An inverted suspended microstrip antenna array integrated with ratrace comparator at X-Band for monopulse tracking

Abstract

In this paper, an inverted suspended microstrip antenna array with ratrace comparator at X-band for monopulse tracking radar applications has been designed and simulated using IE3D software based on method of moments (MoM). The radiating part of the monopulse antenna consists of hybrid feeding technique to achieve better side lobe level and high gain. The bandwidth of 8.6% has been achieved for VSWR < 2 from 8.96 GHz to 9.76 GHz. The maximum gain of 25.1 dB has been achieved with approximately 1 dB variations over the entire bandwidth. The sum radiation pattern shows a side lobe level of better than 17.5 dB in both azimuth as well as elevation planes. The difference radiation pattern shows a null depth of better than 28 dB. The radiation pattern is symmetric with HPBW of 6.3° and 7.1° in azimuth and elevation planes, respectively.