General Electric Company

Martin Marietta Corporation

Howard IP Law Group, Pc

Blake A Carnahan

James W Krueger, Jr

Albert H Berical

Kevin L Robinson

Donald P Miller

John D Reale

Cousby Younger, Jr

Earl L Turner

Harry C Ast

Allan A Schill

Peter P Ilacqua

This invention pertains to a lightweight dual-band electronically steered phased array antenna having a multi-layer circuit for supplying DC and a ground plane to RF-on-flex subarrays. A dipole and two additional legs form a four-legged pyramid that stiffens the multi-layer circuit structure and serves as a bonding point to a radome surface. Two of the legs of the pyramid incorporate a low-band V dipole-radiating element. A third leg of the pyramid distributes RF energy to the subarrays via the multi-layer circuit. At the base of the pyramid is an open rectangular frame that accepts the insertion of the multi-layer circuit. An infrared laser transmitter distributes high and low band transmit/receive module control signals to an infrared detector on the opposite side of the subarrays.

Lightweight dual band active electronically steered array

The invention relates to a self monitoring/calibrating phased array radar in which the operating path for transmission and the operating path for reception may be monitored/calibrated by the addition of a corporate calibration network coupled at the plural end to the antenna elements and at the singular end to the exciter/receiver, and switching means to selectively route the monitoring/calibrating signal derived from the exciter in a transmit path to calibration path sequence or in a calibration path to receive path sequence. In one embodiment of the invention, a phase shifter common to transmit and receive paths is adjustable in increments under active logical control for calibration, while power and gain performance is monitored but not actively controlled. A novel T/R sub-assembly houses the operating electronics for four antenna elements in the form of four T/R modules with a one to four divider network in the transmit/receive path and in the calibration path. The four antenna elements are an integral part of the T/R sub-assembly.

Self monitoring/calibrating phased array radar and an interchangeable,

The invention relates to a microstrip to stripline transition which achieves good electrical performance and permits easy, solderless disconnection. The upper portion of the stripline is omitted permitting a flying lead bonded to the microstrip conductor, and which extends across a gap, to be held in contact with the stripline conductor by a removable filler block, which replaces the omitted upper portion of the stripline. The air gap, and the width of the stripline and microstrip conductors adjacent the air gap are dimensioned to form the electrical equivalent of a pi network to achieve a desired response. The filler block is held in place, in one embodiment, by an elongated conductor bridging the upper and lower ground planes of the stripline and which is cut away to form a short waveguide section encircling the transition. The waveguide section is dimensioned to favor only a desired TEM stripline mode and suppress undesired waveguide modes for increased transition efficiency over a desired band. The side walls of the waveguide section are made wide to reduce radiation from the stripline adjoining the transition.

Disconnectable microstrip to stripline transition

The invention relates to a transition between stripline transmission lines that is efficient at microwave frequencies and readily fabricated, and which may be used to achieve cross-overs in stipline circuits. The transition includes a coaxial section placed between pads at the ends of the stripline conductors. The coaxial section is formed by a resilient center conductor surrounded by an incomplete circle of pins connected to the ground planes and forming the outer conductor. The connections to the pads enter the ends of the coaxial section at the azimuth of the gap in the circle of pins. Good high frequency performance despite the discontinuity between the pads and coaxial center conductor is achieved by increasing the characteristic impedance of the coaxial section and that of the stripline near the transition relative to the characteristic impedance of the stripline remote from the transition.

Stripline to stripline coaxial transition

Growing community of inventors

Cazenovia, NY, United States of America

Blake A Carnahan