EXPERT SYSTEM FOR DESIGN OF HIGH-GAIN, HIGH-POWER, FAST-RISETIME, ULTA-WIDEBAND ANTENNAS

DESIGN OF HIGH GAIN (>10 DB) ANTENNAS SUITABLE FOR RADIATING MULTI-GW, FAST-RISETIME (<1 NS), ULTRA-WIDEBAND (UWB) SIGNALS IS UNUSUALLY CHALLANGING. PHYSICAL LAWS IMPOSE SOME LIMITATION, BUT THE GREATER PROBLEM IS THE LACK OF WIDELY-KNOWN PRACTICAL DESIGN TECHNIQUES, WHICH ARE A PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE COLD-TESTING. RECENT RESEARCH HAS YIELDED IMPROVED COMPUTER CODES, BUT THESE ONLY ANALYZE DESIGNS; THEY DO NOT CREATE THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, THREE-DIMENSIONAL TIME-DOMAIN CODES CAN COMPUTE PERFORMANCE OF VIRTUALLY ANY KIND OF ANTENNA WITH A WELL-DEFINED GEOMETRY AND DRIVING SIGNAL. HOWEVER, THEY DO NOT ADDRESS THE FAR MORE IMPORTANT INVERSE PROBLEM; COMPUTING THE SPECIFIC DESIGN PARAMETERS NECESSARY TO YIELD THE DESIRED PERFORMANCE. WITHOUT PRACTICAL TOOLS, THE DESIGN OF FAST-RISETIME, HIGH-GAIN, HIGH-POWER UWB ANTENNAS IS A NEEDLESSLY TIME-COMSUMING, EXPENSIVE, HIGH-RISK GUESSING GAME. THE SOLUTION PROPOSED WILL PROVIDE SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS WITH A UNIQUE PC-BASED ANTENNA DESIGN TOOL. THIS NOVEL NEW TOOL WILL COMBINE A KNOWLEDGE-BASED EXPERT SYSTEM WITH CUSTOMIZED COMPUTATIONAL PROGRAMS, ALL OPERATING IN THE USER-FRIENDLY MICROSOFT WINDOWS ENVIRONMENT. ALSO, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, PRACTICAL EQUATIONS, RELATIONS, AND RULES-OF-THUMB WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO DESIGNERS OF FAST-RISETIME, HIGH-GAIN, HIGH-POWER UWB ANTENNAS.