A Fourier Optics Tool to Derive the Plane Wave Spectrum of Quasi-Optical Systems [EM Programmer's Notebook]

We present a freely accessible graphical user interface (GUI) for analyzing antenna-fed quasi-optical (QO) systems in reception (Rx). This analysis is presented here for four widely used canonical QO components: parabolic reflectors and elliptical, extended hemispherical, and hyperbolic lenses. The employed methods are geometrical optics (GO) and Fourier optics (FO). Specifically, QO components are illuminated by incident plane waves. By using a GO-based propagation code, the scattered fields are evaluated at an equivalent sphere centered on the primary focus of the component. The FO methodology is then used to represent the scattered fields over the focal plane as plane wave spectrum. A field correlation between this spectrum and the antenna feed radiating without the QO component is implemented to evaluate the induced open-circuit voltage on the feed in Rx. By performing a field matching between these two spectral fields, feed designers can optimize the broadside and/or steering aperture efficiencies of QO systems in a fast manner. The tool is packaged into a MATLAB GUI, which reports the efficiency terms, directivity, and gain patterns of antenna-coupled QO systems. The described tool is validated via full-wave simulations with excellent agreement.