Design and analysis of a folded Fresnel Zone Plate antenna

Abstract

Based on the Kirchhoff-Huygens diffraction theory, a simple analytical method of a planar folded Fresnel zone-plate (FZP), that is the case when a planar reflector is placed behind the zone plates, has been developed. According to the numerical calculation results, the design procedure of the FZP antenna has been presented, and its focusing characteristics and gain-optimized conditions have been discussed. The variations of the focal field distribution with the antenna parameters such as zone numbers, focal length and antenna diameter and the radiation power patterns of the FZP have been simulated numerically. To take a good balance of both receiving and transmitting antennas, at 60GHz operating frequency, the focal length should be designed as a half of the antenna diameter and the zone number should be from 10 to 15. The results in this work show that the folded FZP has good focal characteristics and off-axis performance, and its antenna gain can be optimized by the suitable antenna parameter design. The possibility of applying the folded FZP as a low cost and high gain antenna without strict manufacturing requirement for millimeter-wave communications has been shown.