Space-Fed Array Design for Efficient Antenna Coverage
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Summary
Problems
Airborne sensor arrays face challenges in reducing weight and power requirements while maintaining effective antenna coverage and beam steering capabilities.
Innovation solutions
A space-fed array design that operates in both reflective and feed-through modes, utilizing a primary array and a feed array with phase shifters and switches to selectively control beam formation, allowing for efficient distribution of RF power to a large number of radiating elements, thereby simplifying the feed network and reducing RF insertion loss.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If a conventional feed network is used to illuminate a large number of radiating elements, then antenna coverage is maintained, but weight and power consumption increase significantly
Why choose this principle:
The array is divided into multiple sub-arrays, each illuminated by a separate feed element. This segmentation allows the feed network to be distributed rather than centralized, reducing the weight and complexity of the feed network while maintaining coverage across the entire array aperture.
Principle concept:
If a conventional feed network is used to illuminate a large number of radiating elements, then antenna coverage is maintained, but weight and power consumption increase significantly
Why choose this principle:
A lens or reflector is introduced as an intermediary component between the feed elements and the radiating elements. This intermediary focuses and distributes the electromagnetic energy efficiently, enabling a reduced number of feed elements to illuminate a larger number of radiating elements, thereby reducing weight and power consumption.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
A space-fed array design that operates in both reflective and feed-through modes, utilizing a primary array and a feed array with phase shifters and switches to selectively control beam formation, allowing for efficient distribution of RF power to a large number of radiating elements, thereby simplifying the feed network and reducing RF insertion loss.
Abstract
A space-fed array is selectively operable in a reflective mode or in a feed-through mode. The array includes, in an exemplary embodiment, a primary array; and a feed array. The primary array includes a first side set of radiating elements, a first set of phase shifters, a set of switches, a second set of phase shifters and a second side set of radiating elements. Each of the switches is connected between corresponding ones of the first set and the second set of phase shifters and ground, selectively settable at an open position or at a closed position. The open position corresponds to the feed through mode, and the closed position corresponds to the reflective mode.