Design of a Conformal Compact Overlapping Annular Slot Array

Abstract

Many omnidirectional antennas have and phase variation around azimuth when configured in an array due to scattering and coupling with neighboring elements. An array of cavity-backed annular slot antennas exhibits minimal scattering from adjacent elements due to the , but the diameter of the typical annular slot requires element spacing greater than a half-wavelength, resulting in grating lobes near the horizon when beamforming. A compact overlapping annular slot array is proposed for the purpose of minimizing gain and phase variation around azimuth while maintaining half-wavelength spacing at the highest operating frequency. The feed structures and radiating aperture for the proposed cavity backed slots are designed to eliminate unwanted current modes in order to preserve the desired radiation pattern. A conformal four-element compact overlapping annular slot array was designed, fabricated, and measured to validate the concept. Results show improved gain uniformity around azimuth at the horizon compared to conventional omnidirectional antenna arrays.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1156976

Entities

People

  • Eric D Robinson
  • Ian T Mcmichael

Organizations

  • MITRE Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Absorption
  • Anechoic Chambers
  • Antenna Arrays
  • Antennas
  • Arrays
  • Computers
  • Conformal Antennas
  • Couplings
  • Direction Finding
  • Elements
  • Elevation
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Bands
  • Identification
  • Omnidirectional Antennas
  • Radiation Patterns
  • Slot Antennas

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Electromagnetic Wave Scattering and Antenna Radiation Engineering
  • Phased Array Antenna Design.

Technology Areas

  • Space