Phased array antenna apparatus and methods of manufacture
First Claim
1. A phased array antenna apparatus, comprising:
- a first printed wiring board having multiple layers;
a plurality of interconnections embedded within the multiple layers, wherein the plurality of interconnections include a plurality of radio frequency (RF) manifolds;
at least one beam combiner/divider operably connected to the plurality of interconnections;
at least one amplifier operably connected to the at least one beam combiner/divider; and
at least one integral radiating element operably connected to the at least one amplifier, and located proximate to an edge of the printed wiring board and oriented in parallel with a bore-sight of the phased array antenna apparatus.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments include phased array antenna apparatus and methods of manufacturing them. In an embodiment, a phased array antenna apparatus includes at least one printed wiring board (PWB) (1002, FIG. 10) having multiple layers, at least one beamformer module (1014) with at least one beam combiner/divider, at least one amplifier (1016), and at least one integral radiating element (1006). The PWB includes RF manifolds (912, 916, FIG. 9) embedded within the multiple layers between corresponding ports (910, 914) of the beam combiners/dividers. The at least one integral radiating element is located proximate to an edge of the PWB and oriented in parallel with a bore-sight of the phased array antenna apparatus. In an embodiment, the beam combiners/dividers may include an H form combiner (704, FIG. 7). An opening (1026, FIG. 10) in the PWB is adapted to enable the amplifier to directly contact a heat sink (1004), in an embodiment.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A phased array antenna apparatus, comprising:
-
a first printed wiring board having multiple layers; a plurality of interconnections embedded within the multiple layers, wherein the plurality of interconnections include a plurality of radio frequency (RF) manifolds; at least one beam combiner/divider operably connected to the plurality of interconnections; at least one amplifier operably connected to the at least one beam combiner/divider; and at least one integral radiating element operably connected to the at least one amplifier, and located proximate to an edge of the printed wiring board and oriented in parallel with a bore-sight of the phased array antenna apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A phased array antenna apparatus, comprising:
a plurality of phased array antenna assemblies arranged in a matrix, wherein each phased array antenna assembly includes a heat sink; a first printed wiring board connected to a first side of the heat sink and having multiple layers; a plurality of interconnections embedded within the multiple layers, wherein the plurality of interconnections include a plurality of radio frequency (RF) manifolds; at least one beam combiner/divider operably connected to the plurality of interconnections; at least one amplifier operably connected to the at least one beam combiner/divider; and at least one integral radiating element operably connected to the at least one amplifier, and located proximate to an edge of the printed wiring board and oriented in parallel with a bore-sight of the phased array antenna apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
17. A method for manufacturing a phased array antenna apparatus, the method comprising:
-
assembling one or more modules with a printed wiring board, wherein the printed wiring board includes multiple layers, a plurality of integral radiating elements, and a plurality of interconnections between corresponding ports of a plurality of beam combiners/dividers within a plurality of beamformer modules, and wherein the one or more modules include the plurality of beamformer modules and a plurality of amplifier modules; and connecting the printed wiring board to a heat sink to produce a phased array antenna assembly. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
-
Specification