Innovative Approaches to the Design of Visually Covert Low-Power, Low-Gain Antennas in the Range of 2-2000 MHz

The Phase I technical objective is to design and computer model a family of small, covert mobile receiving and/or transmitting antennas in the 2 to 2000 MHz frequency range. Antennas have certain design constraints which can result in physically large and/or complex structures. Often the need for visual covertness and concealability is at odds with the physical size required for an efficient antenna system. Delfin Systems has extensive experience in the design and simulation of small, portable antennas. Many of the Delfin Systems products use small, lightweight wide-band antennas and antenna arrays. Delfin Systems is unique in that it has developed significant expertise in the smooth transition from computer modeling to successful implementation in hardware. The primary goal is to select antenna designs offering the most complete frequency coverage in the smallest (or most easily concealed package) which can be used on the largest variety of mobile platforms. Many trade-offs must be considered with regards to frequency range, covertness, bandwidth, transmit or receive application (or both), polarization, and radiation pattern. The results of this Phase I research will provide the basis for the hardware implementation of the antenna designs in Phase II. Anticipated Benefits: The Phase I goal of covert and concealable antennas generally leads to antenna size reduction. Any advancement in the area of antenna size reduction will apply to many areas. Federal, State, and local law enforcement surveillance activities, automobile antennas, wireless computer networks, portable satellite communications, mobile public communications, etc.