Innovative Technologies Supporting Affordable Increases in Power, Efficiency, and Bandwidth for Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) X-Band Radars

Under this STTR effort, the Phase IV Systems/Auburn University team will leverage Auburn University’s knowledge in applied genetic algorithm optimization algorithms for RF design problems to develop an X-band radiating element with improved mutual coupling and bandwidth compared with conventional printed circuit radiating elements. The design constraints for the genetic algorithm are increased bandwidth and decreased inter-element mutual coupling, while maintaining peak directivity broadside to the element. The genetic algorithm will start with a SAR-RSW antenna due to the low mutual coupling inherent to the structure. A fitness function will be used to evaluate the output after each iteration of the GA. The fitness function will separately weight the closeness of the bandwidth, mutual coupling, and directivity measurements with respect to the objective values. The directivity fitness is required to make sure the antenna produced by the GA radiates properly. The anticipated output of the GA will be a unique antenna element design that meets the full FOV requirements with low mutual coupling characteristics of the SAR-RSW and bandwidth significantly greater than typical resonant printed circuit antenna elements. The output design from the GA will be simulated with a full-wave solver and an engineering model will be fabricated and tested.