A cost-effective modular phased array

The authors discuss a phased array antenna design consisting of multiple, modular, flat panels the number of which is determined by specific application requirements. Each panel has 512 antenna elements which are driven by their own Application Specific Integrated Circuits, in order to control the signal phase needed for electronic beam steering. Furthermore, the antenna elements can transmit (or receive) in orthogonal polarisation states. In the first embodiment, Ku-band microwave signals (receive over 10.95-12.75 GHz and transmit over 14.0-14.5 GHz) are phase-aligned, down converted to baseband and summed, permitting the receiver and the digital control circuitry to be fabricated on one low-cost SiGe ASIC. It is envisaged that this approach will be a cost-effective alternative to mechanically steered dish antennas for radar, satellite communication and point to point communications, while bearing the advantages of flat or conformal structure and no moving parts.