Active Multibeam Antennas based on Rotman Lens Arrays

Emerging Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) systems require advanced payload and antenna architectures able to provide a high number of simultaneous beams operating on large frequency bandwidths. Beamforming network (BFN) compatible with a high number of beams and radiating elements represent the key building block for these antenna systems. In this paper, Rotman Lenses are investigated for large scale BFNs. They offer advantages in terms of scalability, true-time delay characteristics. One of the main challenge is the minimization of the overall losses. Numerical results (based on ray tracing and full wave electromagnetic techniques) will be presented and compared with experimental results.