A 4×16-element Ku-band dual-polarized patch antenna array for space SAR imaging: Design, diagnosis and measurement

This paper presents the design, diagnosis and measurement of a 4times16-element Ku-band dual-polarized patch antenna array for space SAR imaging. Two external power dividers are designed with uniform and progressive phases to obtain broadside and steered beam, respectively. The microwave holographic imaging technique is applied to observe the amplitude and phase distributions over antenna elements, which is thereafter used as a guideline for fixing possible circuitry defects and aligning the experimental setup. The prototyped 4times16-element array is well matched at the operating frequency of 13.4 GHz. Desired broadside and steered beams are also obtained with acceptable sidelobe level and directivity.