Architecture for monopulse active aperture arrays

• US 4,983,977 A
• Filed: 02/16/1990
• Issued: 01/08/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS Inc.))
• Inventors: Hrycak, Peter D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr., Gilberto
• Application Number:
  US07/481,039
• Time in Patent Office: 326 Days
• Field of Search: 342/153, 342/149
• US Class Current: 342/153
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/4409 HF sub-systems particularly adapted therefor, e.g. circuits for signal combination multi-lobing aerials or aerial systems H01Q25/00

Abstract

An architecture for a monopulse, active aperture array is provided which functions as a high precision error compensation system correcting both the Sum and the Difference beams simultaneously. The architecture incorporates; a radiating antenna, a transmit-receiver, a -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider operable to split the signal received from the transmit-receiver, a Sum plus Difference network, a Sum minus Difference network both of which accept the split signal from the -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider and simultaneously error compensate the beams, and a four port magic tee operable to output the error compensated signals from the Sum plus Difference network and the Sum minus Difference network.

Claims

1. An architecture for monopulse, active aperture arrays, comprising:

at least one radiating antenna means, said radiating antenna means operable to receive or transmit a signal from outside of said monopulse, active aperture array;

a least one transmit-receive means, said transmit-receive means cooperatively associated with said radiating antenna means, said transmit-receive means operable to receive said signal from said radiating antenna means;

at least one -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider, said -3.01 Wilkinson divider cooperatively associated with said transmit-receive means, said -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider operable to receive said signal from said transmit-receive means and split said received signal from said transmit-receive means in half;

a sum plus difference network (S+D), said sum plus difference (S+D) network cooperatively associated with said -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider, said sum plus difference network operable to receive said one-half of said received signal from said -3.01 Wilkinson divider;

a sum minus difference (S-D) network, said sum minus difference (S-D) network cooperatively associated with said -3.01 Wilkinson divider, said sum minus difference network operable to receive said one-half of said received signal from said -3.01 dB Wilkinson divider; and

,

a four port magic tee, said four port magic tee operable to receive an output signal from said Sum plus Difference network (S+D) and said four port magic tee operable to receive an output signal from said Sum minus Difference (S-D) network, said four port magic tee being further operable to output an error compensated Summed signal or an error compensated Difference signal.