Strip stacked-element phased arrays

Abstract

Strip elements in a stacked configuration are used to illustrate the improvement in bandwidth over a 45 degrees E-plane scan sector that can be expected from the scan-dependent, double-tuned nature of the configuration. The curves of active resistance versus frequency are shown to have considerable value. The resonant peaks in these curves are shown to arise from individual resonances of single-element arrays, which form the basis for a design procedure. Surface wave resonances are accounted for, but their effect is limited by placing them near the endfire grating lobe frequency. A bandwidth of 1.85 for an E-plane scan from broadside to 45 degrees in a matched configuration has been shown as compared with 1.25 for simple strips. It is conjectured that increased scan and bandwidth would also be achieved by the stacking of rectangular patch elements although the bandwidth would be less than that for strip arrays.<>