BAE collaboration attracts attention

Posted on April 29, 2014

The collaboration between QMUL and BAE Systems investigating the use of spatial transformations to create lenses has generated something of a buzz online over the last week or so. In particular, comparisons have been made between this work and Kymeta's satellite antennas: "the BAE Systems design is quite different from the Kymeta antenna. BAE Systems claims wide bandwidth for its design, while the Kymeta antennas offer electronically steering the antenna with reduced bandwidth."

In a press release, BAE described the general research involved and highlighted the potential to create a lens that has a physical shape matching the aerodynamic requirements of a wing's leading edge, whilst retaining the electromagetic properties associated with a curved lens of a different shape.

As mentioned above, the operating bandwidth of the lenses created with the nano-composite dielectric materials is relatively broad, whereas metamaterial-based designs are generally narrow band.

BAE_lens_2.png

Image credits: above - BAE Systems; UAV (header) - Kyle Maxey/Engineering.com