A Full Electromagnetic Analysis of Grooved-Dielectric Fresnel Zone Plate Antennas for Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Applications

Grooved-dielectric, phase-correcting, Fresnel zone plate antennas are analyzed using the body-of-revolution finite-difference time-domain (BOR-FDTD) method. Parametric studies of the focusing ability of these antennas are performed to examine the effects of the focal length, diameter, number of zones, and the thickness of the lens, as well as the number of phase corrections per zone. The results of these studies are presented as design graphs and are used to lend insight into the focusing mechanism of phase-correcting zone plates. The BOR-FDTD analysis is validated by comparison with previous measurements.