On Switch Network Topologies for mm-Wave Beam-Switching Antenna

This work studies the effect of various switching topologies on the performance of switchable-beam Luneburg lens antenna with 16 possible beams. As the mm-Wave switching elements are costly and often exhibit significant insertion losses, this study seeks to optimize the switching network topology to minimize the total number of switches and total insertion loss, without significantly compromising on other design's parameters. Three different switching topologies are studied, with the newly proposed “hybrid” approach offering reduced cost and insertion loss, while preserving large bandwidth. While the study is conducted on a 16-beam antenna, the results offer scalability to antennas with larger number of beams.