fed reflector IRA is 3.55, 2.41, and 2.12 dB higher than the same radiated impulses from the reflector IRA fed by a 45/spl deg/ traditional feeding arms, 70/spl deg/ traditional feeding arms, and 70/spl deg/ tapered feeding arms, respectively.     

A novel UWB feeding mechanism for the TEM horn antenna, reflector IRA, and the Vivaldi antenna

This work proposes a method for feeding a balanced IRA with an unbalanced transmission line. This method is based on the current distribution on the surface of the antenna. The method of moments (MoM) simulations show that for the IRAs, there are some areas with low current density in comparison to the current density of the feeding points, almost over the entire frequency range. The coaxial cable is attached to the antenna's body all the way from the feeding point to an area of low current density, and extends out of the antenna structure at that point. This tremendously reduces the current density on the body of the coaxial cable. As a result, the current balance between two parts of the antenna is not disturbed. This method is applied to the TEM horn antenna, the reflector IRA, and the Vivaldi antenna. The TEM horn antenna was simulated using the HEMI software, and was fed by an unbalanced coaxial cable, both directly at the feeding point and using this method. This method was also applied to the reflector impulse-radiating antenna. Also, the Vivaldi antenna was fed both by considering the low-current density area and direct feeding. The E-plane far-field pattern of the new feeding method had good agreement with the result generated by the HEMI software for the balanced-fed antenna.     

基于IRA天线的辐射波模拟器天线辐射性能研究

将通常用于超宽带领域的IRA天线应用到辐射波电磁脉冲模拟器中,提出一种基于反射器脉冲辐射天线的核电磁脉冲辐射波模拟器,分析其天线结构,给出四种馈臂形式,通过仿真比较了四种馈臂形式天线的辐射效率、远场和近场波形以及频率增益特性。结果表明:该天线的低频辐射效率有待进一步提高;具有锥形渐缩形式馈臂的天线能产生较好的远场和近场波形。IRA天线相较笼形天线具有体积小、方向性好等优点,如果能进一步提高其低频辐射性能,IRA天线将成为理想的辐射波模拟器天线。     

Simplified Calculation of Antenna Patterns, with Application to Radome Problems

Generally, the calculation of antenna far-field patterns from known near-field distributions is tedious and may require the use of a large computer. The calculations are simplified for certain types of antennas having separable near fields. This simplifying assumption is found to yield satisfactory results with pyramidal horns and parabolic reflector antennas. Calculations are further simplified by approximating a complex line integral with two real summations. Measured and calculated far-field patterns are included to indicate the accuracy of the calculations. Results are presented for horns and parabolic antennas and for a horn covered with a hollow dielectric wedge. The method is applicable to both E-plane and H-plane pattern calculations. The main lobe of a far-field pattern is calculated in less than one hour on a desk calculating machine by the simplified method. In radome work an important feature is that it permits rapid evaluation of the far-field distortion associated with any given near-field distortion in any given small region in the near field.     

Analytical solution for early-time transient radiation frompulse-excited parabolic reflector antennas

A closed-form analytical solution is developed for predicting the early-time transient electromagnetic fields which are generated by a perfectly conducting parabolic reflector antenna when it is illuminated by a transient step spherical wave due to an elemental Huygen's source located at the focus. This closed-form time-domain solution, which is valid both near and far from the reflector (and anywhere in the forward region) can be used via the convolution theorem to efficiently obtain the early-time transient fields generated by the same parabolic reflector antenna when it is illuminated by a realistic finite-energy pulse which emanates as a spherical wave from the focus. The transient solution is developed here by analytically inverting, in closed form, the corresponding frequency-domain solution in terms of a radiation integral that employs an asymptotic high-frequency geometrical optics (GO)-based approximation for the fields in the aperture. Numerical results are presented for the transient fields both near and far from the reflector. The fields on boresight exhibit an impulse-like behavior similar to that of the impulse radiating antenna (IRA) introduced by Baum et al. (1989, 1993)     

FFT applications to plane-polar near-field antenna measurements

The four-point bivariate Lagrange interpolation algorithm was applied to near-field antenna data measured in a plane-polar facility. The results were sufficiently accurate to permit the use of the FFT (fast Fourier transform) algorithm to calculate the far-field patterns of the antenna. Good agreement was obtained between the far-field patterns as calculated by the Jacobi-Bessel and the FFT algorithms. The significant advantage in using the FFT is in the calculation of the principal plane cuts, which may be made very quickly. Also, the application of the FFT algorithm directly to the near-field data was used to perform surface holographic diagnosis of a reflector antenna. The effects due to the focusing of the emergent beam from the reflector, as well as the effects of the information in the wide-angle regions, are shown. The use of the plane-polar near-field antenna test range has therefore been expanded to include these useful FFT applications     

Reflector antenna fields--An exact aperture-like approach

A new computational approach is presented which allows fast analysis of radiation from large reflector antennas. For an aperture a Fourier transform (FT) relationship does exist between far-field and aperture distribution. Accordingly, the far field can be exactly reconstructed from the knowledge of approximately one sample per lobe (Shannon-Whittaker theorem applied at Nyquist rate). The finite reflector curvature introduces an extra factor in the radiation integral so that the radiation integral is no longer a FT. In order to overcome this difficulty a new pseudosampling expansion, which explicitly takes into account the extra factor, is developed. For parabolic reflector the sampling functions are related to the Fresnel integrals, and the far field can be exactly reconstructed in terms of aperture far-field samples, which can be computed using the fast Fourier transform (FFT). Numerical computations and error analysis show the excellent performance of the method, which can be generalized to deal with arbitrary reflector surfaces and near-field evaluation.     

A High-Power Reflector Impulse Antenna with Dual-Tem Source

There are different demands on radiation efficiency and direction pattern according to various ultra-wideband (UWB) antennas and high power applications. To obtain more radiating gain on bore-sight of paraboloidal reflector and centralized radiating direction, a novel feeding structure called dual-TEM source has been designed and applied in half-paraboloidal reflector impulse radiating antenna (IRA) applications. Simulation results proved that this proposed half-paraboloidal reflector IRA with dual-TEM source provided greater radiation performance on bore-sight as a result of the synthesized power in the aperture space of paraboloid. Moreover, lots of simulation work and comparison have been done in different feeding models to summarize a relative optimal feeding structure.     

双频段双极化星载降水测量雷达天线设计

为了解决双频段双极化星载降水测量雷达的波束宽度匹配和波束指向匹配问题,该文提出双频双极化共孔径馈源照射抛物柱反射面天线的方案。共孔径馈源Ku频段采用微带天线,Ka频段采用波导缝隙天线,两者层叠交错排列在一起。实测结果表明,波束宽度匹配指标和波束指向匹配指标与美国国家航空航天局正在研发的第2代星载降水测量雷达的指标相当。相对于第2代星载降水测量雷达天线采用的分置式馈源,该文给出的共孔径馈源具有占用空间小的优点,适用于星载平台。     

Finite difference analysis of electrically large parabolicreflector antennas

A reflector antenna is analyzed using the finite-difference method (FD). The induced current densities on an axially symmetric parabolic reflector are rigorously calculated. The measured equation of invariance (MEI) is used to terminate the FD mesh very close to the reflector surface. To take advantage of the axial symmetry, the theory of coupled-azimuthal potentials (CAPs) is employed. Illustrative results are obtained for reflector antennas with different aperture dimensions. Results by physical optics (PO) approximation are also included for comparison. The purpose of this paper is not to replace ray optics (RO) and PO in the design of reflector antennas, but to demonstrate the advancement in the FD method, which hitherto was limited to low-frequency and closed-boundary regime. The calculated surface current densities of a reflector antenna do show that the normal component of the current densities at the edges exhibits high standing waves which are missing in PO, and which we know should be there. The standing wave of current densities may not affect the main beam, but certainly will have an effect on side lobes and have a major impact in estimating the loss of the antenna     

Analysis of the radiation patterns of reflector antennas

The development and application of a numerical technique for the rapid calculation of the far-field radiation patterns of a reflector antenna from either a measured or computed feed pattern are reported. The reflector is defined by the intersection of a cone with any surface of revolution or an offset sector of any surface of revolution. The feed is assumed to be linearly polarized and can have an arbitrary location. Both the copolarized and the cross polarized reflector radiation patterns are computed. Calculations using the technique compare closely with measured radiation patterns of a waveguide-fed offset parabolic reflector. The unique features of this technique are the freedom from restrictive feed assumptions and the numerical methods used in preparing the aperture plane electric field data for integration.     

Application of spherical near-field measurements to microwaveholographic diagnosis of antennas

Microwave diagnosis of antennas is considered as a viable tool for the determination of reflector surface distortions and location of defective radiating elements of array antennas. A hybrid technique based on the combination of the spherical near-field measurements and holographic metrology reconstruction is presented. The measured spherical near-field data are first used to construct the far-field amplitude and phase patterns of the antenna on specified regularized u-v coordinates. These data are then utilized in the surface profile reconstruction of the holographic technique using a fast-Fourier-transform (FFT)/iterative approach. Results of an experiment using a 156-cm reflector antenna measured at 11.3 GHz are presented for both the original antenna and the antenna with four attached bumps. Several contour and gray-scaled plots are presented for the reconstructed surface profiles of the measured antennas. The recovery effectiveness of the attached bumps has been demonstrated. The hybrid procedure presented is used to assess the achieved accuracy of the holographic reconstruction technique because of its ability to determine very accurate far-field amplitude and phase data from the spherical near-field measurements     

Compact antenna test range without reflector edge treatment and RF anechoic chamber

There are several types of CATRs (compact antenna test ranges) used in antenna-pattern measurements. An offset reflector is generally used to generate the quiet zone of a CATR. Serrated edges, rolled edges, or R-cards are generally chosen along the reflector's edge to reduce the edge-diffraction field inside the quiet zone of the CATR. In order to reduce stray signals from the environment, a high-quality RF anechoic chamber is required for a CATR. In this paper, a new type of CATR, without either a reflector edge treatment or an RF anechoic chamber, is developed. A commercially available DBS (direct-broadcast satellite) reflector antenna, without edge treatment, is used as the reflector antenna of the CATR to generate the quiet zone of the antenna test range. In order to improve the quiet zone's performance, the fields due to feed spillover, edge diffractions, and other stray signals are gated out by the ITDAMS (impulse time-domain antenna measurement system). The RF interference in the environment can also be reduced by time synchronization and pulse integration of the impulse time-domain antenna measurement system. In order to verify the capabilities of the proposed CATR, three kinds of antennas (a low-directivity horn antenna, a high-directivity 60 cm direct-broadcast satellite reflector antenna, and a 25 cm Ka-band Cassegrain LMDS - local microwave distribution system - antenna) were measured by the proposed CATR. The antenna-pattern results agreed quite well with those of a near-field range and a far-field range.     

Surface accuracy measurement of a deployable mesh reflector byplanar near-field scanning

Using a near-field antenna measurement facility, it is possible to simultaneously evaluate the surface accuracy of a reflector antenna as well as the far-field pattern of the antenna for a short time. The surface errors of a 2-m deployable mesh reflector for satellite use were measured by a planar near-field system. As a result, the influence of periodic structures, due to the antenna ribs, is clearly observed. Also, the surface accuracy obtained with the near field scanning technique coincides well with that obtained by an optical measurement technique     

Impulse-radiating antenna with an offset geometry

An offset impulse-radiating antenna (IRA) is numerically analyzed and compared with a typical centered IRA. In the typical centered IRA, the transverse electromagnetic (TEM) feed arms block the aperture because they are located at the center of the aperture. This blockage causes multiple reflections inside the antenna and, thus, ripples in the tail of the radiated waveform. In the offset IRA, the TEM feed arms are removed from the aperture, lowering the tail ripples caused by multiple reflections between the TEM feed arms and the reflector. The boresight gains and the impulse amplitudes are seen to be essentially the same for both IRAs. The monostatic radar cross section of the offset IRA is significantly lower than that of the centered IRA for the plane wave incident from the boresight direction because the wave incident to the offset IRA is diverted toward the focal point of the reflector, which is away from the boresight direction. The offset IRA has a shadow behind the reflector. This feature can be useful in bistatic radar applications because the antennas can be placed in the shadows of each other.     

Determination of far-field antenna patterns from near-field measurements

In many cases, it is impractical or impossible to make antenna pattern measurements on a conventional far-field range; the distance to the radiating far field may be too long, it may be impractical to move the antenna from its operating environment to an antenna range, or the desired amount of pattern data may require too much time on a far-field range. For these and other reasons, it is often desirable or necessary to determine far-field antenna patterns from measurements made in the radiating near-field region; three basic techniques for accomplishing this have proven to be successful. In the first technique, the aperture phase and amplitude distributions are sampled by a scanning field probe, and then the measured distributions are transformed to the far field. In the second technique, a plane wave that is approximately uniform in amplitude is created by a feed and large reflector in the immediate vicinity of the test antenna. And in the third technique, the test antenna is focused within the radiating near-field region, patterns are measured at the reduced range, and then the antenna is refocused to infinity. Each of these techniques is discussed, and the various advantages and limitations of each technique are presented.     

扫描波束天线无相位近场测量技术

以寻找高频扫描波束天线近场测量方法为目的, 提出了一种结合差分进化算法和迭代傅里叶变换算法的双平面无相位近场测量方法.首先用线极化探头在近区采集正交方向切向场幅值信息; 其次使用差分进化算法寻找合适的初始迭代相位; 再利用迭代傅里叶变换算法对一扫描面上的相位进行还原; 最后使用采样幅值和还原相位结合近远场变换理论求得天线远场方向图.为验证方法可行性, 以对称振子天线阵为模型, 对不同扫描角时的测量过程进行仿真, 均获得良好结果.     

On the use of antenna weight functions in field strength prediction and interference reduction

In this paper two methods for calculating the received electromagnetic field by a single-parabolic reflector antenna in the shadow region behind a finite-width screen are proposed and analysed. The first one is referred to as the far-field approach and treats the obstacle and reflector antenna diffraction separately. The antenna simply is replaced by a point source having the receiving properties of the reflector antenna considered. The second method is called the near-field approach and considers the combined effect of obstacle and antenna diffraction. It is shown that considerable differences between the results of both methods may exist, even for an obstacle-antenna separation large compared to the Rayleigh distance of the antenna, and both for a CW and broadband analysis of the communications channel. It is concluded that the near-field method gives the best results and can be applied to many practical problems such as interference reduction and searching the optimal position of VSATs in urban environments.     

Maximization of the directive gain of a parabolic reflector antenna

The directive gain of a parabolic reflector antenna is maximized by optimizing the feed aperture distribution. The feed aperture distribution is specified by a set ofNbasis functions weighted by coefficients to be determined. This approach is different from the conventional method where, given a particular feed, the directive gain is maximized by subjecting the reflector aperture parameters to optimization.     

A new method for calculating correction factors for near-field gain measurements

A new method is presented for calculating near-field antenna gain correction factors directly from measured far-field pattern data by using a spherical wave expansion of the pattern. This eliminates the need for any assumptions regarding antenna aperture field distributions. The only significant assumption in the new method is to neglect multiple scattering between the antennas. The method is applied to the case of a horn antenna. Calculated results are compared to direct measured results, demonstrating agreement to within 0.03 dB. The method is also compared to the method of Chu and Semplak, with similar agreement. The sensitivity of the results to truncation error and noise in the data is also investigated and contrasted to sensitivity of prior methods to errors in the assumed field distribution.