Beam-Shaping of Planar Array Antennas Using Integrated Attenuators

The use of planar integrated attenuators to shape the beam of a planar array antenna is investigated on a lightweight organic polymer ideal for satellite applications. The entire array is fabricated using a single type of liquid crystal polymer (LCP), reducing the cost of fabrication and simplifying the integration of the attenuators. A fabricated prototype was designed, fabricated, and measured revealing a sidelobe reduction of 12dB compared with a similar antenna using a uniform amplitude distribution, or an overall sidelobe level of -25dB. The 3dB beamwidth of the binomial array was measured to be 31 degrees, an increase of 3 degrees over the uniform amplitude case.