Structure design of a conic lens pair for improving the transmission efficiency of a Cassegrain antenna

Appl Opt. 2019 May 1;58(13):3410-3417. doi: 10.1364/AO.58.003410.

Abstract

Central energy loss is a critical factor decreasing the transmission efficiency of a Cassegrain antenna. In this paper, a pair of conic lenses are designed and set in front of a Cassegrain antenna to improve the transmission efficiency of the antenna instead of designing a complicated antenna structure. On the basis of the analysis, the optimized conic lens pair can theoretically improve the transmission efficiency up to 100% at a wavelength of 1550 nm under ideal conditions. After several practical factors are considered, such as the dispersion of the material, the transmissivity and chamfering of the conic lens, and the reflectivity of the mirrors composing the Cassegrain antenna, the conic lens pair can still increase the transmission efficiency of the Cassegrain antenna up to 92.37% at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Compared with designing a complicated antenna, the method proposed here provides a more practical approach to improve the transmission efficiency of a Cassegrain antenna.