Radiation efficiency estimation of lossy geodesic lens antennas based on a ray-tracing technique

Here, we propose a generalized ray-tracing (RT) model to accurately compute the radiation patterns and radiation efficiency of lossy non-rotationally symmetric geodesic lens antennas. The RT model uses geometrical optics to obtain the ray paths from the source to the aperture, ray tube theory to calculate the field amplitude distribution, and Kirchhoff’s diffraction formula to compute the radiation pattern. Losses in geodesic lenses are mainly produced by the finite conductivity and roughness of the metallic plates. These losses are added to the calculation of the radiation pattern to estimate the radiation efficiency of the antenna. To demonstrate the accuracy of the proposed RT model, a geodesic half-Maxwell fish-eye lens is designed. Radiation patterns, scan losses, and radiation efficiency are calculated. These results agree well with those computed by full-wave simulations.