System and method for providing a compact, flat, microwave lens with wide angular field of regard and wideband operation

A system configured to design a lens antenna, comprising:

• a processing device having an input device configured to receive one or more lens antenna design constraints, the one or more lens antenna design constraints requiring, at least in part, a plurality of laminar layers of discrete material types, wherein a refractive index of the plurality of laminar layers increases in non-uniform increments from an outermost layer of the plurality of laminar layers to an innermost layer of the plurality of laminar layers and the one or more lens antenna design constraints received by the processing device constrain a magnitude of a gradient of a refractive index profile, wherein the magnitude of the gradient indicates a rate of change of the refractive index;
• the processing device configured to generate a current candidate lens antenna based on the lens antenna design constraints and prior candidate lens antenna cost vectors;
• the processing device configured to generate a plurality of rays for the current candidate lens antenna based on the one or more lens antenna design constraints;
• the processing device configured to compute a near-field distribution based on the plurality of rays generated for the current candidate lens antenna;
• the processing device configured to compute a far-field distribution based on the near-field distribution;
• the processing device computes a current cost vector based on the far-field distribution and the near-field distribution for the current candidate lens antenna to maximize aperture efficiency;
• the processing device determines if the current cost vector is compliant with the one or more lens antenna design constraints;
• wherein if the current cost vector is not compliant with the one or more lens antenna design constraints, the processing device provides the current cost vector as the prior candidate lens antenna cost vector to determine the current candidate lens antenna until the current cost vector is compliant with the one or more lens antenna design constraints;
• and wherein if the current cost vector is complaint with the one or more lens antenna design constraints, the processing device sets the current candidate lens antenna as the selected lens antenna.

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

• obtaining a plurality of lens antenna design constraints, the plurality of lens antenna design constraints requiring, at least in part, a plurality of laminar layers of discrete material types, wherein a refractive index of the plurality of laminar layers increases in non-uniform increments from an outermost layer of the plurality of laminar layers to an innermost layer of the plurality of laminar layers, and the plurality of lens antenna design constraints that are obtained constrain a magnitude of a gradient of a refractive index profile, wherein the magnitude of the gradient indicates a rate of change of the refractive index;
• processing the set of lens antenna design constraints to generate a current candidate lens antenna based on the lens antenna design constraints and prior candidate lens antenna cost vectors;
• generating a plurality of rays for the current candidate lens antenna based on the one or more lens antenna design constraints;
• computing a near-field distribution based on the plurality of rays generated for the current candidate lens antenna;
• computing a far-field distribution based on the near-field distribution;
• computing a current cost vector based on the far-field distribution and the near-field distribution for the current candidate lens antenna to maximize aperture;
• determining if the current cost vector is compliant with the one or more lens antenna design constraints;
• using the current cost vector as the prior candidate lens antenna cost vector to determine the current candidate lens antenna until the current cost vector is compliant with the one or more lens antenna design constraints if the current cost vector is not compliant with the one or more lens antenna design constraints;
• and setting the current candidate lens antenna as the selected lens antenna if the current cost vector is complaint with the one or more lens antenna design constraints.