Abstract
This letter presents a circular lens antenna for wideangle beam steering and for dual-polarized operation at millimeterwave (mm-wave) frequencies (27-30 GHz). The lens consists of a dielectric disc and two parallel plates, whose vertical spacing is varied linearly to achieve a suitable effective refraction index profile for the polarization parallel to the plates. The desired refraction profile is that of the Luneburg lens. The variation in plate spacing has negligible effect on the polarization perpendicular to the plates, and therefore, the dielectric material is selected such that the circular shape of the lens approximates the dimensions of the extended hemispherical lens. This way, the lens provides focusing or collimation for both linear polarizations. The lens is fed with square waveguides supporting both polarizations. Several feeding waveguides allow beam switching over a wide angular range. The designed lens antenna was fabricated, and the simulation and measurement results agree well and show that the proposed antenna concept is a valid solution for the upcoming 5G technologies, for instance as the access-point antenna. The antenna provides a ±50° beam-scanning range in both polarizations, and the realized gain is mostly between 9 and 12 dBi for the main beam. The measured reflection coefficient is mainly below -10 dB for both polarizations across the whole frequency band.
Highlights
C URRENT mobile communication networks cannot fully meet the demands of future applications, such as the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communication, self-driving cars, or augmented reality
The lens behaves as a Luneburg lens for the parallelly polarized field and as an extended hemispherical lens for the perpendicularly polarized field
The reflection coefficient is primarily below −10 dB over the entire band, and the beam scanning achieved by beam switching is ±50◦
Summary
C URRENT mobile communication networks cannot fully meet the demands of future applications, such as the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communication, self-driving cars, or augmented reality. Relatively high losses decrease the achieved realized gain Even though they are able to achieve continuous beam steering, the range is only ±25◦. Hua et al [18] achieve wide-angle beam scanning, low reflection coefficient, and high realized gain in the 29–32 GHz range. High realized gain in the ±30◦ range is achieved for single-polarized operation. This interesting study, is limited to simulations. The feeding network presents low losses, and the circular shape of the lens enables wide beam scanning in the horizontal plane by beam switching. The result is a high-gain, small-size, and easy-to-manufacture structure that can be integrated into portable devices or used as a 5G access point that operates in the 27–30 GHz range. MORENO et al.: PLASTIC-FILLED DUAL-POLARIZED LENS ANTENNA FOR BEAM SWITCHING IN THE Ka-BAND
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