Lens-Based Switched-Beam Antenna for a 5G Smart Repeater

In this letter, a 16-switched-beam lens-based antenna with a coverage area of
$\pm$
30° in the horizontal plane and from 0 to
$-$
20° in the vertical plane has been built and tested. The intended use of the antenna is as part of a smart repeater servicing the coverage area of a 5G wireless communication system operating in the n258 band of the 5G Frequency Range 2, from 24.25 to 27.5 GHz. The antenna has been built using state-of-the-art materials and components in order to assess the performance of this antenna concept. The overall antenna losses including the feeding network are of the order of 8 dB and the realized gain in the
$80$
% of the coverage area is above 11 dB.