Dielectrically Embedded Mesh Lens Design For Cubesat Water Detection

Here we present a preliminary design for a dielectrically embedded mesh lens, with the intended purpose of being deployed on a 6-unit CubeSat to observe the 556GHz water emission line. A CubeSat offers a cost-effective potential solution for observing these emissions, which cannot be observed from the ground, given it has a lens which can offer a significant effective collecting area at that frequency. To this end, we investigate designs for a lens by using transmission line theory to model a flat, lightweight, dielectrically embedded mesh lens which can be fabricated using layers of photolithographically etched material. We demonstrate that, using commercially available material, transmittances of over 95% may be achieved.