Cylindrical microwave lens antenna for wideband scanning applications

The bandwidth limitation in space fed phased arrays (that results from the use of phase shifters to implement beam steering) is overcome by a lens arrangement in which independent feeds are provided at the focal plane of the lens. Each feed generates a collimated beam in a different spatial direction. Each beam can then be steered about its central position by means of phase shifters, while retaining a substantially improved bandwidth. An algorithm is derived for designing three-dimensional (3D) microwave lenses with line source feeds by stacking a number of identical two-dimensional (2D) parallel-plate, wide-angle constrained lenses into a cylindrical antenna structure. This lens design provides focused beams over a wide range of scan angles in both elevation and azimuth with only small optical aberration. A wide variety of lens designs can be achieved through this algorithm, dependent upon the constraints which are selected for the 2D lens counterpart. For one design, where all the transmission line lengths in the lens are made equal, the phase errors for beam scanning in the plane containing the cylindrical axis of the antenna are less than their broadside values, regardless of scan angle. This permits wide-angle coverage in both elevation and azimuth from a single lens with both good beam and quality and bandwidth.