Array antenna having a dual field of view
First Claim
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1. An array antenna comprising:
- (a) a first plurality of super elements, each of said first plurality of super elements comprising N radiating elements;
(b) a second plurality of super elements, each of said second plurality of super elements comprising M radiating elements where M is not equal to N;
(c) a beamforming circuit;
(d) a circuit to selectively couple the M and N radiating elements of said first and second plurality of super elements to said beamforming circuit, such that in response to said circuit coupling each of the M and N radiating elements of said first and second plurality of super elements to said beamforming circuit, the antenna is provided having a first field of view and in response to said circuit coupling each of the N radiating elements to said beamforming circuit and isolating each of the M radiating elements from said beamforming, the antenna is provided having a second field of view which is different than the first field of view.
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Abstract
An array antenna includes two different types of super elements each having transmit/receive (TR) modules coupled thereto. The TR modules are widely spaced and the super elements are arranged such that by selectively activating certain ones of the super elements the antenna provides a dual field of view in elevation. A Narrow Field of View (NFOV) is achieved by activating all super elements in the antenna aperture. A Wide Field of View (WFOV) utilizes only super elements which are arranged in a center portion of the antenna aperture.
65 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An array antenna comprising:
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(a) a first plurality of super elements, each of said first plurality of super elements comprising N radiating elements; (b) a second plurality of super elements, each of said second plurality of super elements comprising M radiating elements where M is not equal to N; (c) a beamforming circuit; (d) a circuit to selectively couple the M and N radiating elements of said first and second plurality of super elements to said beamforming circuit, such that in response to said circuit coupling each of the M and N radiating elements of said first and second plurality of super elements to said beamforming circuit, the antenna is provided having a first field of view and in response to said circuit coupling each of the N radiating elements to said beamforming circuit and isolating each of the M radiating elements from said beamforming, the antenna is provided having a second field of view which is different than the first field of view. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An antenna comprising:
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(a) a first super element including a first predetermined number of radiating elements; (b) a first combiner circuit having a plurality of radiating element ports with first ones of the plurality of radiating element ports coupled to respective ones of said first predetermined number of radiating elements; (c) a first TR module having a first port coupled to a feed/output port of said first combiner; (d) a second super element including a second predetermined number of radiating elements wherein the predetermined number of radiating elements in the first super element is different than the predetermined number of radiating elements in the second super element; (e) a second combiner circuit having a plurality of radiating element ports with first ones of the plurality of radiating element ports coupled to respective ones of said second predetermined number of radiating elements; and (f) a second TR module having a first port coupled to a feed/output port of said second combiner. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An antenna comprising:
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(a) a plurality of first super elements, each of said first super elements including a first number of radiating elements, said plurality of first super elements arranged to provide a row of the antenna; (b) a plurality of second super elements, each of said plurality of second super elements including a second different number of radiating elements with first ones of said plurality of second super elements disposed as a first antenna row above the row of said plurality of first super elements and second ones of said plurality of second super elements disposed as a first antenna row below the row of said first super elements; (c) a beamforming circuit; (d) a circuit to selectively couple said first super elements to said beamforming circuit to provide the antenna having a first field of view and to selectively couple said second super elements to said beamforming circuit to provide the antenna having a second different field of view. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification