A resistively loaded, printed circuit, electrically short dipole element for wideband array applications

Abstract

The author describes a resistively loaded triangular dipole design which is only 0.30 wavelengths long, yet exhibits a VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio) of better than 2.0:1 when mounted in front of the backplane. This improvement in VSWR is at the expense of only a 3 dB decrease in element efficiency. The decrease in efficiency can be directly controlled by the value of the resistive loading. The element has been implemented in a printed circuit array fed by tapered line baluns operating over a 4:1 frequency band. Measured input impedance data vs. loading value is presented, as well as the radiation pattern variation over the band.<>