1224

IEEE TRANSACTIONS AND ANTENNAS ON PROPAGATION,

VOL. AP-30, NO. 6 , NOVEMBER 1982

T1
0

RELATIVE dB

I
-40
-20

I
20
6

40

round-off error as a result of the very large number of addia tions that go into computing the coefficients anS, bnS.It w s found that single precision eight digits) in the Bessel functions was adequate to ka = 30, With the use of double precision, values of ka up to 6000 or more werehandled(thiscorresponds to scattering of light by raindrops) [ 113. Special care has t o be taken when/z,(~)(z) has zeroes which may occur for complex argument z. In such cases a forward recurrence algodirectlyinsteadofforming j, - j y n . rithm is used on ACKNOWLEDGMENT

-40

Fig. 4. Seven-layer Luneburg lens

pattern, Huygens source at -1.05a, ka = 41.9.

F. Hunkaforpointingoutand TheauthorthanksJohn helping with the implementation of the vector addition theorems.
REFERENCES T. L. ApRhys, The design of radially symmetric lenses, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagar.. vol. AI-18, no. 4, July 1970. Theory. New York: McGrawJ. A. Stratton, Electromagnetic Hill, 1941,pp.563-573. R . F. Harrington, Time-Harmonic Electromagnetic Fields.New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, pp. 26&269, 292-295. A. L. Aden, Electromagnetic scattering from spheres with sizes J. Appl.Phys.,vol.22, no. 5, comparabletothewavelength, May 1951. J. V. Dave,Stokesparameters of the radiationscattered by a homogeneous sphere, 360D-17.4.002, IBM Scientific Center, Dec. 1968. J. J . Mikulskiand E. L. Murphy,Thecomputation of electromagneticscatteringfrom concentric sphericalstructures, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagar.. vol. A P - 1 1 , p. 169, Mar. 1963. S . Stein, Addition theorems for spherical wave functions, Q. Appl. Marh, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 15-24, Apr. 1961. C. Liang and Y. T. Lo, Scattering by two spheres, Radio Sci., vol. 2, no. 12, Dec.1967. J. F. Hunka, Electromagnetic scattering by two bodies of revolution, Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. California-Berkeley, May 1979. M. Goldstein and R. M.Thaler,Recurrence techniques for the calculation of bessel functions, MTAC, 1959. H. Mieras and C . L. Bennett, Scattering and radiation properties of spherical structures, Sperry Res. Center, Sudbury, MA, SRCRR-80-35, May 1980.

relative dielectric constants: E , = 1.095, 1.303, 1.486, 1.609, 1.724, 1.84, 1.972 with boundaries at r/a = l., 0.9028, 0.7667, 0.6667, 0.5883, 0.4667, 0.3323. The calculation took 25 s on the Univac 1 106. V. SUMMARY
An eigenfunctionsolutionhasbeenformulatedfor radiation from an off-center source through a layered spherical lens using vector addition theorems. The formulation is analytical, exact in the senseof an infiniteseries, and is an extension of the well-known Mie series solution for plane wave scattering from a sphere. The computational efficiency of the algorithm makes it a convenient tool for investigating effects on the radiationpatternduetoparameterssuchasdielectricgradient, losses, andsourceposition.Thesolution is alsouseful for checking the accuracy of themore generalnumericalalgorithms required for nonsphericallenses.

APPENDIX The number of modes nmax required in the expansion to attain four-digit accuracy in the pattern was found by trial and error t o be conveniently given by n m a , = 1 5 f xo r x B 5 f, and

nmax = 2 4- 8 6 ,

f o r x < 5,

Bispherical Constrained Lens Antennas

JAGANMOHAN B. L. RAO, SENIOR MEMBER, IEEE
Absnuct-A bisphericalconstrainedlenshaving two surfacesof equal radii has been known to provide multiple beams with true time delay and no feed blockage.A generalized bispherical constrained lens with the radii of its two surfaces being allowed to vary is described. This additional degree of freedom can be used in limited coverage applications to make the lens more compact, in terms of total lens surface, compared to the equal radii case.

where x = kr = m a x m r , . Thecomputation time is thus proportional t o ka. The maindifficulty in thecomputation is theaccurate evaluation of the Bessel functions. Double precision recursive algorithms were implemented, based on [ l o ] , namely forward recursion for y n ( x ) and backward recursion for j n ( x ) , where h , ( * ) ( x ) = j n ( x ) - j y n ( x ) . The use of double precision removes essentially all limitations on ka. It is useful for efficient exerciseof the algorithm to know ahead of time the largest value of n that need be or may be computed. This was found by trial and error t o be n , = exp (0.05 1 (In x)2 -I-5.1 2) for large x , and

INTRODUCTION The suitability of a spherical reflector for use asa wide-an-

nm = 709/(4.7 -In x) for x

< 2.

gle scanning antenna is well established [ 11, [ 21. However, its

usefulness as a simultaneous multiple-beam antenna is limited Manuscript received December 22,1980; revised March 16, 1982. Theauthoriswith the ElectromagneticsBranch,RadarDivision, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, 20375. DC

At higher values of n , j n ( x ) can be considered to be zero while y n ( x ) overflows (1 0308).The resultant algorithm was accurate to 17 digits. While this level of accuracy is overkill it is necessary t o have accurate Bessel function evaluation to avoid

0018-926X/82/1100-1224500.75 0 1982 IEEE

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. AP-30, NO. 6 , NOVEMBER 1982

1225

due to blockage by the feed structure. McFarland and Ajioka [ 3 ] reported on asphericalconstrainedlens,consistingofa feed surface behind two surfaces of equal radii, which can be used as a muItiple-beam antenna with true time delay and no feedblockage. For the present communication, an investigation has been made ofageneralizedbisphericalconstrained lens, with the radii of its two surfaces being allowed to vary. This additional degree of freedom allows designing a multiplebeam antenna to be more compact compared to an equal radii case. For specified radiating aperture and specified radii of lens surfaces, an optimum feed locationwhich minimizes the maximum phase excursion on the aperture will be determined analytically. Then, the effect of different antenna parameters on the aperture phase errors will be considered in detail. For a specified radiating aperture and allowable maximum phase error, it will be shown that a lens with surfaces of unequal radii can be designedinlimitedcoverageapplications to be more compact, in terms of total lensarea,compared to an equal radii case. BISPHERICAL CONSTRAINED LENS The geometry of a bispherical constrained lens is shown in and Fig. 1 . The lens consists of a spherical feed surface (SI) spherical pickup and radiating surfaces (S2 and S 3 ) of radii R and R,, respectively. Since the antenna should be spherically symmetric for wide-anglescanning, the antenna elements on S2 and S3 have one-to-one correspondence and are connected on the bytransmissionlinesofequallength.Eachradiator feed surface illuminates a different portion of the lens andcorresponds to a separate beam direction; beamscan be generated singly or in any combination. APERTURE PHASE ERRORS A feed element is assumedLo be at a point P, at a distance F from the surface S2(F = OP). Consider a typical ray path PQGE, where Q is an arbitrary point on the inner lens surface and can be specified by X or 8 (e = angle OCQ), which are related as X = R sin 8. Similarly, G is the corresponding point on the outer surface S 3 , which is also specified by the angle 0 (for the antenna to be spherically symmetric, it is necessary that the angle BE'G should be equal to e). The point G is at a radial distance of R o sin 0 from the lens axis. The total path P E length from the point to the aperture plane at is
d = where

E SURFACE EQUAL-LENGTH TRANSMISSION LINES PICKUP S2 SURFACE

/
FEED SURFACE

Fig. 1. Geometry of a bispherical constrained lens.

In the case of a spherical reflector it has been noted [ 11 that the total phase excursion overaprescribed aperture is least when the phase error at the edge of the aperture is zero. The same is true in the present case, as the lens is spherically symmetric and the phase errors are due spherical aberration. to Using this fact, one can find an optimum feed position (distance F) for specified values of R and R o , an optimum value for R o for given values of F and R , or an optimum value of R for specified values of F and R,. In other words an optimum relationship exists between F,R and Ro which minimizes the maximum phase error for a specified aperture. Let the radiating aperture be specified by its diameter D or by an angle 0, such that D = 2R0 sin 8,. The optimum relationship is obtained by equating the phase error, given by (3), to zero when 0 = 6, and solving for f , and one obtains

f=

1 -ro* sin2 (0,/2) 1

+ ro

P+Q G + G x e

(1)

p& = 4~2 ~ R ( R F)(I - COS el, + QG = transmission line length = a constant, and

A special case of ro = 1 (or R o = R ) corresponds to a lens discussed by McFarland and Ajioka [3]. As mentioned earlier, this is a bispherical lens that is equivalent to a spherical reflector. The optimumfocal length obtained from (4) for ro = 1 is

which agrees exactly with that a spherical reflector[ 1 J . of The optimum relationship given by (4) is shown in Fig. 2 for different values of sin 0,. As f is increased (by increasing F)ro decreases and becomes zero for f = 1. As f is increased E=P&+GE-(E+BT). ( 2) further, ro becomes negative. What this means is that the radi(1) noting that = ating surface is concave for f < 1 and convex for f > 1. S u b e u t i n gf o r and GE from and F and BE' = R o one finds that the phase error in wavelengths is Fig. 3 shows the path-length error (and hence phase error) normalized to the width of the radiating aperture D and for (E/X) = ( R / h ) [ d f 2(1 - f ) ( 1 - COS e ) the specific value sin 8, = 0.4 with R as a parameter. In ob-f- ro(l - cos e ) ] , (3) taining Fig. 3, the optimum value o f f for the specified sin 6, where f = F / R , ro = R o / R , and h is thewavelength. (or e,) and ro is first determined from (4) and substituted in

GE = R~ cos e. Because the transmission line lengthsOB and &G are equal, the path-length difference between the axial ray path POBE', and a nonaxial ray path PQGE is

1226
2.5 SIN 0,= 0.7 ,SIN 0, = 0.5

IEEE TRANSACTIONS

O N ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. AP-30,

NO. 6 , NOVEMBER 1982

a
x

(-R = R,

0.014 0.012
0.01

2
Y

a
a

9 E i
0 0.5
FEED LOCATION f = F/R
I I

0.006 0.004

-0.5 -

2.0

2.5

3.0
1.2 1.4 1.6 2.0 2.4 2.8 1.8 2.2 2.6 0.2 0.4 0.6 1. 0.8
"'WLrFEED LOCATION f = F/R\

-,, I ,

3.0

Fig. 2. Optimum relation betweenro andffor different values of ea.

w

I n .
a

Fig. 4. Maximum phaseerroras

a function of feed location for different aperturesD/Zo (= sin e,).

R = R,

The solution 8, = 0 actually corresponds to a minimum phase error at the center of the aperture. The other solution is the proper answer, which can be shown to be

Substituting cos 8, for cos 8 in (3) and simplifying, one obtains the maximumphase error on the aperture as

z ANGLE OF POINT APERTURE ON 0 (DEGREES) Fig. 3. Normalized phase errors over a given radiating apertureD(D = 2Ro sin e,, with ea = sin-1 0.4 = 23.5") for different valuesofR, plotted as a function of e, where e specifies the radialdistance R sin 6 from the lens axis.
(3) to determine the path-length error. For proper interpretation of the results in Fig. 3, the radiating aperture is assumed to be a constant, which meansR o is assumed to be a constant, since D = 2Ro sin ea. Different values of ro are obtained by changing R , the radius of curvature of the innersurface of the lens. A point on the radiating aperture can be specified by the simply by an radial distance R o sin 8 from the lens axis or angle 8. In Fig. 3 the angle 8 is plotted along the horizontal axis. It may be noted from Fig. 3 that for a given radiating aperture the phase errors will decrease as the radius of curvature R of the inner surfaceis increased or vice versa.
MAXIMUM APERTURE PHASE ERROR In any antenna designa constraint is usually imposed on allowable maximum phase error. Hence it is of interest to find the maximum phase error on the aperture for specifiedlens parameters F , R , and Ro. In (3) a point on the aperture is specified by an angle 8. To findthemaximum phase error on the aperture, one should first find the angle 8 = 8, at which the phase error is maximum and then substitute thatvalue in (3). T o find the value of 8 = 8, for which e is maximum, one has to take a derivative of E with respect to 8 and equate it to zero:

For any specified value of Bo, ro can be eliminated from (7) by using the optimum relation given by (4). Then E,,, will be a function of focal lengthf only. Fig. 4 shows the maximum phase errornormalized to the width of the radiating aperture as a function o f f for different values of normalized aperture diameter D / 2 R 0 (= sin ea). The special case of ro = 1isindicatedby the dashedline. For aspecifiedradiating aperture and a maximum allowable phase error, Fig. 4 shows that a number of solutions are possible with different combinations of feed locationf and sinO n , including the special case of ro corresponding to a spherical reflector. Compared to this special case, the phase errorscan be made smaller by increasing f (decreasing ro or increasing R ) , and the phase errors will be larger for smaller f for a specified sin ea. These observations are true forf < 1. For f > 1 (negative r o ) the magnitude of the phase errorincreases with f and reaches a maximum at f = 2 and decreases slowly as f is increased further for any given sin ea. Since the phase errors are smaller for f > 1, it may appear to be the proper choice in designing a lens as a multiple-beam antenna. But choosing f > 1 results in large effective F/D, which means that the feed elements must be more directive and the lens less practical, since the size of the lens increases with F/D for a given D . Therefore we will not dwell much on the lenses with f > 1. However, it is of interest to note that the well-known R-KR lens [4] which has some unique features making it more practical for certain special purposes as discussed in [5], corresponds to the special case with f = 2 . DESIGN EXAMPLES

= 0.

In the previoussections, the bispherical constrainedlens was analyzed, and the effect of different lens parameters on

TABLE I
PARAMETERS O F THE LENSES USED AS EXAMPLES

sin ea

Example Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

=D/2 IRo I 0.3 0.4 0.5

0.7

f
0.34 0.49 0.61 2.0

ro
1.75 0.95 0.51 -0.52

Ro/D 1.67 1.25

1.0

RID 0.95 1.32 1.96 1.37

F/D

-0.72

0.32 0.65 1.2 2.75

TABLE II
TOTAL SURFACE AREAO F DIFFERENT LENSES

S c a n Angle Normalized

+e
*O

Case 1 Case 0.17 1.20 1.98

Total Surface Area Case 0.28 0.52 0.91 1.34 2.09

ST/~?~D~ 3 4 Case 0.69 0.97 1.36 1.75 2.37

0.39 0.76

*9 * 20 +30 +45

0.65 1.08 1.73 2.42 3.59

\
.\.

y EED FOR / CASE 4

1/
I

d e . This will result in larger outer surface area for smaller 0, values. However, it is more appropriate to compare the total area of the two lens surfaces and the effective F/D when comn paring differentexamples for compactness. This is done i what follows. total area of the lens surfaces is It can be shown that the given as

where 8, is the scan angle and the other parameters are defined previously. Total surface area normalized to 27rD2 is given in Table I1 aperture phase errors was discussed, Using these results, some for all four examples. Even for scan angles of up to +45O,case specific examples will be discussed in this section. It will be 1 has the smallest total surface area. As the scan angle is inshown that for some limited coverage applications, a lens with creased, it is noted that the difference between case 2 (equal surfaces of unequal radii can be designed to be more compact radii example) and case 1 becomes smaller and they will have compared to an equal radii case. equal surface areas for a scan angle of about +66'. Above this 8, (sin 8, = 0.3, scan angle, the lens surface area of case2 becomes smaller than Four lens geometries, each with different 0.4, 0.5, and 0.7), are illustrated in Fig. 5 The radiating aper- that of case 1. Therefore: case . 1 is definitely superior for ture D and the maximum allowable phase errors are the same limitedcoverage(say +20 ) applications.Inaddition, case 1 for all four cases, The maximum allowable phase error isashas the smallest F/D value which results in smallest lens width. sumed to be 0.002 D (which corresponds to a phase error of Hence, for limited scanapplications, it is shown that a lens 0.12 h for ;n aperture diameter D = 60 or for a beamwidth withunequalradii can be designedwhichis morecompact of about 1 ). The corresponding values of f are determined (smaller surface area and F/D value) compared to a lens with usingFig, 4. When f and 0, areknown,thecorresponding equal radii. In Table 11, scan angle of + 9 O is included as an exvalues of ro are determined using (4) or Fig. 2. With note of ample in satellite communications. the relationship D = 2Ro sin 8,, all the dimensions of the It was shown that for specified values of D and peak phase lenses normalized are tothe radiating aperture D and are errors, decreasing 8, results in compact lens for limited coverdrawn to scale in Fig. 5. Points C,,C , , C3, and C4 are thecen- age applications. However, 8, cannot be decreased indefinitely ters of curvature of the four innersurfaces. The corresponding because ro will increase as 8, is decreased. This means the elefeed positions are shown by small triangles. Table I shows difment spacing on the outer (radiating) surface of the lens will ferent lens parameters of these four examples. It may be noted increase for a given element spacing (nominally about h/2) on that the case 1 corresponds to an example with R o > R ,case theinnerlenssurface.Forplanararrays,theinterelement 2 to an exampleof (approximately) equal radii, case 3 to R o < spacing cannot be much greater than h/2 (depending on the R , and case 4 to a special case of R-KR lens (withf = 2). scanning requirements) to avoid grating lobes. Fortunately, in From the information given in Fig. 5 and Table I, it is ob- spherical arrays under discussion, the active (illuminated) part vious, for zero scan, that the example with the smallest 8, of the lens moves with scanning. Hence, the element coverage (case 1) has the smallest effective F/D and the smallest inner limits are 18,. Therefore, the element spacing for omni-direclens surface area. Therefore, it is the most compact lens com- tional antenna elementsis given as pared to the other three examples. Withscanning,however, h the illuminated (active) part of the lensmoves on both surs= , ( 9) 1 sine, faces. Therefore, they must be extended by the beam scan an-

Fig. 5. Geometries of lenses for a specified D and a specified emax/D = 0.002 and for (case 1) sin 0, = 0.3, (case 2) sin 0, = 0.4, (case 3) sin e, = 0.5, or (case 4)sin 0, = 0.7.

S , = 2 n ( ~R ~ ) [~ -cos 2 1

(e, + e,)],

(8)

1228

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON

ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. AP-30, NO.

6 , NOVEMBER 1982

which is independent of scan angle and depends only on the half-angle ea of the illuminated part of the lens. For elements with ideal characteristics, the element spacing can be as large

as 161

s=-.

h
(10)

2 sin ea

of the magnitude of such adjustments and of their effectson the gain is presented. Numerical results are oband pointing of the system tained for a particular case of a 45-ft diameter antenna designed for operation at 95.5 GHz RF for which the computed peak gain of the antennavariessignificantlywiththeelevationangle.Theresults indicate that the loss of peak gain as the antenna moves in elevation can be substantially reduced mechanical adjustment of the position by of the secondary reflector.

The structural deformations of a Cassegrain antenna result in surfacedistortionsoftheprimaryreflectorand misalignCONCLUSION ments between the primary and secondary reflector and the A generalized constrainedlens with surfacesofunequal feed. The surface distortions of the secondary are usually igradii is discussed. The well-known R-KR lens is shown to be nored as they are an order of magnitude smaller than thoseof one of the special cases. For a specified radiating aperture and the primaryreflector. For enclosedantennas,thechangein it is shown that a lens with gravity deformations as it moves in allowable maximum phase error, elevation is the main surfaces of unequalradiicanbe designed to bemorecomsource of gain degradation. Both surface distortions of the pripact compared to an equal radiicase in limited coverage applimaryreflectorandmisalignmentsbetwentheantennacomcations like that of satellite communications. ponentsresultin gaindegradationandbeamdeviation. The gain degradation due to the gravity deformations of the priACKNOWLEDGMENT mary reflector be may predicted by tolerance the theory of The author expresses his thanks to Mr. Paul Shelton of the Ruze [ 1 ] from the root mean square (rms) of the surface deNaval Research Laboratory for his valuable advice. viations, usually computed with respect t o a paraboloidal surface that best fits the deformed geometry of the reflector. The REFERENCES best-fitting is achieved by simultaneously translating and rotating the reflector and changing the focal distance[ 21. In many T. Li, "A study of sphericalreflectorsaswide-anglescanning antennas," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-7, no. 3 , pp. cases, the position of the best-fit paraboloid cannot be deter223-226, July 1959. mined with accuracy due t o ill conditioning of the equations. A . W. Love, "Some highlights in reflector antenna development." The ill conditioning is inherent in the best fitting process beRadio Sci., vol. 11, no. 8, 9, pp. 671-684, Aug.-Sept. 1976. rigid-body lateraldisplacementsandrotations of the J. L. McFarland and J. S. Ajioka, "Multiple-beam constrained cause lens," Microwaves, vol. 2, no. 8, pp. 81-89,Aug. 1963. primary reflector result in similar distributions of the change W . H. Thies, Jr.. "Omnidirectional multiplebeam antenna," U.S. in the RF path length over the aperture. Patent 3 754 270, 1973. Themisalignmentinthe relative position of the best-fit D. Archers. "Lens-fed multiple beam arrays," Microwave J . . vol. paraboloid and the displaced positions of the secondary and 18,no. IO, pp.37-42,Oct.1975. J . Paul Shelton,"Focusingcharacteristics of symmetrically con- feed results in beam deviation and loss of peak gain. It is posfiguredbootlace lenses," IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat.. vol. sible t o break up the misalignment into components of rigidAP-26, no. 4, July 1978. body displacements of the primary, secondary, and feed and to compute separately the beamdeviationand loss of peak gain due to each component of misalignment [3] -[ 51. The total beam deviation may be computed by the superposition of the effects of the components of misalignment; however, to Peak Gain of a Cassegrain Antenna with Secondary compute the loss of peak gain the total misalignment must be Position Adjustment considered at one time because, in general, superposition of the effects of components taken one at a time may not hold. MEHDI S . Z A R G W E E , MEMBER, IEEE Antennas for which the loss of peak gain due to misalignment is significant may demonstrate an acute degradation of peak gain near the limits of their travels in elevation, To minimize Abstracr-For an enclosed Cassegrain antenna, the of peak gain loss and beam deviation due to structural deformations of the primary the loss of peak gain due to misalignment the position of the reflector and rigid body displacements of the secondary reflectorand secondaryreflectormaybeadjustedbymechanical means. of the feedarecomputedfromthecombinedchanges inthe radio Themagnitude of theadjustmentdependsonthe elevation frequency (RF) path length. As the antenna moves in elevation, the angle of the antenna. Gain degradation may also occur due to position of the secondary reflector may be adjusted mechanically to astigmatismresultingfrom gravity deformationsofthe prithe minimize the loss of peak gain; a general method for computation maryreflector as described by von Hoerner [ 6 ] , [ 7 ] which he suggests correcting by mechanically deforming a flexible subreflector. This communication presents a method for thecomManuscriptreceived June 29, 1981; revised September28,1981. The work reported in this communication is a part of the design review putation of the adjustment of the position of the secondary reof the ALCOR Millimeter Wavelength Augmentation Radar performed flector that minimizes loss of peak gain. at Simpson Gumpertz Heger Inc., for MassachusettsInstitute of Tech& The beam deviation and the loss of peak gain are calculated nology Lincoln Laboratory. length resulting from The author is with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Inc., 1696 Massa- directly from the changes in the RF path thestructuraldeformation of the primaryreflectorandthe MA chusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 02138.
0018-926X/82/1100-1228$00.75 O 1982 IEEE

In practice, the realizationof ideal element patternsis difficultandtheelementspacingshould b e less than h (or ro should beless than two).

I. INTRODUCTION

'