Active Ku-band antenna technology

British Aerospace has been engaged in a study, under contract to ESTEC, for the design and manufacture at breadboard level of an imaging phased array antenna to provide European multiple spot beam coverage. This has included extensive tradeoff activities, and has resulted in the choice of a dual shaped imaging system for breadboarding. The coverage requirement is introduced, and the tradeoffs which lead to the choice of an imaging array as the preferred antenna solution are outlined. The advantages and disadvantages of various imaging array types are discussed, and the predicted performance of the selected breadboard antenna is shown