Performance evaluation of a near field fed double curvature reflector

Hybrid antenna systems making use of near-field fed reflector consist of one or two reflectors fed by a cluster of radiating elements placed out of the focal plane and mainly controlled in phase, thus generating a multibeam coverage. Results showing the possibility of reducing the number of feeds, when the scanning area is no longer circular, by shaping the reflector surface as well as the feed cluster contours are reported. Numerical results are presented indicating that in a near-field fed antenna the number of the radiating elements, independently fed, may be reduced together with a reduction of the scanning area, even when this area is not regular. In this case both the reflector surface and the feed cluster contours have to be properly shaped.<>