Wideband Antenna Arrays with Reconfigurable Beamforming and Beamshaping

The paper gives an overview of research results from FOI on dual polarized phased array antennas and integrated beamforming components for wideband and wide-angle beamforming. The electromagnetic design and experimental evaluation of two antenna arrays in the 2-6 and 6-18 GHz bands, with 2 x 7 x 8 elements each, is described. The electromagnetic performance has been simulated using commercial and in-house developed codes. Experimental evaluation show that the arrays have reflection levels below -10 dB and good radiation properties in a frequency range of up to 1:3 and scan angles of up to 60deg. A concept with wideband reconfigurable beamforming with frequency tapered aperture areas is also presented. Two objectives are to enable adaptation of beamwidths to different requirements, and to enable a frequency independent beamwidth over a wide frequency range. Components for wideband beamforming with MMIC true-time delays and reconfigurable active power distribution working in the 2-18 GHz range are also presented.