Design and manufacturing techniques for planar slot array antennas for a variety of radar application

Abstract

This paper describes the design of airline windshear radar antennas with extremely low sidelobes. Synthetic aperture arrays with single axis monopulse, a dual, two polarization array antenna and a two axis monopulse array at 16.75 GHz. The techniques for manufacturing these arrays are given in detail along with near and far field testing procedures to generate these requirements. Synthetic operation arrays for airborne surveillance require a beam narrow in azimuth (1.8/spl deg/) and an elevation pattern suited for the mapping mission. The design of such an array is given along with the design of the feeding waveguide which allows for single axis monopulse operations with better than -30 dB null results. Dual antenna systems for vertical and horizontal operation simultaneously with shaped beams suitable for surface scanning is described. This dual array is balanced in radiation characteristics for either plane of polarization. The final antenna design covered is a 16.75 GHz monopulse array with elevation and azimuth difference channels. The design of the array, along with the feeding waveguide arrangement is described. The application of computer aided design for the various arrays as well as computerized machines to mill out and assembling these arrays are described.