ELECTRONICALLY SCANNED ANTENNA ARRAY

• US 3,653,046 A
• Filed: 06/09/1970
• Issued: 03/28/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bernard Glance
• Original Assignee: Bernard Glance
• Inventors: Glance, Bernard
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett, Jr., Rodney D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Berger, Richard E.
• Application Number:
  US05/044,716
• Time in Patent Office: 658 Days
• Field of Search: 343/1SA 331/45,56
• US Class Current: 342/371
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 3/42 using frequency-mixing H01Q3/2676 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03B 9/12 using solid state devices, e.g. Gunn-effect devices

Abstract

A phased array antenna system in which the phase of successive radiating elements is produced by a series of injection locked oscillators each driven by or locked to the signal fed to the preceding elements. Since the phase of an injection locked oscillator depends upon the difference between its natural frequency and its injected frequency, the array may be scanned either by varying the injected frequency or the natural frequency. IMPATT diode oscillators are preferred because of the ease with which they can be injection locked and/or varied in frequency.

Claims

1. High frequency directional apparatus comprising a plurality of radiators arranged in a linear array, means for feeding a first of said radiators with high frequency wave energy of given frequency, a plurality of oscillator means one each associated with each of the remainder of said radiators and each having a natural resonant frequency different by a given amount from said given frequency, and means for driving each successive one of said oscillators with a sample of the signal fed to the one of said radiators preceding the radiator with which that one oscillator is associated.

2. High frequency directional apparatus comprising a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a linear array, means for feeding a first of said elements with high frequency wave energy of given frequency, a plurality of oscillator means one each associated with each of the remainder of said elements and each capable of being locked to the frequency of said energy applied to said first element when said frequency is different from the natural resonant frequency of that oscillator, and means for locking each successive one of said oscillators to the signal fed to the one of said elements preceding the element with which that one oscillator is associated.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each of said plurality of oscillator means includes means for varying said natural resonant frequency over a range including frequencies slightly different from the frequency of energy applied to said first element.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said means for feeding said first element includes means for varying the frequency of said wave energy within the locking range of said plurality of oscillators

5. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein each of said oscillators is a negative resistance oscillator of the IMPATT diode type and wherein each is connected to one of said antenna elements through a circulator.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 including means for supplying a bias to said diode to set said natural resonant frequency of said oscillator at a frequency different from said frequency of said energy applied to said first element.

7. In combination, a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a linear array, a plurality of negative resistance oscillators, one each associated with each of said elements, means for locking each successive one of said oscillators to the signal fed to the one of said elements preceding the element with which that one oscillator is associated and for producing an output from said one oscillator that is shifted in phase from the signal fed to said one elements, and means for applying said output to that element associated with said one oscillator.