Axial Displaced Ellipse Reflector Antenna with Adjustable Beamwidth

for E-band Wireless Link

Hang Jiang1, Yuan Yao1, Xiaohe Cheng1, Tao Xiu1, Junsheng Yu1, Xiaodong Chen2
1
School of Electronic Engineering., Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
2
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science Queen Mary., University of London, London, UK
Email: jianghang@bupt.edu.cn
2020 Cross Strait Radio Science & Wireless Technology Conference (CSRSWTC) | 978-1-7281-8181-3/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/CSRSWTC50769.2020.9372626

Abstract—This paper presents the design of an E-band high-
gain Axial Displaced Ellipse (ADE) reflector antenna. The com-
pact antenna has the ability to adjust the beamwidth. Simulated
results show that by moving the sub reflector away from the feed,
half-power beamwidth (HPBW) can be expanded at least 5 times
from 71GHz to 86GHz. When the beamwidth is the narrowest,
on-axis directivity of 46.1±0.8dBi between 71-86GHz is obtained.
Index Terms—axial displaced ellipse; reflector antenna; ad-
justable beamwidth
I. INTRODUCTION
With the development of airborne platform, high-resolution
images and other sensor data need to be transmitted to the
fixed ground station. However, through the channel data rates
of the conventional frequency band, it is no longer able to
meet the wireless transmission rates of more than 10Gbps. The
E-band (71-76/81-86GHz) permitted worldwide can provide
2×5GHz available band-width for ultra-high capacity commu-
nications [1]. Besides, E-band is in the atmospheric window,
and its atmospheric loss is only 0.4dB/km. E-band is very
suitable for establishing high-speed air-to-ground and air-to-
air wireless links [2].
The beamwidth of high-gain reflector antenna is very nar-
row, and the platform may operate at different altitudes, it will
cause the wireless link interruption. When the platform is op-
erating at a higher altitude, its beam can easily cover the range
of the ground station, but when the platform is at a lower alti-
tude, the signal coverage becomes smaller, making it difficult
for the ground station to capture the signal. In order to have a
higher dynamic range of wireless transmission distance, it is
necessary for the reflector antenna to have the ability to adjust
the beamwidth. The antenna with adjustable beamwidth can
make the wireless transmission link more stable and reliable
[3].
In [4], a zoom antenna contains a parabolic main reflector
and a spherical sub reflector fed by a circular waveguide. The
HPBW can be broadened by about 6.8 times. In [5], paramet-
ric studies and a verification of the concept have been per-
formed for a variable beamwidth Cassegrain dual reflector
antenna. The measured beamwidth can be increased without
beam bifurcation by more than 250%.
In this letter, an E-band high-gain Axial Displaced Ellipse
(ADE) reflector antenna with adjustable beamwidth is de-
signed. Simulated results show that HPBW can be expanded
from 0.88° to 4.4° at 71GHz, from 0.86° to 5.6° at 86GHz.
When the beamwidth is the narrowest, on-axis directivity is
higher than 45.3dBi from 71GHz to 86GHz.
II. ANTENNA DESIGN
A. ADE configuration
Fig.1. shows the configuration of ADE reflector. The main
reflector is generated by a parabola rotating around the sym-
metry axis of the antenna. The sub reflector is generated by an
elliptic curve. It has been found that the ADE provides an ex-
cellent choice for compact high-gain spacecraft antenna appli-
cations [6]. Due to the converse of the feed energy redistribu-
tion in the aperture plane, the maximum aperture efficiency of
the ADE reflector antenna is higher than that of the traditional
Cassegrain antenna. In addition to high aperture efficiency,
ADE reflector antennas also perform better than reflector an-
tennas of other configurations in terms of low sidelobes, cross-
polarization and return loss, because there are no three block-
age mechanisms in ADE reflector antennas: sub reflector, feed,
and self blockages [7].
Table I. shows the parameters of the ADE reflector. The di-
ameter of the main reflector Dm is set to 300mm. A small di-
ameter of the sub reflector will cause a large diffraction effect,
so we choose a moderate Ds/Dm=0.1, namely Ds=30mm. A
smaller F/Dm will lead a deeper main reflector, and a larger
F/Dm will cause the sub reflector to be farther from the main
surface, which is not conducive to assembly [8]. F/Dm is set
to 0.3. The half angle subtended by sub reflector at feed θ is
set to 30°. The model of the ADE reflector antenna can be
determined.
TABLE I. PARAMETERS OF THE ADE REFLECTOR.
Parameter Dm Ds F/Dm θ
Value 300 30 0.3 30

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 III. SIMULATED RESULTS
High energy
The TICRA GRASP and CHAMP are used to simulate the
Low energy
ADE adjustable beamwidth reflector antenna. Fig.4. shows the
Ds focused and defocused radiation pattern at 71GHz and 86GHz
Sub reflector
respectively. The defocusing effect is produced by axially
F1
F2
Main reflector
moving the sub reflector away from the feed and main reflec-
Feed
tor. Fig.5. shows the change in beamwidth and the gain loss. It
can be seen after about two wavelength displacement, HPBW
can be expanded from 0.88° to 4.4° at 71GHz, from 0.86° to
Dm 5.6° at 86GHz. The maximum loss of on-axis directivity due
to the beamwidth expansion is about 16dB. By controlling the
displacement, the beam expansion is maximized before the
Fig. 1. The configuration of ADE reflector.
beam bifurcation.
B. Adjustable beamwidth antenna
A reflector antenna has a variable beamwidth in the far field
by changing the focus distance, which is called zoom antenna
[4]. During the zoom process, axially moving the main
reflector, sub reflector or the feed may expand the beamwidth.
We choose to expand the beamwidth by axially moving the
sub reflector. The defocusing effect of sub reflector in the
ADE configuration can be represented by a ray diagram, as
shown in Fig.2.
Fig.3. shows the mechanical schematic diagram of ADE
reflector antenna with adjustable beamwidth. The main
reflector and feed are fixed. The movable sleeve driving the
struts allows an axial movement of the sub reflector.

Fig. 4. Focused and defocused radiation pattern.

Fig. 2. Ray diagram of defocusing effect.

Fig. 5. Changes in beamwidth and gain loss.

Movable sleeve
Fig.6. and Fig.7. show the simulated S(1,1) and on-axis di-
rectivity of the ADE reflector when the beamwidth is the nar-
Fig. 3. Mechanical schematic diagram of ADE reflector antenna with rowest. It can be seen that the simulated impedance bandwidth
adjustable beamwidth. with S(1,1) < -29dB from 71GHz to 86GHz is achieved. On-
axis directivity of 46.1±0.8dBi between 71-86GHz is obtained.

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The high-gain antenna can overcome the path loss caused by IV. CONCLUSION
the long distance of air-to-ground wireless link.
An E-band high-gain ADE reflector antenna with adjustable
beamwidth is proposed in this paper. The compact structure
with adjustable beamwidth is very suitable for air-to-ground
wireless link. Simulated results show high-gain reflector an-
tenna possesses the ability of adjusting beamwidth.

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