Mechanical scanning with a dual-layer pillbox antenna for millimeter-wave applications

A low-profile, high performance, multi-beam, low-cost multi-layer pillbox antenna has been recently proposed by the authors [1] [2], as a possible solution for high demanding millimeter-wave applications (surveillance systems, automotive radars, telecommunication applications, etc.). In these works a passive electronic system was used for steering the antenna main beam. However, thanks to the low profile, low weight and compactness of the structure, a mechanical scanning can be an attractive solution for those applications where a continuous steering of the main beam is required for tracking moving objects or connection maintenance (satellite based telecommunication applications). This solution would be a cheaper alternative compared to expensive phased approaches or hybrid combinations of mechanical and electronic scanning. The antennas structure is shown in Fig.l. It is based on a SIW (Substrate Integrated Waveguide, [3] [4]), double layer pill-box structure where the feeding and radiating parts are located in two different substrates connected by an integrated symmetric parabolic reflector and several coupling slots (quasi-optical system). In the following the three main parts of the system (quasi-optical system, input part and radiating part) are introduced together with some numerical results at fo=24.15GHz.