Electrically steered dielectric beamformer

Abstract

The proposed dielectric beamformer may be used to provide beam-forming of a transmitted radio-frequency (RF) signal. The dielectric beamformer includes a dielectric lens that provides a means of quickly steering a peak beam of the RF signal in a specific direction, allowing tracking of a distant signal, or multiple distant signals. Moreover, the beam of the RF signal can be steered to place a null in a chose direction to reduce interference. The dielectric beamformer includes a dielectric lens, which includes a first layer including a plurality of photo-voltaic (P-V) cells and a second layer including a plurality of piezoelectric cells, and one or more light sources arranged to emit light beams towards the P-V cells of the first layer. The piezoelectric cells are electrically connected to the P-V cells to receive the electricity produced in the P-V cells.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.