Innovative and Efficient Design of Directional Ultra Wideband Antennas for UAV Applications

UAVs are widely used for both military and civilian applications for their low cost and flexibility. However, conventional antenna design options are incompatible with the size, weight, power, required RF performance, and flight characteristics of UAVs. On the other hand, the antenna performance can be improved considerably with the integration of the airframe geometries. The key to efficient design such antenna for UAVs is to find a powerful electromagnetic simulation method that can handle complicated structures and an efficient optimization algorithm. A combination of parallel Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) and genetic algorithm (GA) will be employed for this Phase I program. FDTD is most suitable for simulation of arbitrary shaped homogeneous or inhomogeneous targets, while GA can provide global optimum in a relatively short time. A cavity backed antenna integrated with the airframe geometries will be designed, and the shape, substrate distribution, and the position of the antenna will be optimized.