A Radar System Utilzing New Light-Controlled Microwave Steerable Antenna

Contemporary radar system requirements place high priority on minimizing the antenna weight, size and cost. Electronically steerable antennas hold high promise in achieving flexible scanning and beamforming. Unfortunately, so far, the amount of microwave electronics and waveguide connections that is required for each phased array element makes the antenna too bulky and adds significantly to the system's cost. In recent years, optical control via fiber has been developed. It takes some elements off the antenna, but its implementation calls for additional components at the antenna array site, such as laser diodes and high speed modulators (that is why photonically implemented antennas are mostly proposed for the transmit mode). A light-controlled, steerable antenna proposed by WaveBand Corporation has no active elements on the array. The beamsteering control is provided via optical fiber and no additional photodetectors are necessary. This means that microwave propagation is directly affected and controlled by light without conversion into an electric signal. The antenna integration into the radar system will be accomplished in collaboration with Frontier Engineering Sciences.