EHF Dielectric Lens Antenna for Satellite Communication Systems
Abstract
Dielectric lens antennas are applicable to the design of multiple-beam antenna (MBA) systems on EHF communication satellites. Advantages include excellent wide angle scanning properties and elimination of feed blockage. This report describes an experimental 90 lambda dia. zoned dielectric lens, operating at 44 GHz, which was fabricated and tested in order to estimate the performance of a dielectric lens MBA. Measurements showed that the lens generated a beam with a half-power beamwidth (HPBW) of 0.7 deg which could be steered over a total scan angle of 18 deg (corresponding to the earth's field-of-view from a geosynchronous satellite) with a scanning loss of less than 1 dB and a gain in excess of 47 dBi measured at the sub-satellite point over a 5% bandwidth. A theoretical analysis of the radiation characteristics of the lens antenna, using ray tracing and geometric optics techniques, gave excellent agreement with the measurements. Simplified design equations were developed to facilitate evaluation and development of lens antenna systems of this type.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 03, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA126214
Entities
People
- Walter Rotman
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology