Low profile arrays with integrated beamformers

An area of active applied research at the Army Research Lab (ARL) has been the investigation of antenna arrays with integrated beamformers. At the ARL, a leading candidate for beamforming in antenna arrays has been the Rotman lens a topic of research for nearly 20 years. Early efforts used a hollow cavity to realize a lens for demonstration of Multi-Function RF. Building on this work, we have developed lenses with unique aspects. For example, we have developed lenses that can be made from a plastic. Such lenses are then coated with conducting material achieving comparable performance to identical (all metal) lenses, but with significant reductions in weight. Additionally, we have developed lens realizations that are able to be bent around the body of a vehicle.