In-Band Scattering and Radiation Tradeoff of Broadband Phased Arrays Based on Scattering-Matrix Approach

Abstract

A novel method based on the combination of scattering-matrix approach and microwave network theory is proposed for the realization of in-band scattering and radiation tradeoff of broadband phased arrays. In particular, the proposed method is able to efficiently predict both radiation performances and scattering characteristics of finite phased arrays with element-independent matching networks (EIMNs)/loads. The in-band scattering and radiation tradeoff of finite arrays can be achieved by the optimization of the loaded EIMNs/loads. Moreover, the accuracy of this method is guaranteed by considering some factors, such as the EM coupling and the edge effects of finite arrays. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1\times16$ </tex-math></inline-formula> linear array operating at 8.0–10.0 GHz for scanning up to 45° is designed as the reference prototype and the quasi-coaxial lines are served as the EIMNs. The optimized results show that an obvious scattering reduction is achieved throughout the operating bandwidth in comparison with the reference array. Finally, the optimized linear array is fabricated and measured, and good agreement is obtained to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.