A Shaping Technique for Air-Borne Scanning Reflector Antenna

With the renewed application of millimeter technology in remote sensing, radio astronomy, and meteorological satellite, millimeter wave antennas of electrically large aperture are frequently deployed. Shaping techniques are accordingly developed to meet different requirements. In this paper, a shaping technique for the scanning reflector antenna system of a remote sensing spacecraft is presented. The shaping technique is based on Fourier optical theory to control the maximal radiating direction of the antenna system. To implement such functionality, a new shaping technique of the sub-reflector has been developed. In addition, rotation of the shaped sub-reflector can achieve scanning purpose with identical footprints in all scanning angles. Case studies have been performed to verify the shaping technique.