V. A. Yatskevich¹, S. V. Turygin²

1, 2 Vologda State University (Vologda, Russia)

Multi-beam and scanning antenna devices are now widely used in radio systems. In this class of devices, an antenna with a Luneberg lens stands out. Its advantage is the ability to form narrow beams and scan with a beam in any range of angles without distorting the directional pattern. Typically, a spherical lens is made from a large number of spherical layers with different dielectric constants, which makes its manufacturing technology complex. Another difficulty arises when choosing an adequate irradiator.

The article proposes a variant of a lens antenna, characterized in that a spherical lens consists of only two homogeneous dielectric layers: an inner sphere and a spherical layer surrounding it, which simplifies its manufacturing technology. The dielectric constants of the layers are 2 and 1.5, respectively.

Also an irradiator has been proposed. It consists of two metal plates in the form of spherical segments, separated by a small gap. The irradiator is installed so that its ends adjoin the lens surface, and the center of the focal spot created by the irradiator is near this surface.

An antenna with lens made of a dielectric with a parameter tgδ = 10–4, with a radius of 240 mm at a frequency of 5500 MHz has been investigated using electrodynamic modeling. The following characteristics have been obtained in the 7% frequency band: VSWR < 2; beam width is 6–7 degrees, gain is 27 dB; side lobe level is -20 dB. An ideal circular aperture of the same radius has similar radiation characteristics.

The proposed lens antenna with a simplified design is not inferior in its characteristics to phased antenna arrays and multi-beam antennas and can be successfully used in satellite communication systems, in telecommunications and radar.

Yatskevich V.A., Turygin S.V. Antenna with a simplified Luneberg lens design. Radiotekhnika. 2021. V. 85. № 4. P. 147−152.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j00338486-202104-16 (In Russian)

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