Coplanar Side-Fed Tightly Coupled Bowtie Antenna Array
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tightly coupled arrays (TCAs) for high-power VHF/UHF ground penetrating radars face challenges with low-profile designs that limit the use of vertical baluns and impedance transformers, leading to increased weight and complexity, necessitating a lightweight, simple, and mechanically robust solution for wideband and high-power applications.
Innovation Solution
A planar ultra-wideband dual-polarized tightly coupled bowtie antenna array design without balun, featuring a microstrip feeding line integrated with one arm of the bowtie antenna and a ferrite core around coax cables for common mode suppression, allowing for efficient dual-polarization and wideband operation without additional matching networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If vertical baluns and impedance transformers are used in low-profile TCA design, then wideband and high-power performance is improved, but weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the vertical balun and impedance transformer components from the TCA design. By removing these separate matching network components, the design achieves wideband performance through the antenna elements themselves, thereby reducing device complexity and weight while maintaining adaptability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the impedance matching function into the antenna element structure itself. The bowtie antenna elements are designed with integrated feeding structures that provide both radiation and impedance transformation functions, eliminating the need for separate baluns and matching networks
2Adaptability or versatility
If vertical baluns and matching networks are used in TCA design, then wideband performance is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the heavy vertical baluns and matching networks from the design. By extracting these components and replacing them with integrated planar feeding structures, the overall weight of the TCA system is reduced while maintaining wideband operational capability
3Device complexity
If additional matching networks are added to avoid balun, then device complexity is reduced, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple functions (radiation, impedance matching, and feeding) into the antenna element structure itself. This integration eliminates the need for additional separate matching networks and reduces overall component count, thereby reducing both device complexity and weight simultaneously
4Stability of the object's composition
If low-profile structure is used in TCA, then mechanical robustness is improved, but the ability to use vertical baluns is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from vertical feeding structures (baluns) to planar feeding structures. By changing the dimensional orientation of the feeding mechanism from vertical to horizontal/planar, the design maintains mechanical robustness of the low-profile structure while achieving wideband performance through the planar integrated feeding network
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a lightweight, low-profile, and mechanically robust antenna array with a wideband performance of 180-620 MHz, achieving a fractional bandwidth of 3.4:1, supporting high-power and dual-polarization capabilities suitable for polar ice sounding, while eliminating the need for vertical baluns and external matching networks, thus enhancing mechanical stability and reducing payload.
Implementation Method 1
The TCA may include a ferrite core around a coax cable for common mode suppression
Data Source
AI summary
An ultra-wideband dual-polarized tightly coupled bowtie antenna array for ground-based polar ice sounding radar is described. The antenna array has a very large effective aperture to increase the directivity. At the same time, it is lightweight and low profile to minimize the payload and maximize the survey range. In an implementation, the antenna array operates between 180-620 MHz with a fractional bandwidth of 3.4:1. The broadband performance benefits from the tightly coupled antenna elements. A feature of the antenna array is the planar feeding structure without balun. The antenna array element has the microstrip feeding line integrated with one arm of the bowtie antenna. The other arm is directly fed by the microstrip line. By adding a ferrite core around the coax cable for common mode suppression, the bowtie antenna element can be fed differentially without using bulky vertical feeding structure and balun.