Compact Ka-Band Lens Antennas for LEO Satellites

Abstract

Abstract-Two new compact lens antenna configurations are presented and compared for data link communications with LEO satellites at 26 GHz. These lenses match a secant type radiation pattern template in the elevation plane while having a mechanically scanned sector beam in azimuth to enhance gain as much as possible. No rotary joints or multiple feeds are required and emphasis is put also on the compactness of the proposed solutions ( 6 0 ). Two alternative lens configurations are evaluated numerically and experimentally: one is based on modified axial-symmetric dome lens geometry, and the other one consists of a full 3-D double-shell lens antenna. In contrast to current nearly omnidirectional antennas, the directivity of our lens prototypes is above 15.4 dBi. Up to 4.2 dB loss obtained in the prototypes can be significantly reduced by using lower loss dielectrics and matching layers, without affecting the conclusions. The numerical and experimental results are in good agreement with the radiation specifications given the compact size of the antennas.

Optimization of Micromachined Millimeter-Wave Planar Silicon Lens Antennas With Concentric and Shifted Matching Regions

“…In this paper, we address the problem of finding optimal matching region thickness and permittivity for planar silicon lenses. Matching regions with thickness and permittivity different from the conventional λ/4-transformer have been studied for nonplanar lenses [19,20], and for radomes [21].…”

Review of 20 Years of Research on Microwave and Millimeter-wave Lenses at "Instituto de Telecomunicaço˜es"

“…The beam scanning is obtained by mechanically moving a specially shaped lens in front of its stationary feed, without touching it [29], [30]. This avoids the otherwise need for fault-prone rotary joints in long continuous usage.…”

“…Other examples of lens antennas developed at IT included the development of switched shaped beam lenses [12] as well as new compact low-cost mechanically steered lens antenna for azimuth shaped beam scanning without the need for rotary joints for high-altitude platforms [29]. This concept was later extended to include simultaneous elevation scanning, still avoiding rotary joints, intended for gigabit indoor wireless local area networks [30].…”

Ku band transmitarray lens for microwave applications

“…Some of them [3,4] are relevant due to the proposed multi-beam working scheme: depending on the position of the feeder related to the lens, the main beam direction is going to be different. Regarding the circuitry applied to deal with received signal, lenses are classified into active lenses (if external control signal is used for the inner circuit configuration) [4,5], or passive lenses on the contrary [6][7][8]. In this work, the attention is focused in the design and manufacture of a complete passive microwave lens with some particular features, as it is described in Section 3.…”