Low profile conformal phased array with wide scanning range

Abstract

AbstractA linearly polarized conformal phased array antenna with a low profile and a large scanning range is proposed, based on stacked patch antenna element fed by a coupled microstrip line. A backed compact cavity is designed in the antenna element, to reduce the mutual coupling between the elements. The prototype of the proposed conformal array, a conformal array composed of 4 × 4 elements which are axially mounted onto a cylindrical surface, is fabricated and measured, whose profile is as low as 0.072 λh (λh is the free‐space wavelength at the highest operating frequency). The experimental results demonstrate that the array achieves active VSWR below than 2.5 over the frequency band of 1.52–1.77 GHz (15%), within the wide‐scanning ranges of ±70° in the E plane and ±60° in the H plane, and the measured results are in good accordance with the calculation.