Offset dual-shaped reflectors for dual chamber compact ranges

The application of the theory of the synthesis of offset dual-shaped reflectors to the design of compact ranges is examined. The object of the compact range is to provide a uniform plane wave with minimum amplitude and phase ripple over as large a volume as possible for a given size reflector. Ripple can be lowered by reducing the edge diffraction from the reflector producing the plane wave. This has been done either by serrating or rolling the edge. An alternative approach is to use dual offset-shaped reflector synthesis techniques to produce a reflector aperture distribution that is uniform over most of the aperture, but with a Gaussian taper near the edge. This approach can be used together with rolling and/or serration if desirable. The amount of phase and amplitude ripple obtained with two different dual-shaped reflector designs is studied as a function of position in the plane wave zone and reflector size in wavelengths. The amount of both transverse and longitudinal (z-component) cross polarization is studied     

Analysis of numerically specified multireflector antennas bykinematic and dynamic ray tracing

A technique for tracing rays and fields with several numerically specified reflectors by using geometrical optics (GO) is described. The ray paths are determined by launching individual rays from the feed point and following them by reflection from all the reflector surfaces to the output aperture of the last reflector. This procedure is referred to as kinematic ray tracing. Thereafter, the amplitude, phase and polarization of the E-field is traced along the ray paths to the aperture; this is referred to as dynamic ray tracing. The aperture field is then integrated to find the aperture efficiency, which is factorized into convenient subefficiencies. The technique has been implemented in a computer code that has been used to analyze the proposed new shaped-offset dual-reflector feed for the spherical reflector antenna at the Arecibo Observatory     

Some examples of generalized cassegrainian and gregorian antennas

Some theoretical generalizations are given of two-reflector, rotationally symmetric microwave antennas fed by a plane wave across the feed aperture. So far as geometrical optics apply, the proposed designs offer 1) no reflection of energy back into the feed and 2) arbitrary illumination over the antenna aperture. The general solution is exhibited in terms of quadratures, and the reflector shapes for some simple cases are worked out in detail and plotted. Two families of antennas are found which image the feed aperture onto the secondary reflector. These antennas might be expected to have low spillover losses due to diffraction, but none of them is of practical proportions. It is shown in general that such imaging is incompatible with efficient illumination of the secondary aperture.     

Synthesis of offset dual reflector antennas transforming a given feed illumination pattern into a specified aperture distribution

The problem of transforming a given primary feed pattern into a desired aperture field distribution through two reflections by an offset dual reflector system is investigated using the concepts of geometrical optics. A numerically rigorous solution for the reflector surfaces is developed which realizes an exact aperture phase distribution and an aperture amplitude distribution that is accurate to within an arbitrarily small numerical tolerance. However, this procedure does not always yield a smooth solution, i.e., the reflector surfaces thus realized may not be continuous or their slopes may vary too rapidly. In the event of nonexistence of a numerically rigorous smooth solution, an approximate solution that enforces the smoothness of the reflector surfaces can be obtained. In the approximate solution, only the requirement for the aperture amplitude distribution is relaxed, and the condition on the aperture phase distribution is continued to be satisfied exactly.     

Compact range reflector analysis using the plane wave spectrumapproach with an adjustable sampling rate

An improved method for determining the test zone field of compact range reflectors is presented. The plane wave spectrum (PWS) approach is used to obtain the test zone field from knowledge of the reflector aperture field distribution. The method is particularly well suited to the analysis of reflectors with a linearly serrated rim for reduced edge diffraction. Computation of the PWS of the reflector aperture field is facilitated by a closed-form expression for the Fourier transform of a polygonal window function. Inverse transformation in the test zone region is accomplished using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm with a properly adjusted sampling rate (which is a function of both the reflector size and the distance from the reflector). The method is validated by comparison with results obtained using surface current and aperture field integration techniques. The performance of several serrated reflectors is evaluated in order to observe the effects of edge diffraction on the test zone fields     

一种新型的介质反射面天线

提出了一种新型的多层介质结构的反射面天线，反射平面上所需要的相位补偿通过选择合适的介质厚度来实现，使用几个多层圆形介质即可满足条件。与传统的高增益天线相比，该结构设计简单，加工方便。验证了几种不同层数的结构和一个等口径的抛物面反射面天线。加工并测试了一个采用Vivaldi做馈源的4层结构的反射面天线。仿真和测试结果均表明该天线具有良好性能。     

Leaky Wave Enhanced Feed Arrays for the Improvement of the Edge of Coverage Gain in Multibeam Reflector Antennas

The performance of multibeam focal plane arrays feeding a single aperture is usually reduced due to conflicting requirements on the feed elements. Dense packing is usually required to minimize the beam separation, while typically large feed apertures are needed to provide the high feed directivity to reduce spillover losses from the reflector. In this paper the use of dielectric super-layers to shape the radiation pattern of each feed is demonstrated. The shaping is obtained by exciting, according to design, a pair of TE/TM leaky waves. The spillover from the reflector is reduced without physically increasing the dimensions of each single element aperture. A prototype of a feed array composed of 19 waveguides arranged in a hexagonal lattice was designed, manufactured and tested. The measured embedded patterns provided an increase of the edge of coverage gain, with respect to the free space case, of at least 0.6 dB in an operating bandwidth (BW) of ap12%. Moreover when reactive loading of adjacent feeds is adopted the increase in the edge of coverage with respect to the free space case was demonstrated to be larger than 1.6 dB over a 3% BW.     

On an algorithm for analysis of the radiation patterns of dual reflector and segmented reflector antennas

Large reflector antennas, from cost and weight considerations, appear to be the best configurations for achieving the very large apertures needed for antennas mounted on orbiting spacecraft. Radiation pattern calculations for such antennas are, in general, quite costly both in terms of computer time and the considerable memory required to perform the large surface integrations. The method presented here treats the large aperture as a set of small subapertures for which the radiation fields are computed separately, stored and then added with due regard to phase to yield the radiation pattern of the large reflector. Numerical methods developed to provide the illumination of each subaperture to avoid overlap of the aperture fields of adjacent subapertures and to simplify the surface integrations are discussed. The algorithm is straightforward and has considerable intuitive appeal. The methods of geometrical optics (GO) are used to calculate the aperture plane tangential field components; and electric vector potential is then used to compute the antenna radiation fields. The algorithm includes a set of options for different reflector surfaces. If high accuracy of the far sidelobe levels is required, a subroutine accounting for edge diffraction should be added to the algorithm given here. Calculations made with this algorithm are compared with calculations made by other methods and with measured patterns.     

Low-sidelobe reflector synthesis and design using resistivesurfaces

A procedure is presented for determining the resistivity of a paraboloid's reflecting surface to obtain a desired sidelobe level. The only requirement is that the normalized aperture distribution due to the feed be greater than the corresponding normalized low sidelobe distribution at every point on the reflector (i.e. the reflection coefficient of the surface ⩽1). In the synthesis procedure, blockage is ignored and an ideal feed is assumed. In spite of this, computation of the secondary radiation patterns of a resistively corrected antenna including the feed using the method of moments shows that a -40-dB sidelobe level is achievable. In principal, there is no limit to the sidelobe reduction for the field scattered from the reflector. In practice, blockage, feed illumination errors, errors in the surface resistivity, and the feed backlobe will limit the sidelobe level     

Equivalence of surface current and aperture field integrations for reflector antennas

The "extinction theorem" is used to prove that the fields of reflector antennas determined by integration of the current on the illuminated surface of the reflector are identical to the fields determined by aperture field integration with the Kottler-Franz formulas over any surfaceS_{a}that caps the reflector. As a corollary to this equivalence theorem, the fields predicted by integration of the physical optics (PO) surface currents and the Kottler-Franz integration of the geometrical optics (GO) aperture fields onS_{a}agree to within the locally plane-wave approximation inherent in PO and GO. Moreover, within the region of accuracy of the fields predicted by PO current or GO aperture field integration, the far fields predicted by the Kottler-Franz aperture integration are closely approximated by the far fields obtained from aperture integration of the tangential electric or magnetic field alone. In particular, discrepancies in symmetry between the far fields of offset reflector antennas obtained from PO current and GO aperture field integrations disappear when the aperture of integration is chosen to cap (or nearly cap) the reflector.     

Power focusing characteristics of ellipsoidal reflector

Power focusing characteristics of a prolate spheroidal reflector, the aperture of which is parallel to the line connecting the two focuses, are numerically studied. As a transmitting and a receiving antenna, linear wires with finite length are placed at or near the focuses of the reflector. Reflected near fields from the reflector are calculated by the physical optics technique, and transmitting and receiving antenna characteristics are obtained by the method of moments. Calculated results are given for the power focusing characteristics as a function of the eccentricity, the aperture size of the reflector, antenna directions, antenna lengths, and the receiving antenna displacement. Better power focusing characteristics are obtained when the transmitting antenna becomes less directive, or the size of the aperture becomes larger. Measured and calculated results agree very well.     

Optimization of microstrip feed geometry for prime focus reflectorantennas

The radiation characteristics of a circular microstrip antenna are studied numerically. Surface integral equations are used to formulate the problem from the boundary conditions and moment methods are used to reduce the integral equations to a matrix equation. An analytic method is used to design a microstrip feed and to achieve symmetric radiation patterns with low cross polarization and backlobe levels. The backlobe level is reduced by adding a quarter-wavelength choke to the side wall or the ground plane of the antenna and the bandwidth is improved by stacking two layers. The performance of the feed with the reflector antenna is also considered. One of the feeds was fabricated and tested. Satisfactory agreement between the computed results and the measurement data was obtained. The microstrip feed has a very small size which should reduce its blockage of the reflector aperture     

Aperture feed for a spherical reflector

The problem of designing a feed system for illuminating a spherical reflector is examined. A method is proposed for specifying the required field distribution over the aperture of the feed system, and the primary illumination and gain resulting from this distribution are derived. The results indicate that a significantly smaller feed aperture can be employed than would be indicated by conventional ray tracing methods. Specific numerical results are obtained by taking the Arecibo antenna as an example, for which a calculated aperture efficiency of 67.5 percent is possible with approximately a 38-foot-diameter aperture feed.     

New approach to compact measurements on reflector antennas

The letter describes a novel scheme for very compact measurements on reflector antennas. The measurement configuration involves a plane reflector located just beyond (and parallel to) the aperture plane, so that radiated power is reflected and refocused back into the feed. Measurement of return loss can then give information on antenna efficiency and gain. The basic concept is described and its performance confirmed by means of experiments on a 10 ft (3.048 m) diameter reflector. Possible methods of extending the performance of the scheme are briefly discussed.     

High aperture efficiency symmetric reflector antennas with up to60° field of view

A microwave single-reflector scanning antenna derived from an ellipse (rather than the usual parabola) which gives a much greater field of view is presented. This reflector combines reasonable scanning in one plane with good focusing in the other, and its scanning ability is superior to the torus and other single reflectors because it has much greater aperture efficiency and is thus smaller while having the same performance. The reflector surface is derived in two steps: a fourth-order even polynomial profile curve in the scan plane is found using least squares to minimize the scanned ray errors; then even polynomial terms in x and y that minimize astigmatism for both the unscanned and maximally scanned beams are added to form the three-dimensional surface. Numerical simulations of radiation patterns for a variety of antenna diameter and field-of-view cases give excellent results. The 60° scan case with 30-λ-diameter aperture has only 0.2-dB peak gain deviation from ideal and first sidelobe levels below 14 dB down from peak gain. The 17°, 500-λ case has only 0.8-dB gain variation and -14 to -11 dB sidelobe levels for approximately ±68 beamwidths of scan, with focal length to aperture diameter ratio equal to about one     

A dual planar reflectarray with synthesized phase and amplitude distribution

A quasi-planar reflector arrangement for generating an arbitrary phase and amplitude distribution in the antenna aperture and thus a wide range of far field patterns is presented. A parallel pair of reflectarrays is used. One is implemented as a standard reflectarray using rectangular patches on a microwave substrate with metallized backside. The other reflectarray is provided with a polarizing grid, which acts as a ground plane for one polarization and is transparent for the orthogonal polarization. An offset rectangular feed horn is embedded in the lower reflectarray to illuminate the upper reflector. A design procedure for a linear polarized antenna with a sector beam in the azimuth and a narrow beam width in the elevation is presented and is verified with measurement results.     

Improvement of prompt response from impulse radiating antennas by aperture trimming

Reflector impulse radiating antennas (IRA) traditionally have been constructed by terminating a self-reciprocal, transverse electromagnetic (TEM) transmission-line feed structure into a paraboloidal reflector. The section of the paraboloid used is usually circular in cross-section, with the outer boundary coinciding with the circle of symmetry of the TEM feed. The reflector converts the spherical TEM mode on the feed line into an approximate plane wave in the near field by geometric optics. The prompt radiated electric field in the direction of focus is given in the physical optics approximation in terms of the integral of the electric field of the TEM mode over the aperture plane inside the reflector boundary. Balanced feed structures have TEM modes that provide both positive and negative contributions to this integral in the aperture plane. Determination of the contour where the principal component of the electric field in the TEM mode is zero identifies portions of the aperture that contribute destructively to the integral. These portions are removed, thereby increasing the prompt radiated field without altering the feed structure or the applied voltage waveform. Furthermore, decreasing the size of the TEM feed relative to the aperture size, followed by appropriate aperture trimming, allows an even greater increase in radiated field. Results are presented that predict an increase in prompt radiated fields for all electrode configurations. Improvements are largest for electrode angles that are large (with respect to the vertical). The trends predicted by the numerical results are verified by an experiment conducted on a time-domain antenna range.     

Matching of equivalent field regions

In aperture problems, integral equations for equivalent currents are often found by enforcing matching of equivalent fields. The enforcement is made in the aperture surface region adjoining the two volumes on each side of the aperture. In the case of an aperture in a planar perfectly conducting screen, having the same homogeneous medium on both sides and an impressed current on one side, an alternative procedure is relevant. We make use of the fact that in the aperture the tangential component of the magnetic field due to the induced currents in the screen is zero. The use of such a procedure shows that equivalent currents can be found by a consideration of only one of the two volumes into which the aperture plane divides the space. Furthermore, from a consideration of an automatic matching at the aperture, additional information about tangential as well as normal field components is obtained. We compare the two procedures in this tutorial article.     

Bicollimated Gregorian reflector antenna

A bicollimated Gregorian reflector is structurally similar to a classical confocal Gregorian reflector, but its surfaces are shaped to have better scan capability. A geometrical optics procedure is used in designing the reflector surfaces. A three-dimensional ray tracing procedure is used in analyzing the aperture phase errors as the beam is scanned to different angles. The results show that the bicollimated configuration has about 45 percent greater angular scanning range than the equivalent confocal Gregorian reflector antenna.