A Comparison of the Performance of Cylindrical Lens Reflectors and Stepped-Indexed Cylindrical Luneburg Lens Reflectors: Simpler Is Better?

Abstract

Abstract-This paper studies the characteristics of a constant-K lens when considered as a possible substitute for a Luneburg lens in a reflector. The competitiveness of the substitute lens is investigated in its 2D analogue, by comparing the backscattering radar cross section for the range of D/λ ∈ (0, 200). The performance of cylindrical reflectors with either a constant-K lens or a cylindrical Luneburg lens (approximated by a finite number of stepped-index dielectric layers) when illuminated by an electromagnetic plane wave is studied using the semi-analytic Method of Regularization. Because of similar underlying physical principles, these studies provide an insight into the 3D analogue. The radar cross section calculations of the two reflectors for incidence angles varying from normal to grazing incidence show that the cheaper-to-manufacture constant-K lens reflector is able to provide a more powerful and stable backscattering performance than the cylindrical Luneburg lens reflector, for electrical sizes in the range considered.