Affordable Wideband Multifunction Phased Array Antenna Architectures Using Frequency Scaled Radiating Elements

Abstract

Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information. The existing Navy ships use a separate antenna for each function, resulting in proliferation of a large number of antennas on ships to meet the numerous functional requirements. Recently, wideband phased array antennas are being developed that can perform multiple functions simultaneously to reduce the number of antennas on ships. However, the number of radiating elements needed is prohibitively large, resulting in a complex and costly multifunction phased array antenna. This report discusses novel architectures that can consolidate many functions into a single wideband phased array antenna and at the same time reduce the total number of elements needed, thereby reducing the size, weight, power, and cost compared to a conventional wideband phased array architecture. Besides the number of elements, the number of simultaneous links and element bandwidth requirements are also optimized in an effort to optimize both cost and complexity. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) SPONSOR / MONITOR'S ACRONYM(S) 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) SPONSOR / MONITOR'S REPORT NUMBER(S)