EHF FLUSH MOUNTED CONFORMAL ARRAY FOR AIRCRAFT COMMAND AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

THIS RESEARCH WILL QUANTIFY THE THEORETICAL BASIS AND PERFORMANCE OF A NEW CLASS OF ANTENNAS WITH BEAM STEERING CAPABILITY. THE APPROACH IS BASED ON QUASI-OPTICAL TECHNIQUES IN CONJUNCTION WITH A NOVEL BULK PHASE SHIFTER DESIGN CONCEPT. IN ONE IMPLEMENTATION, THE PHASE SHIFTER MAY BE MECHANICALLY ADJUSTED BY SOLENOIDS, THEREFORE PROVIDING IMPROVED ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE AND MUCH LOWER COSTS THAN A CONVENTIONAL PHASED ARRAY THAT USES DISCRETE FERRITE PHASE SHIFTERS. THE ANTENNA MAY BE IMPLEMENTED IN A FLUSH CONFORMED CONFIGURATION, AMENABLE FOR AIRCRAFT APPLICATIONS.