Wide band multi-beam cylindrical lens

A novel ultra-wideband multi-beam cylindrical lens antenna for operation in the frequency range from 8 GHz to 18 GHz using parallel plate techniques is designed and fabricated. The cylindrical lens consists of four excitation ports, two parallel plates that are filled with teflon and a flare in order to produce four distinct fan-beams scanning in the azimuth plane with a minimum gain of 15 dB. CST Microwave Studio is used to analyze and optimize the antenna. The 3 dB E-plane and H-plane beamwidths are 10° and 30°, respectively, which can scan 40° in the azimuth plane with four distinct beams. The minimum gain of each beam is about 15 dBi at 8 GHz and 18 dBi at 18 GHz. There is a good agreement between the simulated and measured results.