Novel 2-D Wide-Angle Scanning Array with Electric and Magnetic Feeding Reconfiguration

Abstract

One method of designing two-dimensional (2-D) wide-angle scanning phased array is to rely on 2-D wide beamwidth elements. However, a challenge is to form wide beamwidth on the two orthogonal planes, using the same radiation aperture. In this paper, we proposed an electric and magnetic reconfiguration feeding (EMRF) method to form 2-D wide beamwidth with the same aperture in order to achieve 2-D wide-angle scanning. First, the EMRF technique is proposed, a 2-D wide beamwidth element with the same aperture is designed. Second, a $4 \times 8$ uniform 2-D phased array with the proposed element is designed, simulated and analyzed. According to the measured and simulated results, the proposed element operates at 3.5 GHz, and the 3-dB beamwidth is about 150° and 105° in the E-plane and H-plane, respectively. Moreover, according to simulated results, the proposed 2-D phased array can scan its main beam direction from -70° to + 70° in the E-plane and from - 55° to + 55° in the H-plane with a gain fluctuation less than $\pm 1.5 dB$, respectively.