Multibeam Spatially-Fed Antenna Arrays with Amplitude-Controlled Beam Steering.

摘要

This paper presents discrete lens antenna array antennas developed for multi-beam communication applications. The lens arrays consist of two back- to-back arrays of antenna element pairs, connected by variable-length transmission lines, which allow the lens to perform a discrete Fourier transform. The array feed is a spatial one, allowing easy and affordable extensions to multiple beams, and straightforward beam reconfigurability. Two prototype arrays at X and K band are discussed. The 10-GHz lens array is designed to have multiple beams up to +/-45 degrees off broadside and dual polarization. The array is characterized in a multipath fading channel as an angle-diversity array. The K-band array is a full-duplex array operating around 25 and 27GHz with the two frequencies at two polarizations. The applications for this array are formation-flying satellites, and S-beam performance will be presented. Continuous steering of half of a beamwidth using amplitude-only control is demonstrated.