Design and measurement of W-band offset stepped parabolic reflector antennas for airport surface foreign object debris detection radar systems

Debris on the airport surface may cause severe damage to aircraft. To detect these obstacles, foreign object debris (FOD) detection systems have been developed recently. By utilizing high-sensibility and weather robustness characteristics, the millimeter-wave radar is an essential sensor device for these systems. This paper discusses an offset parabolic reflector antenna for airport surface FOD detection radar systems. Firstly, the overview of the FOD detection radar systems, which employs a band of between 92 GHz and 100 GHz, is shown. For the azimuth beam scanning antenna, the antenna is required to achieve both a narrow azimuth beamwidth and a wide elevation beamwidth. Secondly, the stepped parabolic reflector is newly designed to obtain an 8 degree elevation -20 dB down power beamwidth. Finally, the designed reflector is fabricated based on chemical wood materials. The measured result shows the 38 dBi gain and the 8.4 degree beamwidth for the elevation plane.