A multistatic feeding concept for beam steering based on a dielectric ellipsoidal antenna

A simple and easy to integrate concept for multi-static beam steering using an existing dielectric ellipsoidal lens antenna is presented in this paper. Good antenna characteristics allow a modification of the antenna for the desired beam steering for industrial applications at 24 GHz. Based on the so-called geometrical-optical lens approach and 3D-electromagnetic field simulations the concept is investigated and the resulting effects of the modification are depicted. The antenna beam can be steered within a range only limited by the antenna dimensions. Using multiple feeding elements in one antenna within the same plane, a multistatic beam steering can be realized. For the multistatic approach, the circular waveguides for the antenna feeding are limiting the achievable steering angles, due to the minimal distance between two waveguides. Measurements of a first prototype confirm the expected behaviour and demonstrate the applicability for industrial purposes. Hence, the concept is suitable for the realization of multiple beam angles using only one antenna for a chosen number of feeding points.