An Integrated Antenna Set for Software Radios

Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) is a software radio capable of tuning from 2MHz to 2000MHz. A wideband antenna or a set of antennas are needed to support operation across the entire frequency spectrum of JTRS. To meet this need, Applied EM is proposingan innovative conformal design, which addresses the issues of ultra wide bandwidth, and conformality. The proposed design employs a novel material design to increase the bandwidth of conformal antennas. A set of two antennas, one for the HF band (2-20MHz)and the other for the VHF/UHF bands and above (20-2000MHz) is proposed. For this adaptation, traditional broadband antennas will be optimized using emerging materials and scaling for a design which satisfies the required size restrictions and satisfiesgain, pattern, and return loss requirements. Under the proposed effort, we will develop engineering prototype antennas and validate the design through measurements. Development of these ultra wideband antenna designs will provide for robust antenna systemscapable of providing interface not only to JTRS, but also to a wide variety of broadband communication equipment.