A 6: 1 Bandwidth Dual-polarized Linear Phased Array of Tapered Slot Antennas

Abstract

Previous studies on tapered slot antenna (TSA) arrays are mainly focused on single-polarized linear array or dual-polarized 2-D arrays, where their ultra-wideband (UWB) behaviors are achieved by using contiguous electrical connection or creating necessary mutual coupling between adjacent elements of the array. However, for the application with narrow and long space constraints, due to the lack of mutual coupling for the polarization ports perpendicularly to the linear array direction, they behave in a narrower bandwidth compared to another polarization ports. This paper presents a prototype UWB dual-polarized linear array of TSAs with L-shaped lattice. A 14-element linear array has been built and validated. Active element patterns and scanning performance of the array are evaluated and performed with periodic boundary conditions. The antenna exhibits an operational bandwidth of 6:1 (1-6GHz range) for H-plane ±45° scan in vertical-polarization and 5.5:1 bandwidth (1.1-6GHz range) for E-plane ±45° scan in horizontal-polarization, respectively, maintaining active VSWR less than 4.4.