A Novel Methodology to Feed Phased Array Antennas

A new methodology to design beam-forming networks (BFN) to feed antenna arrays is introduced. Using this methodology is feasible to reduce the complexity of the associate control of a phased array, since, an N by N antenna array could be controlled to steer the beam using four phase shifters instead of the N² conventionally used. A prototype was designed, built and measured as proof of concept. The prototype consists on 3 by 3 Quasi-Yagi antennas fed by four input-ports. The measurements show that the main beam of an antenna array fed by this BFN can be steered to any desired direction.