Optical simulation of microwave antennas

It has recently been suggested that microwave antennas may be simulated at optical frequencies using the neon-helium continuous gas laser. The present paper discusses various aspects of this problem and presents a simulation example using as a model the 96-element Australian array used to scan the surface of the sun at 80 megacycles. An optical system can be used for simulation in which an objective lens obtains the Fourier transform of the antenna aperture field which may be photographed. An additional lens produces an image of the antenna aperture field in the same air space as the far field pattern, thus permitting photographs of near field as well as far field patterns. Antenna masters are made as optical transparencies using photographic plates or film. Phasing may be obtained by using a variable thickness optical material evaporated on glass. Various combinations of array distribution, antenna weighting, and phasing are possible to simulate. Atmospheric perturbations are introduced on the antenna pattern by the use of two-dimensional phase delay patterns. Photographs are presented of the antenna aperture field, the far field pattern and several intermediate near field patterns.