Planar dual polarization antenna
First Claim
1. A microwave-frequency microstrip antenna simultaneously usable with dual orthogonally polarized signals, comprising:
- a substantially planar 90°
rotation-symmetric conductive radiating patch mounted on a substantially planar first dielectric having first and second sides;
a substantially planar conductive ground plane having a first side facing the second side of the first dielectric, said ground plane having two elongated coupling apertures having substantially the same size and shape, being disposed at right angles to each other, being less than one-half wavelength long at the nominal center frequency of operation, and crossing each other at their respective midpoints;
a substantially planar second dielectric having a first side facing a second side of the ground plane and a second side on which lie two substantially identical conductive planar feed networks that correspond to the dual orthogonal polarizations and are disposed at right angles with respect to each other, wherein each feed network is symmetric about one of two center planes, respectively, each of which is orthogonal to the first and second dielectrics and ground plane and which bisects a corresponding one of the coupling apertures; and
at least one additional substantially planar tuning layer interposed between the first dielectric and the ground plane, wherein each tuning layer comprises a dielectric material on which lies a conductive non-apertured tuning element that is centered with respect to each feed network, whereby the bandwidth of the antenna is dependent upon the number, composition, and thickness of the tuning layers;
whereinthe projection of each aperture onto the plane of the radiating patch is centered with respect to the radiating patch;
each feed network comprises two elongated substantially identical parallel conductive microstrip elements positioned equidistant from their associated center plane, each microstrip element being disposed orthogonally with respect to its associated coupling aperture; and
the antenna radiates in one direction only, said direction being defined by a vector originating at the midpoints of the coupling apertures and terminating at the midpoint of the radiating patch.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A microwave-frequency microstrip antenna (10) simultaneously usable for both transmitting and receiving microwave-frequency signals that have dual orthogonally polarized components. The components may be either linearly or circularly polarized. A radiating patch (26) is mounted on a first dielectric (12). A ground plane (20) abuts the first dielectric (12) and has two elongated coupling apertures (32,31) at right angles to each other. A second dielectric (22) abuts the ground plane (20) and has embedded thereon two substantially identical conductive planar feed networks (52,51) that are disposed at right angles to each other. At least one additional optional dielectric layer (16,18) having a conductive patch (36,34) may be interposed between the first dielectric (12) and the ground plane (20) for purposes of broadening the bandwidth of the antenna (10). A meanderline polarizer (45) or a 3 dB 90° hybrid coupler (40) may be used for converting from linear polarization to circular polarization.
263 Citations
8 Claims
-
1. A microwave-frequency microstrip antenna simultaneously usable with dual orthogonally polarized signals, comprising:
-
a substantially planar 90°
rotation-symmetric conductive radiating patch mounted on a substantially planar first dielectric having first and second sides;a substantially planar conductive ground plane having a first side facing the second side of the first dielectric, said ground plane having two elongated coupling apertures having substantially the same size and shape, being disposed at right angles to each other, being less than one-half wavelength long at the nominal center frequency of operation, and crossing each other at their respective midpoints; a substantially planar second dielectric having a first side facing a second side of the ground plane and a second side on which lie two substantially identical conductive planar feed networks that correspond to the dual orthogonal polarizations and are disposed at right angles with respect to each other, wherein each feed network is symmetric about one of two center planes, respectively, each of which is orthogonal to the first and second dielectrics and ground plane and which bisects a corresponding one of the coupling apertures; and at least one additional substantially planar tuning layer interposed between the first dielectric and the ground plane, wherein each tuning layer comprises a dielectric material on which lies a conductive non-apertured tuning element that is centered with respect to each feed network, whereby the bandwidth of the antenna is dependent upon the number, composition, and thickness of the tuning layers;
whereinthe projection of each aperture onto the plane of the radiating patch is centered with respect to the radiating patch; each feed network comprises two elongated substantially identical parallel conductive microstrip elements positioned equidistant from their associated center plane, each microstrip element being disposed orthogonally with respect to its associated coupling aperture; and the antenna radiates in one direction only, said direction being defined by a vector originating at the midpoints of the coupling apertures and terminating at the midpoint of the radiating patch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
-
Specification