Conceptual design of a high gain antenna system with wide range beam steering capability for broadband radar applications

In this contribution, an antenna positioning system is presented that combines a high bandwidth, high gain and a wide steering range. The mechanical part of the positioning system is based on a uniaxially driven planetary gear which generates a hypocycloidical shaped, slanting movement. Advantages and disadvantages of the mechanically steering system are discussed and compared to a common electric-steerable patch antenna array. Moreover, two basic applications, i.e. radar based ground level reconstruction and target direction finding are introduced. Fundamentals concerning the theoretical position calculation as well as signal processing algorithms are presented. Furthermore, measurements that were performed for both applications are essential part of this contribution.