Wide Bandwidth, High Performance Cost Effective Antenna Elements

Phased arrays are a key component in modern naval warfare. Its applications range from radars to electronic warfare (EW), surveillance & communications, etc. Its important applications to other military and commercial systems and platforms are obvious. For decades, wideband wide-scan planar phased arrays have faced highly challenging technical difficulties and high costs. The proposed Navy SBIR Phase-II research program, Topic N111-040, is to develop a linearly-polarized array element design that can operate from 2 to 12 GHz, with a wide scan angle of 60 degrees or more. This wideband array can replace several arrays in S-X bands on a platform of limited surface area suitable for antenna mounting, thus potentially achieving a reduction of 70% or more in both acquisition and life-cycle costs. The feasibility of the proposed approach has been demonstrated in Phase-I effort at Wang Electro-Opto Corporation (WEO), supported by the ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL) of the Ohio State University (OSU). The design approach will be optimized by computer simulation and breadboard verification. A small phased array panel will be developed and its beam-scan capability will be demonstrated using a beam-steering network of limited angular range. The design is protected by U.S. patent #8,264, 410 B1, 11 September 2012.