Abstract
We present a novel optical feeding technique to achieve efficient excitation of an ultrawideband-connected array (CA) antenna. The passive fiber optic feed allows for preservation of the theoretical bandwidth and low profile of elementary connected dipole elements. In order to improve effective radiated power, high-power charge compensated modified unitravelling carrier photodiodes are integrated into an antenna array for the first time. Circuit and full-wave simulations, which include all required antenna and feed components, are conducted for the optimization of the array's performance. A 9 × 12 element CA is populated with a 1-D array of four photodiode-integrated active elements to demonstrate the concept. The optically fed array is confirmed experimentally to have a 3-dB bandwidth of approximately 7–17 GHz, in good agreement with simulations.
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