2-D Beam Steering Performance of a Triple Mode Horn Antenna Integrated With Risley Prism and Phase Correcting Surface

Abstract

This paper presents a passive 2-D beam steering solution comprising of a triple-mode circular waveguide horn antenna operating at Ka-band frequency of 30 GHz, a pair of identical dielectric lenses employing Risley prism and a parabolic phase correcting surface. The circular waveguide horn antenna generates TE 11 , TM 01 and TE 21 modes independently. The pair of identical dielectric lenses employing the Risley prism concept are axially rotated individually and/or simultaneously to steer the radiated beam. The parabolic phase correcting structure is used to further improve the performance of the steered patterns. Overall, this antenna structure steers TE 11 , TM 01 and TE 21 modes patterns which makes it an attracting solution for tracking and communication applications. The proposed antenna system has been prototyped and experimentally verified in a compact antenna test range (CATR) chamber. The measured conical scan angles for TE 11 mode is found to be around ±40 • with gain deviation less than 3 dB. The TM 01 and TE 21 modes are steered with a scan angle covering ±30 • .

Beam Steering Performance of an X-Band Offset Parabolic Cylindrical Reflector Fed by Triple-Mode Horn Integrated With Risley Prism and Phase Correcting Dielectric Lens

“…Similarly, the axial rotation-based mechanical steering reported by authors in their previous works in [21]- [23] also requires large and bulky dielectric wedges to achieve the high directivity (> 25 dBi) required for troposcatter application. Thus, an efficient alternate lightweight and simple solution requires a hybrid approach where high directivity is achieved using a parabolic reflector, and the steering mechanism is integrated into the feed [24] [25].…”

“…A monopulse tracking antenna system similar to the ones reported in [9]- [23] is convenient for tracking location of the common scatter volume of troposcatter links. Monopulse tracking typically includes an array of 2 × 2 radiating elements generating a sum and two difference mode patterns (azimuthal and elevation) [9]- [12].…”

“…The OPC reflector utilizes the parabolic profile to enhance the directivity of the steered patterns from the feed arrangement. Compared to the preliminary design for Ka-band in [23], the proposed beam steering arrangement using an OPC reflector for troposcatter employs a smaller rotating dielectric wedge (diameter = 4.33𝜆 0 ) while achieving directivity better than 27 dBi. As a proof of concept, a prototype of 0.7 m × 1.5 m OPC reflector fed by a TM-CW horn integrated with dielectric wedge-based Risley prism and parabolic PCDL is built and experimentally verified.…”

“…2. Compared to axial rotation-based steering mechanisms in [16], [21]- [23] and traditional mechanical reflectorfeed steering with complex 3-axes rotation mechanisms, the proposed hybrid approach achieves high gain attributes utilizing a much lighter and smaller mechanically axially rotated parts. 3.…”

Design of the Miniaturized and Thin Sliced-Type Beam Switching-Controlled Horn Antenna for D-Band

“…In [21], a controlled, highly directional, and low scanning loss is achieved by the integration of two lenses. In [29,31,[41][42][43][44], multilayer metal horn antennas are designed on PCB boards, and the metal structure of the horn is simulated by metal via. The results presented show a wide bandwidth and high antenna gain.…”