Lensed antennas for use in cellular and other communications systems
Phased array antennas include a plurality of radiating elements and a plurality of RF lenses that are generally aligned along a first vertical axis. Each radiating element is associated with a respective one of the RF lenses, and each radiating element is tilted with respect to the first vertical axis.
1. A phased array antenna, comprising:
a first vertical column of radiating elements;
a second vertical column of radiating elements;
a first vertical column of radio frequency (“RF”) lenses, each RF lens in the first vertical column of RF lenses associated with a respective one of the radiating elements in the first vertical column of radiating elements; and
a second vertical column of RF lenses, each RF lens in the second vertical column of RF lenses associated with a respective one of the radiating elements in the second vertical column of radiating elements;
wherein each radiating element in the first and second vertical columns of radiating elements is mechanically angled downward from a horizontal orientation.
2. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , wherein each RF lens is a spherical RF lens.
3. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , wherein each RF lens is an elliptical RF lens.
4. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , further comprising a corporate feed network that is configured to feed RF signals to the first and second vertical columns of radiating elements.
5. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , further comprising a beamforming network that is configured to feed a pair RF signals to the first and second vertical columns of radiating elements.
6. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , wherein each radiating element in the first and second vertical columns of radiating elements is positioned so that a center of a radiation pattern that is emitted by the radiating element when excited is directed at a center point of its associated RF lens.
7. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , wherein each radiating element is mechanically angled downward between 2 and 10 degrees from the horizontal orientation.
8. The phased array antenna of claim 1 , wherein each radiating element in the first and second vertical columns of radiating elements is positioned at the same distance from its associated RF lens.