Application of Novel Cavity-Backed Proximity-Coupled Microstrip Patch Antenna to Design Broadband Conformal Phased Array

A broadband conformal phased array consisting of 48 linear arrays with four microstrip antennas is presented in this letter. The element is designed by a novel proximity-coupling feeding mechanism with a cavity-backed configuration. A dielectric layer, which is integrated on the surface of the antenna, is designed and fabricated to shield the patches. It plays a role similar to the conformal radome. In addition, the vertical connection between the element and the coax probe is designed, which is a benefit for increasing the space usage. The measured results indicate the bandwidth of the center embedded element is 27.6% with |S₁₁| below -10 dB. Due to its simple single-patch structure, the fabrication errors can be easily controlled.