Flattened structural Luneburg lens for broadband beamforming

Abstract

A conventional structural Luneburg lens is a symmetric circular gradient-index lens with refractive indices decreasing from the centre along the radial direction. In this paper, a flattened structural Luneburg lens (FSLL) based on structural thickness variations is designed by using the quasi-conformal transformation technique. Through numerical simulations and experimental studies, the FSLL is demonstrated to have excellent beam steering performance for the manipulation of flexural wave propagation at desired angles.