Communications: radio wave antennas – Antennas – With spaced or external radio wave refractor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-17
2002-07-16
Wong, Don (Department: 2821)
Communications: radio wave antennas
Antennas
With spaced or external radio wave refractor
C343S770000, C343S772000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06421021
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to active array antennas, and more particularly to a lens antenna fed by a wide band continuous transverse stub (CTS) aperture, providing reduced antenna depth.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a typical active array antenna, there are many, and even for some applications, thousands, of hard RF connections between the T/R modules and the RF feed network. Examples of these hard connections include cable interconnects, precision “blind mate” connectors, and gold ribbon/wire bonds.
Another type of phase array antenna is the space-fed antenna array, which use space feeds instead of hard connections. However, the known space-fed phased arrays suffer spillover and reflection losses, do not offer as much pattern control for low-sidelobe radiation as arrays employing hard connections, and are bulky. R. J. Mailloux,
Phased Array Antenna Handbook
, Artech House 1994, pg. 315; Z. Popovic', “T/R Lens Amplifier Antenna Arrays for X-band and Ka-band”, Applied Microwave & Wireless Magazine, 1998; C. J. Sletten, Reflection and Lens Antennas: Analysis and Design Using Personal Computers, Artech House 1988. This is because typical space-fed phased arrays have only phase control and not amplitude control. Moreover, the focal length of space-fed antenna systems is typically on the order of several feet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is an active array lens antenna fed by a wide band CTS aperture. The active lens antenna includes T/R modules having both amplitude and phase control. The innovation of a wide band CTS aperture to feed the lens results in a reduction of the focal length distance from several feet to less than an inch. Thus an antenna in accordance with an aspect of this invention can be less bulky than typical space-fed phase arrays. The use of the CTS feed has reduced the array volume to a greater degree than what has been accomplished with previous space feed approaches.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the need for thousand of hard interconnects between the RF manifold and T/R modules has been eliminated, while allowing the active antenna to operate across a wide frequency band. The reduction of the focal length distance by using the CTS aperture allows the overall antenna depth to be comparable to conventional active arrays. The T/R modules within the array provide the phase and amplitude control needed to realized low-sidelobe radiation for the antenna. The use of T/R modules with both amplitude and phase control provides the means to compensate for errors due to “spillover”. Thus, in accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the lens antenna provides improved sidelobe control.
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Buczek Steven G.
Fitzgerald Patrick J.
Quan Clifton
Rupp Frederick C.
Alkov Leonard A.
Lenzen, Jr. Glenn H.
Nguyen Hoang
Raytheon Company
Wong Don
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