Efficient body-of-revolution (BOR) FDTD solver applied to the analysis and synthesis of focusing and EBG antennas

Abstract

This paper describes a body-of-revolution (BOR) FDTD solver implemented for the analysis and synthesis of axis- symmetrical radiating structures. It is first applied to analyze an extended hemispherical integrated lens antenna (ILA) at 62.5 GHz. Comparison with a full 3-D FDTD solver and commercial software shows an excellent agreement between the three approaches, and confirms the important computational savings due to the BOR formulation. Then a set of very compact 1-D EBG resonator antennas are studied. Their peculiar characteristics are highlighted and compared to the well-known properties of large Fabry-Perot cavities. Finally, a single-shell shaped lens made of a low-k material is designed to comply with a flat-top pattern. We also show that the use of a quarter wavelength matching layer enables one to reduce the ripple level and the side lobe level.