Tapered notch antenna

• US 5,081,466 A
• Filed: 05/04/1990
• Issued: 01/14/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: General Dynamics Decision Systems, Inc. (General Dynamics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bitter, Charles R. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wimer, Michael C.
• Application Number:
  US07/518,047
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 343/767, 343/768, 343/700 MS File, 343/795, 343/772, 343/786
• US Class Current: 343/767
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/085 Slot-line radiating ends

Abstract

An improved tapered notch antenna configuration is provided. H-plane pattern directivity is achieved by splitting the planar tapered notch into two diverging surfaces to increase aperture dimension in that plane.

A first embodiement describes a stripline feed approach where the ground plane conductors and attendant dielectric substrates diverge in the notch taper region.

A second embodiment utilizes a conductor plane containing a notch and coplanar transmission line which is imbedded at half-depth within an essentially thin dielectric slab. The conductor plane and the dielectric slab separate into two equal but diverging conductive surfaces on separate dielectric substrates in the taper region.

The improved tapered notch antenna, according to the invention, provides increased H-plane directivity, while retaining the prior art-features of feed compactness, low-cost, and repeatability.

Claims

1. An antenna comprising:

a planar surface with metal coating disposed thereon,

the metal coating removed in a first essentially linear region to form a stripline feed,

the metal coating removed in a second region to form a notch having a closed narrow end and a relatively wider end that is open;

said stripline feed region intersecting said notch at a coplanar junction located near said narrow end of said stripline feed,

the notch forming two metallic fingers that extend away from said coplanar junction and toward the open wider end;

wherein each of said two metallic fingers is split into two leaves, the leaves parted and separated relative to each other; and

,

wherein said leaves diverge outward from one another toward said open wider end.

2. The antenna of claim 1 wherein said planar surface forms one side of a printed circuit board.

3. An antenna comprising:

an essentially planar dielectric surface having an edge with a metal coating disposed thereon,

the metal coating removed in a first essentially linear region on said surface to form a coplanar waveguide feed,

the metal coating removed in a second region on said surface to form a notch having a closed narrow end and a tapered wider end that is open at the edge of the dielectric surface,

the coplanar waveguide feed intersecting the notch at a coplanar junction located near the closed narrow end of the notch.

4. The antenna of claim 3 further arranged so that said tapered end of the notch is divided into two separate metallic surfaces, the metallic surfaces diverging away from one another toward the open end of the notch.

5. An antenna comprising:

a feed line and a notch radiator each formed as a conductor,

said notch radiator having a closed narrow end, the other end having a wider tapered region that is open,

said feed line and said notch radiator being coplanar, with the feed line and the notch radiator conductors in the same plane and disposed on a dielectric surface,

said feed line coupled to said notch radiator by means of a coplanar junction located near the closed narrow end of the notch.

6. The antenna of claim 5, having said tapered region of said notch radiator separated into two conducting surfaces, the separated surfaces diverging outward away from one another towards the open end of the notch.

7. The antenna of claim 6 wherein said dielectric surface forms one side of a printed circuit board.

8. An antenna comprising:

two thin dielectric substrates,

the first substrate having an outer side and an inner side, the outer side having a metallic surface disposed thereon, the inner side having a metallized strip affixed thereon whose function is that of a stripline,

the second substrate having an outer side and an inner side, the outer side having a metallic surface disposed thereon, the inner side unmetallized,

the metallized surfaces both having substantially identical portions of the metallic coating removed by etching to form a tapered notch on each surface, each notch having a narrow closed end and a relatively wider tapered end that is open,

the inner surfaces of both substrates bonded together in the region near the narrow closed end of the notch,

the inner surfaces of both substrates separated from each other in the region near the wider tapered end of the notch,

the inner surfaces diverging outward one from another towards the open end of the notch.

9. A printed circuit board having a dielectic surface, the dielectric surface having at least one edge, and including an antenna, the antenna comprising:

an essentially planar metallic surface formed as a metal coating disposed on said dielectric surface and extending to the edge of the dielectric surface,

the metal coating removed in a first essentially linear region to form a coplanar waveguide feed,

the metal coating removed in a second region to form a notch having a closed narrow end and a tapered wider end that is open near the edge of the dielectric surface,

the coplanar waveguide feed intersecting the notch at a coplanar junction located near the closed narrow end of the notch.