Reconfigurable multi-modal stacked luneberg lens antenna and method of manufacturing the same

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of lens antennas, and discloses a reconfigurable multi-form stacked dragon's eye lens antenna and a manufacturing method thereof. The antenna is formed by embedding and fixing a plurality of layers of cylindrical plates. The plurality of layers of cylindrical plates can be disassembled and freely embedded and fixedly installed between different layers of cylindrical plates. The antenna comprises a top layer, an intermediate layer and a connecting layer. The cylindrical plate of the top layer is provided with embedded holes for fixation. The front surface of the cylindrical plate of the intermediate layer is provided with a cylindrical embedding body, and the back surface is provided with embedded holes. The cylindrical plate of the connecting layer is provided with cylindrical embedding bodies on both surfaces. The embedding and fixation of the cylindrical plates are completed through a plurality of embedded holes and corresponding cylindrical embedding bodies. The dragon's eye lens antenna is not limited to a fixed scene and can be used as a whole sphere, a single double hemisphere and a back-to-back double hemisphere. The antenna is efficiently applicable to scenes such as schools, venues, high-speed rails, tunnels and base stations. The characteristics are particularly important for modern wireless communication systems.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lens antenna technology, and more specifically, to a reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna and its manufacturing method. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of wireless communication technology, antennas, as key components for transmitting and receiving signals, play a decisive role in the performance of wireless communication systems. In antenna research, the desire to form beams with specific emission angles or shapes and maximize antenna gain in practical communication needs makes beamforming and gain enhancement two major research hotspots. To meet these two requirements, researchers have designed various types of antennas, including phased array antennas, reflector antennas, and lens antennas. Lens antennas, compared to phased array antennas, offer significantly lower costs while effectively improving gain and beamforming, making them promising for widespread applications. Luneburg lenses, ideal lenses with dielectric constants varying from 2 to 1 from the inside out, are particularly advantageous due to their aberration-free operation and wide scanning angle. However, materials with such a gradual change in dielectric constant do not exist in nature; therefore, achieving an equivalent dielectric constant for Luneburg lenses is a major challenge in their research.

[0003] Patent CN118763427B designs a multilayer Luneburg lens antenna with a gradually varying number of interlayer elements. This is achieved by decreasing the aperture of the lattice holes along the direction close to the lens body's center / axis to realize the continuous dielectric distribution required for a Luneburg lens. Patent CN116001176A designs a Luneburg lens based on a foamed structure. By controlling the temperature gradient within the foamed sphere, the density distribution of the sphere after foaming is controlled, resulting in a foamed Luneburg lens with a continuously varying relative permittivity. However, Luneburg lenses manufactured in this way are heavy, cannot be disassembled, have high manufacturing costs, are difficult to transport, and can only be used as whole spheres or hemispheres, limiting their application scenarios. There is still significant room for improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention proposes a reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna and its manufacturing method. It adopts an easy-to-manufacture layered structure and innovatively sets a cylindrical protrusion structure between each layer in the middle layer and a matching cylindrical slot in another layer to complete the layered Luneburg lens layered inlay function. Thus, the manufactured Luneburg lens can be disassembled into multiple cylindrical layers with embedding holes and embedded cylindrical inserts, which can be assembled through the layered inlay structure.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this invention proposes a reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna, characterized in that it is composed of several layers of cylindrical plates embedded and fixed together, wherein the several layers of cylindrical plates are detachable and different layers of cylindrical plates can be freely embedded and fixedly installed; the Luneburg lens antenna includes a top layer, an intermediate layer and a connecting layer;

[0006] The top cylindrical plate has an embedding hole for fixing; the middle cylindrical plate has a cylindrical insert on the front and an embedding hole on the back; the connecting cylindrical plate has cylindrical inserts on both sides.

[0007] The cylindrical plate is inlaid and fixed by a number of embedding holes and corresponding cylindrical inserts.

[0008] Furthermore, the Luneburg lens antenna is constructed by longitudinally and parallelly layering a spherical Luneburg lens to obtain a multi-layer cylindrical plate structure. The dielectric constant of the Luneburg lens is equivalent to that of the Luneburg lens by perforating each layer of cylindrical plate.

[0009] Furthermore, the total number of layers n of the cylindrical plate is odd and n≥7.

[0010] Furthermore, the Luneburg lens antenna also includes a double-hemispherical back-to-back reflector, which replaces the connecting layer cylindrical plate to form a back-to-back double-hemispherical Luneburg lens, and the antenna beam is adjusted by means of beam path loss.

[0011] Furthermore, when used as a hemispherical or double-hemispherical Luneburg lens, the antenna radiation effect can be controlled by controlling the reflector insertion layer;

[0012] When the gain of the antenna beam at a higher operating frequency band is too high through the Luneburg lens, resulting in the beam coverage angle not meeting the requirements, the number of lens layers and antenna gain are reduced by adjusting the insertion of the hemispherical reflector into the non-intermediate layer, thereby increasing the beam width and meeting the beam coverage requirements.

[0013] Furthermore, the Luneburg lens antenna also includes a single hemispherical reflector, which is combined with an intermediate cylindrical plate to form a single hemispherical Luneburg lens.

[0014] Furthermore, the Luneburg lens antenna is fitted and installed with cylindrical plates of different layers through a single hemispherical reflector or a double hemispherical back-to-back reflector to achieve lens non-idealization in order to adjust the beam.

[0015] Furthermore, the Luneburg lens antenna uses six cross dipole antennas with operating frequencies of 1427-2690 GHz as feed sources, with each dipole antenna spaced 20° apart, and the six dipole antennas complete a 120° beam coverage.

[0016] Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing the aforementioned Luneburg lens antenna, comprising:

[0017] Each layer of cylinders with cylindrical protrusions for nesting structures is manufactured by 3D printing. The printed cylinders are then drilled with non-through-hole cylindrical holes according to the simulation model to complete the manufacturing process.

[0018] Alternatively, CNC machining can be used to drill cylindrical through holes in the constant dielectric sphere to create a fixed dielectric plate with cylindrical protrusions on both sides for nesting and fixing. The drilled sphere is then cut into layers, with each layer having a dielectric layer equivalent to the thickness of the fixed dielectric plate. The fixed dielectric plate with the cylindrical protrusions for nesting and fixing replaces the original dielectric layer, and the cylindrical protrusions are aligned with the corresponding through holes and inserted to complete the installation and manufacturing process.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0020] The Luneburg lens of the present invention has a layered mosaic structure, with the structural unit being a single cylindrical layer. By designing the equivalent dielectric constant through perforation of each cylindrical layer and designing only cylindrical dielectric protrusions or embedded holes for assembly on each layer, each layer can be assembled through the mosaic of cylindrical dielectrics and embedded holes, thus completing the reconfigurable Luneburg lens.

[0021] The Luneburg lens of the present invention is based on layered cylindrical unit cells, so its processing is more convenient than that of traditional spherical and hemispherical Luneburg lenses that require integrated processing, as only different cylindrical layers need to be processed.

[0022] Due to its reconfigurable characteristics, the Luneburg lens of this invention can be divided into a spherical Luneburg lens with back-to-back bidirectional beam coverage (hemispherical Luneburg lens) or two separate hemispherical Luneburg lenses by inserting a specially designed metal plate. In scenarios requiring high performance and a wide scanning angle, a single spherical Luneburg lens can be used. In stadiums, schools, and other similar settings, the spherical Luneburg lens can be split into two hemispherical Luneburg lenses for individual use to maximize efficiency. In high-speed rail and tunnel applications, a reflector can be inserted in the middle of the Luneburg lens to transform it into a back-to-back dual hemispherical Luneburg lens, enabling bidirectional 240° beam scanning.

[0023] Compared to traditional Luneburg lens antennas, the reconfigurable Luneburg lens of this invention can not only adapt to different working scenarios in multiple forms, but also control the focusing effect of the lens by controlling the reflector insertion layer, thereby controlling the antenna radiation effect. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. In the drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a front view of the Luneburg lens antenna proposed in this invention;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a top view of the Luneburg lens antenna proposed in this invention;

[0027] Figure 3 This is a diagram of the layered structure of the Luneburg lens antenna proposed in this invention;

[0028] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the intermediate cylindrical plate in an embodiment of the present invention; reference numerals: 1-first top cylindrical plate, 2-first intermediate cylindrical plate, 3-second intermediate cylindrical plate, 4-connecting cylindrical plate, 5-third intermediate cylindrical plate, 6-fourth intermediate cylindrical plate, 7-second top cylindrical plate, 8-double hemisphere back-to-back reflector, 9-single hemisphere reflector.

[0029] Figure 5 The beam diagrams of different assembly structures in this embodiment of the invention are shown at 2700MHz when the feed source is a cross dipole antenna.

[0030] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the Luneburg lens antenna proposed in this invention in a whole-sphere application scenario;

[0031] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a back-to-back dual-hemispherical Luneburg lens with bidirectional beam coverage of 240° in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0032] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to enable a more thorough understanding of the present disclosure and to fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described herein can be combined with each other. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0033] This embodiment proposes an innovative reconfigurable and easily disassembled Luneburg lens antenna based on a layered mosaic structure. The lens can be fixed by embedding n layers of mosaic cylindrical plates (n≥7 and odd). The number n is designed to be odd; otherwise, the spherical lens cannot be divided into two complete hemispherical lenses. The equivalent dielectric constant is applied to the cylindrical holes (non-through holes) drilled into each mosaic cylindrical plate. Except for the first and last layers which only have embedding holes for assembly, and the intermediate fixing layers which only have cylindrical protrusions for the mosaic structure, all other intermediate layers simultaneously have both cylindrical protrusions and embedding holes for the mosaic structure. The final Luneburg lens can be installed simply by aligning and pressing the protrusions of the upper plate with the embedding holes of the lower plate. Unlike traditional spherical Luneburg lenses, this Luneburg lens antenna is not limited to fixed scenarios. The antenna uses mosaic stacked units, which can be used not only as a whole sphere but also disassembled into individual hemispherical lenses or back-to-back hemispherical lenses, making it reusable in a wider range of scenarios. Furthermore, compared to traditional Luneburg lens antennas, the reconfigurable Luneburg lens of this invention allows reflectors to be inserted between any layers. If the beam scanning angle is insufficient, the reflector position can be adjusted left or right to move it away from the center position, thereby changing the lens focusing effect and increasing the beam coverage angle. This provides a high-performance solution for modern wireless communication systems.

[0034] Figures 1-2 The front and top views of the overall structure of the invented reconfigurable Luneburg lens when used as a whole sphere are shown.

[0035] The reconfigurable Luneburg lens system proposed in this embodiment consists of a 7-layer cylindrical structure, a single hemispherical reflector, and a double hemispherical back-to-back reflector. Its layered structure is as follows: Figure 3 As shown, the lens is symmetrical. The first top cylindrical plate 1 and the second top cylindrical plate 7, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2 and the fourth intermediate cylindrical plate 6, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3 and the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5 are identical. The first top cylindrical plate 1 and the second top cylindrical plate 7 are called the top layer. Apart from the hole for the equivalent dielectric constant, they only have embedding holes for fixing, but no cylindrical inserts for fixing. The first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5, and the fourth intermediate cylindrical plate 6 are the intermediate layers. Apart from the hole for the equivalent dielectric constant, they have both embedding holes for fixing and cylindrical protrusions for fixing. The connecting layer cylindrical plate 4 is the connecting layer. Both sides have cylindrical embedding holes for embedding into the embedding holes of the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3 and the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5 to fix the left and right hemispheres. The system can be assembled using the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, the connecting cylindrical plate 4, the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5, the fourth intermediate cylindrical plate 6, and the second top cylindrical plate 7. Figure 1The Luneburg lens shown is a single-sphere design. The double-hemispherical back-to-back reflector 8 is a reflector used in the back-to-back double-hemispherical structure. The middle part is a thin metal reflector, while the top and bottom surfaces are dielectric layers with the same structure as the connecting cylindrical plate 4. These layers are used to embed into the embedding holes of the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3 and the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5 to fix the left and right hemispheres. When the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, the double-hemispherical back-to-back reflector 8, the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5, the fourth intermediate cylindrical plate 6, and the second top cylindrical plate 7 are assembled, a back-to-back double-hemispherical Luneburg lens can be formed. The single-hemispherical reflector 9 is used for the single-hemispherical structure. The lower layer is a thin metal reflector, and the upper layer is a dielectric layer with the same structure as the connecting cylindrical plate 4. It is used to embed into the embedding holes of the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3 or the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5 to fix the hemisphere. A single-hemispherical Luneburg lens can be assembled using the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, and the single-hemispherical reflector 9, or the single-hemispherical reflector 9, the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5, the fourth intermediate cylindrical plate 6, and the second top cylindrical plate 7. It should be noted that the embedding hole and the equivalent dielectric constant are unrelated, as the embedding hole will be completely filled by the corresponding cylindrical insert.

[0036] Figure 4 This is a detailed structural diagram of the third intermediate cylindrical plate 5. The side view clearly shows the protrusion of the cylindrical inserts on the front. The front view circles one ring of cylindrical inserts. Apart from the cylindrical inserts, the remaining through holes are cylindrical perforations used for the equivalent dielectric constant. A ring of insert holes is also marked on the back, their positions completely consistent with the cylindrical insert positions. Furthermore, the positions of the cylindrical inserts and cylindrical insert holes in each layer are identical, facilitating assembly between different layers.

[0037] Furthermore, the reconfigurable Luneburg lens proposed in this embodiment is detachable for each layer and can be embedded together between different layers. For example, the connecting layer cylindrical plate 4 can be assembled not only with the third intermediate layer cylindrical plate 5, but also with the fourth intermediate layer cylindrical plate 6, thus skipping the third intermediate layer cylindrical plate 5. Therefore, when the invented reconfigurable Luneburg lens antenna is used as a single hemisphere or a back-to-back dual hemisphere, the beam can be adjusted by interlocking the reflector layers of the 8-dual hemisphere back-to-back reflector and the 9-single hemisphere structure reflector with different layers. For example, if the Luneburg lens operates at a higher frequency, causing the gain to exceed the required gain and the beamwidth to be too narrow, affecting beam scanning, the original hemisphere Luneburg lens assembled with the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, the dual hemisphere back-to-back reflector 8 or the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, and the single hemisphere structure reflector 9 can be replaced with the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the dual hemisphere back-to-back reflector 8 or the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, and the single hemisphere structure reflector 9. By de-idealizing the Luneburg lens, the focusing ability of the Luneburg lens is reduced, resulting in a decrease in gain and a narrower beamwidth, adapting to higher frequency bands and different antenna application scenarios. Figure 5 The beamforms of the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, the second intermediate cylindrical plate 3, and the double hemisphere back-to-back reflector 8, with different configurations, are shown at 2700MHz when the feed source is a cross dipole antenna. It can be seen that when the hemispheres of the first top cylindrical plate 1, the first intermediate cylindrical plate 2, and the double hemisphere back-to-back reflector 8 are reduced, the beamwidth increases and the gain decreases, resulting in a wider beam coverage angle.

[0038] Figure 6 The invention is illustrated in a schematic diagram of the reconfigurable Luneburg lens antenna in a spherical application scenario. It uses six cross dipole antennas as feed sources, with an operating frequency of 1427-2690GHz. Each dipole antenna is spaced 20° apart, and the six dipole antennas complete a 120° beam coverage, demonstrating good radiation performance.

[0039] Figure 7 A back-to-back dual-hemispherical solution with 240° bidirectional beam coverage was demonstrated. This solution utilizes a reconfigurable structure to split the monolithic Luneburg lens into two back-to-back hemispherical Luneburg lenses, with a reflector containing a dielectric structure inserted between them to complete the installation. This back-to-back dual-hemispherical solution has broad application prospects in scenarios such as subways and tunnels.

[0040] The reconfigurable Luneburg lens antenna manufacturing scheme proposed in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, the following two:

[0041] 1. The process involves 3D printing each layer of cylinders with cylindrical protrusions for nested structures, and then drilling non-through-hole cylindrical holes in the printed cylinders according to the simulation model to complete the manufacturing process.

[0042] 2. Using CNC machining, cylindrical through holes are drilled into the constant dielectric sphere to create a fixing dielectric plate with cylindrical protrusions on both sides for nesting and fixation. The drilled sphere is then cut into layers, with each layer having a dielectric layer equivalent to the thickness of the fixing dielectric plate. The fixing dielectric plate with the cylindrical protrusions for nesting and fixation replaces the original dielectric layer, and the cylindrical protrusions are aligned with the corresponding through holes and inserted to complete the installation.

[0043] Both of the above schemes use six cross-dipole antennas operating at frequencies of 1427-2690 GHz as feed sources, with each dipole antenna spaced 20° apart, achieving 120° beam coverage. By inserting a specially designed metal plate, the spherical Luneburg lens can be divided into a back-to-back, bidirectional beam coverage hemispherical Luneburg lens. The specially designed metal plate has a middle layer with a radius slightly larger than that of the Luneburg lens. The upper and lower layers of the metal plate are dielectric layers; the upper dielectric layer is designed with cylindrical dielectric protrusions similar to those of the lens, while the lower dielectric layer has a dielectric embedding hole structure similar to those of the lens. This allows the specially designed metal plate to be embedded between any layer of the designed Luneburg lens. This structure allows the reconfigurable spherical Luneburg lens to be used as a single hemispherical or a back-to-back hemispherical lens, making it highly suitable for applications such as schools, stadiums, high-speed rail, tunnels, and base stations.

[0044] Furthermore, by inserting a reflector into the non-intermediate layer, antenna beam adjustment can be achieved using beam path loss. For example, if the antenna beam gain is too high at higher operating frequencies due to the Luneburg lens, resulting in insufficient beam coverage angle, the reflector position can be adjusted to degrade the lens focusing effect, thereby reducing the antenna gain and increasing the beamwidth to meet the beam coverage requirements. Compared to traditional Luneburg lens antennas, this reconfigurable Luneburg lens antenna design not only reduces manufacturing difficulty and transportation costs but also facilitates multi-scenario reuse, giving the Luneburg lens antenna of this invention significant advantages in commercial applications.

[0045] This invention addresses the shortcomings of existing technologies by designing a reconfigurable Luneburg lens. Compared to existing technologies, the Luneburg lens designed in this invention can be easily disassembled into a planar structure and reassembled into various Luneburg lens configurations, such as a monospherical Luneburg lens and a back-to-back dual-hemispherical Luneburg lens. This capability is achieved through innovative lens structure and design methods. This antenna not only features a reconfigurable structural innovation but also ensures high performance at key frequencies through precise electromagnetic simulation and optimization, meeting the demands of modern wireless communication systems for high-gain, beamforming antennas. Through this design, the antenna of this invention exhibits significant advantages in ease of manufacturing and cost reduction, multi-scenario reuse, and ease of reconfiguration, providing an excellent solution for modern high-gain, beamforming antennas.

[0046] This embodiment proposes a reconfigurable and easily disassembled Luneburg lens antenna based on a layered inlay structure. It adopts an easy-to-manufacture layered structure and innovatively sets a cylindrical protrusion structure between each layer in the middle layer and a matching cylindrical slot in another layer to complete the layered inlay function of the Luneburg lens. Thus, the manufactured Luneburg lens can be disassembled into multiple cylindrical layers with embedding holes and embedded cylindrical inserts, which can be assembled through the layered inlay structure.

[0047] The Luneburg lens proposed in this embodiment achieves a multi-layered plate structure by longitudinally parallel layering a spherical Luneburg lens. The gradient dielectric constant of the Luneburg lens is represented by perforations in each layer. Except for the first and last layers, which only have embedding holes for assembly, all other layers simultaneously feature cylindrical inserts and embedding holes for the inlay structure. The final Luneburg lens can be installed simply by aligning and pressing the protrusions of the upper layer with the embedding holes of the lower layer to complete the inlay structure.

[0048] The Luneburg lens antenna proposed in this embodiment, due to its detachable structure, transforms the Luneburg lens, which originally required whole-sphere manufacturing, into a layered manufacturing process, significantly reducing manufacturing difficulty and making transportation and use more convenient. Furthermore, due to its reconfigurable nature, the Luneburg lens of this invention can not only be used as a single spherical Luneburg lens, but also, by splitting the Luneburg lens in the middle and inserting a specially designed metal plate, can be divided into a hemispherical Luneburg lens with back-to-back bidirectional beam coverage. The middle layer of the specially designed metal plate has a radius slightly larger than that of the Luneburg lens. The upper and lower layers of the metal plate are dielectric layers. The upper dielectric layer is designed with cylindrical dielectric protrusions similar to those of the lens, and the lower dielectric layer is designed with a dielectric embedding hole structure similar to those of the lens, allowing the specially designed metal plate to be embedded between any layer of the designed Luneburg lens.

[0049] Furthermore, the reconfigurable Luneburg lens proposed in this embodiment can also adjust the antenna beam using beam path loss by inserting a reflector in the non-intermediate layer. For example, if the antenna beam at a higher operating frequency band has excessive gain through the Luneburg lens, resulting in insufficient beam coverage angle, the reflector position can be adjusted to degrade the lens focusing effect, thereby reducing the lens antenna gain and increasing the beamwidth to meet the beam coverage requirements. Compared to traditional Luneburg lens antennas, this reconfigurable Luneburg lens antenna design not only reduces manufacturing difficulty and transportation costs but also facilitates the multi-scenario reuse of Luneburg lens antennas, giving the Luneburg lens antenna of this invention significant advantages in commercial applications.

[0050] The reconfigurable Luneburg lens proposed in this embodiment is easy to manufacture and transport, and also more convenient to install, demonstrating strong practical application capabilities. Furthermore, unlike traditional spherical Luneburg lenses, this Luneburg lens antenna is not limited to fixed scenarios. Because it can be used as a spherical, individual dual-hemispherical, or back-to-back dual-hemispherical antenna, it is highly suitable for scenarios such as schools, stadiums, high-speed rail, tunnels, and base stations. This multi-scenario reusability is particularly important for modern wireless communication systems, as it allows the system to operate effectively over a wider range, expanding the applicable scenarios for Luneburg lens antennas.

[0051] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can still be made to the specific implementation of the present invention. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna, characterized in that, It is composed of several layers of cylindrical plates that are inlaid and fixed together. The layers of cylindrical plates are detachable and can be freely embedded and fixedly installed between different layers of cylindrical plates. The Luneburg lens antenna includes a top layer, a middle layer and a connecting layer. The top cylindrical plate has an embedding hole for fixing; the middle cylindrical plate has a cylindrical insert on the front and an embedding hole on the back; the connecting cylindrical plate has cylindrical inserts on both sides. The cylindrical plate is inlaid and fixed by a number of embedding holes and corresponding cylindrical inserts; The multi-morph stacked Luneburg lens antenna includes a whole-sphere Luneburg lens, a back-to-back double-hemispherical Luneburg lens, and a single-hemispherical Luneburg lens. The whole-sphere Luneburg lens is assembled from a first top cylindrical plate (1), a first intermediate cylindrical plate (2), a second intermediate cylindrical plate (3), a connecting cylindrical plate (4), a third intermediate cylindrical plate (5), a fourth intermediate cylindrical plate (6), and a second top cylindrical plate (7). The back-to-back double hemisphere Luneburg lens is assembled from a first top cylindrical plate (1), a first intermediate cylindrical plate (2), a second intermediate cylindrical plate (3), a double hemisphere back-to-back reflector (8), a third intermediate cylindrical plate (5), a fourth intermediate cylindrical plate (6), and a second top cylindrical plate (7). The single-hemispherical Luneburg lens is assembled from a first top cylindrical plate (1), a first intermediate cylindrical plate (2), a second intermediate cylindrical plate (3), a single-hemispherical reflector plate (9) or a single-hemispherical reflector plate (9), a third intermediate cylindrical plate (5), a fourth intermediate cylindrical plate (6), and a second top cylindrical plate (7).

2. The reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Luneburg lens antenna is constructed by longitudinally and parallelly layering a spherical Luneburg lens to obtain a multi-layer cylindrical plate structure. The dielectric constant of the Luneburg lens is equivalent to that of the Luneburg lens by perforating each layer of cylindrical plate.

3. The reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, When used as a hemispherical or double-hemispherical Luneburg lens, the antenna radiation effect can be controlled by controlling the reflector insertion layer. When the gain of the antenna beam at a higher operating frequency band is too high through the Luneburg lens, resulting in the beam coverage angle not meeting the requirements, the number of layers constituting the lens and the antenna gain are reduced by adjusting the insertion of the reflector into a non-intermediate layer, thereby increasing the beam width and meeting the beam coverage requirements.

4. The reconfigurable multi-morphological stacked Luneburg lens antenna according to claim 1, characterized in that, The Luneburg lens antenna uses six cross dipole antennas with operating frequencies of 1427-2690 GHz as feed sources. Each dipole antenna is spaced 20° apart, and the six dipole antennas complete a 120° beam coverage.

5. A method for manufacturing a Luneburg lens antenna according to any one of claims 1-4, comprising: Each layer of cylinders with cylindrical protrusions for nesting structures is manufactured by 3D printing. The printed cylinders are then drilled with non-through-hole cylindrical holes according to the simulation model to complete the manufacturing process. Alternatively, CNC machining can be used to drill cylindrical through holes in the constant dielectric sphere to create a fixed dielectric plate with cylindrical protrusions on both sides for nesting and fixing. The drilled sphere is then cut into layers, with each layer having a dielectric layer equivalent to the thickness of the fixed dielectric plate. The fixed dielectric plate with the cylindrical protrusions for nesting and fixing replaces the original dielectric layer, and the cylindrical protrusions are aligned with the corresponding through holes and inserted to complete the installation and manufacturing process.

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