Additive Manufactured Three Dimensional Luneburg Lens for Satellite Communications

摘要

A method for designing gradient refractive index (GRIN) lenses with additive manufacturing or 3D-printing at Ku band is presented. To demonstrate the potential of the method, we designed a Luneburg lens using a single low-loss dielectric material available for 3D-printers. The gradient index is realized by varying the local material fill density of the lens. We demonstrate with full wave simulations that the structure is able to transform a spherical electromagnetic wave to a plane wave. When the lens is fed with a rectangular waveguide, the overall antenna has a gain of 23 dBi with side lobe levels of −12.5 dB in Ku band. This lens, when integrated with a circular polarized feeding system, could find application for ground satellite communications.