| Abstract: | In electromagnetics and communications, beamforming is one of the important concepts capable of enabling high-data-rate wireless trafficking of a large number of users/sensor devices simultaneously. It greatly increases capacity for wireless sensing of multiple objects and features, including aircraft, weather events, atmospheric particulates, and pollutants. Beamforming is a technique that directs and shapes the beam in specified directions, rather than having the signals spread in all directions. Beamforming controls the directionality and improves signal to noise ratio of the transmission and reception of the desired signals. Adaptive beamforming networks are currently used which use a digital beamforming approach. This approach is not feasible at mm-wave frequencies because it requires extensive processing power and substantial post-processing. A quasi-optical approach will be an effective way to reduce the size, cost and improve the efficiency of the beamforming process. To make this approach realizable, a lens-type structure is being studied and analyzed using partially reflective surfaces using metamaterial structures. This approach enhances the gain of the radiating source, resulting in a highly directive pencil beam, and will reduce the overall size of the composite structure and give enough degrees of freedom to electronically tune its properties. |