MONOLITHIC PHASED-ARRAY ANTENNA SYSTEM

• US 20170062925A1
• Filed: 08/27/2015
• Published: 03/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Inventors: SANCHEZ, VICTOR C.
• Granted Patent: US 10,320,075 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 50/02 for controlling or regulating additive manufacturing processes
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/50 Structural association of antennas with earthing switches, lead-in devices or lightning protectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/085 Slot-line radiating ends
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0087 Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing antenna arrays manufacturing waveguides H01P11/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/0093 Monolithic arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/064 using horn or slot aerials slotted waveguides arrays H01Q21/005
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/067 using endfire radiating aerial units transverse to the plane of the array
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/24 Combinations of antenna units polarised in different directions for transmitting or receiving circularly and elliptically polarised waves or waves linearly polarised in any direction circularly polarised patch antennas H01Q9/0428; circularly polarised horns H01Q13/0241; cross-polarised horns H01Q13/0258; polarisation converters H01Q15/242; cross-polarised rear feeds H01Q19/136; crossed polarisation dual antenna H01Q25/001
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/293 one unit or more being an array of identical aerial elements adaptive arrays H01Q3/2605
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/26 varying the relative phase or relative amplitude of energisation between two or more active radiating elements; varying the distribution of energy across a radiating aperture H01Q3/12, H01Q3/22, H01Q3/24 take precedence

Abstract

One embodiment describes a phased-array antenna system that is formed as a monolithic structure of a unitary conductive material. The system includes a ground plane and a plurality of antenna transformer elements formed in an array and conductively coupled to a first surface of the ground plane. The system also includes a plurality of connectors formed and conductively coupled to a second surface of the ground plane opposite the first surface, the plurality of connectors being configured to propagate radio frequency signals to or from respective ones of the plurality of antenna transformer elements.

Claims

1. A phased-array antenna system that is formed as a monolithic structure of a unitary conductive material, the system comprising:

a ground plane;

a plurality of antenna transformer elements formed in an array and conductively coupled to a first surface of the ground plane; and

a plurality of connectors formed and conductively coupled to a second surface of the ground plane opposite the first surface, the plurality of connectors being configured to propagate radio frequency signals to or from respective ones of the plurality of antenna transformer elements.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antenna transformer elements are dimensioned to form a balun cavity between respective pairs of the plurality of antenna transformer elements with respect to the ground plane and to form a transformer gap between respective pairs of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to provide impedance matching to free-space.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of antenna transformer elements comprises a plurality of sidewalls that each extend in respective directions away from the ground plane, with each of the plurality of sidewalls comprises a pattern of holes through the respective one of the plurality of sidewalls.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of connectors is associated with one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and comprises a signal conductor that is formed from the unitary conductive material and extends through the ground plane from the first surface to the second surface beneath the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the signal conductor extends through the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and extends in free space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and an adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to provide excited interaction between the signal conductor and the associated one and the adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to wirelessly transmit or receive the signal.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the signal conductor is a first signal conductor that extends in a first direction in free space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and a first adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, wherein a second signal conductor extends in a second direction in free space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and a second adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, the second direction being orthogonal with respect to the first direction to provide respective first and second orthogonal polarizations of the signal.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the signal conductor is arranged as an inner conductor of a coaxial connection between the respective one of the plurality of connectors and the adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, wherein the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements is arranged as an outer conductor of the coaxial connection.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements comprises a conductive coupling to the ground plane that substantially surrounds the signal conductor as the signal conductor extends through the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, the conductive coupling corresponding to the outer conductor of the coaxial connection.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the ground plane, the plurality of antenna transformer elements, and the plurality of connectors are formed from an additive manufacturing process to form the ground plane, the plurality of antenna transformer elements, and the plurality of connectors as the monolithic structure.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the monolithic structure is formed from a dielectric material via the additive manufacturing process, wherein the unitary conductive material is formed over the dielectric material via a metallization process.

11. A method for forming a phased-array antenna system, the method comprising:

loading dimensional data regarding the phased-array antenna system into an additive manufacturing machine configured to form the phased-array antenna system; and

forming the phased-array antenna system as a monolithic structure of a unitary conductive material via the additive manufacturing machine, the phased-array antenna system comprising, a ground plane, an array of antenna transformer elements disposed on a first surface of the ground plane, and a plurality of connectors formed on a second surface of the ground plane opposite the first surface, the plurality of connectors being configured to propagate respective portions of the signal to or from respective antenna transformer elements of the array of antenna transformer elements.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the phased-array antenna system comprises forming the phased-array antenna system from a dielectric material via the additive manufacturing machine, the method further comprising forming the unitary conductive material over the dielectric material via a metallization process.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of antenna transformer elements comprises a plurality of sidewalls that each extend in respective directions away from the ground plane, wherein forming the plurality of antenna transformer elements comprises forming a pattern of holes that extend through each of the plurality of sidewalls of each of the plurality of antenna transformer elements.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the phased-array antenna system comprises forming the phased-array antenna system from the unitary conductive material via the additive manufacturing machine.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein phased-array antenna system comprises:

forming a balun cavity between respective pairs of the plurality of antenna transformer elements with respect to the ground plane; and

forming a transformer gap between respective pairs of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to provide impedance matching to free-space.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein forming the phased-array antenna system comprises forming a signal conductor associated with each of the plurality of connectors to extend through the ground plane, through an associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, and in free-space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to be conductively coupled to an adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein forming the phased-array antenna system comprises forming the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements as an outer conductor of a coaxial connection from a respective one of the plurality of connectors to the adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, wherein the signal conductor is formed as an inner conductor of the coaxial connection.

18. A phased-array antenna system comprising:

a ground plane;

a plurality of antenna transformer elements formed in an array and conductively coupled to a first surface of the ground plane, each of the plurality of antenna transformer elements being dimensioned to form a balun cavity between respective pairs of the plurality of antenna transformer elements with respect to the ground plane and to form a transformer gap between respective pairs of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to provide impedance matching to free-space;

a plurality of connectors formed and conductively coupled to a second surface of the ground plane opposite the first surface, the plurality of connectors being configured to propagate radio frequency signals to or from respective ones of the plurality of antenna transformer elements; and

a plurality of coaxial connections between the plurality of connectors and the plurality of transformer elements, each of the plurality of connectors being associated with one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and comprising a signal conductor that is formed from the unitary conductive material as an inner conductor of a respective one of the plurality of coaxial connections and extending through an associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements that corresponds to an outer conductor of the respective one of the plurality of coaxial connections to an adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements;

wherein the phased-array antenna system is formed as a monolithic structure of a unitary conductive material.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the signal conductor associated with the respective one of the plurality of coaxial connections extends in free space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and the adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to provide excited interaction between the signal conductor and the associated one and the adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements to wirelessly transmit or receive the signal.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the signal conductor is a first signal conductor that extends in a first direction in free space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and a first adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, wherein a second signal conductor extends in a second direction in free space between the associated one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements and a second adjacent one of the plurality of antenna transformer elements, the second direction being orthogonal with respect to the first direction to provide respective first and second orthogonal polarizations of the signal.