Analysis of reflector antenna systems for wide-angle scanning

A near-field Cassegrain reflector (NFCR) is an effective way to magnify a small phased array into a much larger aperture antenna for limited scan applications. Traditionally, the pattern analysis of NFCR is based on a plane wave approach. This approach simplifies the computation tremendously, but fails to provide design information about the most critical component of the whole antenna system, namely, the feed array. Here, each element in the feed array is considered individually and its diffraction pattern from the subreflector is computed by GTD. The field contributions from all elements are superimposed at the curved main reflector surface, and a physical optics integration is performed to obtain the secondary pattern.Beam-waveguide-fed Cassegrain reflector (BFCR) antennas are increasingly being used in space communication applications. Using a shooting and bouncing ray approach based on geometrical optics and aperture integration, the far-field pattern of the BFCR is calculated. This method is computationally efficient and is not restricted by the number of reflecting surfaces in the antenna configuration. The diffraction loss in the beam waveguide structure is calculated separately by the conventional near-field physical optics integration.The segmented mirror antenna is designed for the radiometer application on the planned NASA Earth Science Geostationary Platforms in the 1990s. The antenna consists of two parts: a regular parabolic dish of 5 m in diameter which converts the radiation from feeds into a collimated beam, and a movable mirror that redirects the beam to a prescribed scan direction. The mirror is composed of 28 segmented planar conducting plates, mostly one square meter in size. Based on a physical optics analysis, we have analyzed the secondary pattern of the antenna. For frequencies between 50 and 230 GHz, and for a scan range of $\pm$ 8$\sp\circ$ (270 beamwidths scan at 230 GHz), the worst calculated beam efficiency is 95%. To cover such a wide frequency and scan range, each of the 28 plates is individually controlled for a tilting less than 4$\sp\circ$, and for a sliding less than 0.5 cm.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio