Study of staggered array configurations for enhancing phased array radiation properties

A staggered array configuration is presented to solve the problem of grating lobes at higher frequencies of wideband phased arrays. The new array is obtained by rotating each element by 45°. This modification allows for a smaller distance between array elements (29% less), while the actual distance between elements in the diagonal direction is kept the same (No increase in the coupling). Reducing the distance between elements results in eliminating/reducing the grating lobes in a wider frequency range from the impedance bandwidth, which improves the array usable bandwidth. In addition, the proposed array produces better gain and maximum steering angle.