Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW) Rotman Lens and Its Ka-Band Multibeam Array Antenna Applications

• Published in: IEEE transactions on antennas and propagation Vol. 56; no. 8; pp. 2504 - 2513
• Main Authors: Cheng, Yu.J., Wei Hong, Ke Wu, Kuai, Z.Q., Chen Yu, Chen, J.X., Zhou, J.Y., Tang, H.J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.08.2008; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Antenna arrays; Antennas; Applied sciences; Array signal processing; Arrays; Beamforming network (BFN); Beams (radiation); Communication switching; Exact sciences and technology; High gain; Lenses; Linear antenna arrays; Mobile antennas; multibeam antenna; Multibeam antennas; Networks; Radiocommunications; Rotman lens; Satellite antennas; Satellite communication; Satellite telecommunications. Space telecommunications; Slot antennas; Solids; substrate integrated waveguide (SIW); Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Transmission and modulation (techniques and equipments); Waveguides; Prototype; Wireless telecommunication; Multibeam antenna; Satellite telecommunication; Beamforming network (BFN); Printed antenna; Waveguide; Slot antenna arrays; Beam forming; Implementation; Ka band; substrate integrated waveguide (SIW); Waveguide antenna; Mobile satellite communication; Rotman lens; Linear antenna arrays; Antenna array
• ISSN: 0018-926X; 1558-2221
• DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2008.927567

A new type of substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) multibeam antenna is proposed for mobile satellite communications using beam switching and diversity techniques. It employs an SIW Rotman lens as the beamforming network. The prototype of a single multibeam antenna is implemented at 28.5 GHz with seven input ports and an antenna array constructed by nine SIW linear slot arrays, which can generate a corresponding number of beams along one dimension. Several such antennas are grouped in two different ways to cover a 2-D solid angle with multiple beams. Experiment results show that the 2-D solid angle around (-40deg, 40deg) X (-35deg, 35deg) or (-25deg, 25deg) x (-35deg, 35deg) are covered with 20 or 25 beams with 5 -dB beamwidth, respectively. It is demonstrated that this type of printed multibeam antenna is a good choice for communication applications where mobility and high gain are simultaneously required.