The Boeing Company

Dietrich E Riemer

Rudolph E Corwin

George W Fitzsimmons

Donn T Harvey

Julio A Navarro

Edward Joseph Vertatschitsch

Bernard J Lamberty

David A Holm

Douglas Allan Pietila

Billy J Stanbery

Jay H McCandless

Edward C Goldstick

Robert M Broudy

Alan N Iverson

Federick B Holt

An electronically steerable phased array antenna module having a conformable circuit element. The conformable circuit element forms a packaging architecture which includes a flexible substrate on which the control electronics of the antenna can be mounted directly or electrically coupled to the flexible substrate. The radiating elements are integrally formed on the substrate together with monolithic transmission lines which couple the radiating elements to the integrated circuits forming the control electronics. In one preferred embodiment, integrated power combiner/splitters may be integrally formed on the conformable circuit element and integrated transmission feed lines are formed on the circuit element coupling the power combiner/splitter circuits to the control electronics. The conformable circuit element provides a packaging architecture which enables a large plurality of antenna radiating elements and associated interconnecting transmission and feed to be packaged in a cost efficient and compact manner, and which can be easily adapted for a variety of different forms of phased array antennas.

Three dimensional packaging architecture for phased array antenna elements

A phased-array antenna structure is provided that includes an antenna waveguide structure with a plurality of waveguides. The antenna waveguide structure propagates the received or transmitted electromagnetic (EM) signals within the plurality of waveguides to a corresponding active array module. Each active array module amplifies and adjusts the phase of a received or transmitted EM signal. The active array modules are coupled to an interconnect structure that provides EM signal propagation paths, as well as power and digital signal paths, to and from the active array modules. A plate is coupled to the interconnect structure and the antenna waveguide structure to support the antenna waveguide structure, the electronic modules, and the interconnect structure, thereby forming a rigid unit and keeping the electronic modules in alignment with their corresponding waveguides in the antenna waveguide structure. The plate also includes waveguides for propagating the EM signals from the interconnect structure to the antenna output. The active array modules each include an integrated polarizer for selectably operating with either right-hand circularly polarized signals or left-hand polarized signals. The polarizer, amplifiers and phase shifters are mounted on a substrate in each active array module, with the substrate disposed in a position normal to the propagation of the EM signals in the corresponding waveguide of the antenna waveguide structure, resulting in a planar configuration. Further, each active array module includes a waveguide as an integral part of the active array module.

Low-cost communication phased-array antenna

A thermal condition sensor system monitors equipment such as aircraft engines. The thermal condition sensor system includes a collector which collects radiation from the equipment and a detector assembly which detects collected radiation over a discriminating spectral band region in at least three spectral bands and generates signals representative of detected radiation in each spectral band. A processor receives the signals and generates a report of the thermal conditions of the equipment using interband comparison of the at least three spectral bands.

Thermal condition sensor system for monitoring equipment operation

A phased array antenna structure has a distribution network, and a composite of feed, module, and antenna honeycomb structures. The distribution network distributes or collects electromagnetic (EM) energy. The feed honeycomb structure is positioned adjacent the distribution network and connected to receive the EM energy from the distribution network or to distribute EM energy to the distribution network. The module honeycomb structure is positioned adjacent the feed honeycomb structure so as to receive EM energy from the feed honeycomb structure or to transmit EM energy to the feed honeycomb structure. The antenna honeycomb structure is positioned adjacent the module honeycomb structure on a side opposite the feed honeycomb structure so as to receive EM energy from the module honeycomb structure or to transmit EM energy to the module honeycomb structure. Each of the feed, module and antenna honeycomb structures have a plurality of aligned waveguides for transmitting EM energy therealong. The module honeycomb structure includes an electronic module for each waveguide wherein each electronic module has an electronic element for adjusting at least the phase of the EM energy and transmitting the adjusted phase EM energy to the aligned waveguide of the antenna honeycomb structure or the feed honeycomb structure.

Packaging architecture for phased arrays

The position of an aircraft control surface actuator is determined by a combination of a linear transducer and light radar. A link has a first end attached to a magnet and a second end attached to the actuator. Movement of the actuator causes the magnet to move axially along the outer cylindrical surface of a hermetically sealed housing. The transducer includes a magnetic coupling between the magnet end and a ferromagnetic follower inside the sealed housing. Preferably, the magnet is a ring magnet, and the ferromagnetic follower is a tubular cylinder. The follower carries a corner cube reflector that receives light from, and reflects light back to, the end of an optical fiber. The transit time of the light is measured and is used to calculate the distance between the fiber end and the reflector to thereby determine the position of the actuator. The hollow configuration of the follower increases magnetic flux exiting from the flat end surfaces of the follower to increase the strength of the magnetic coupling and also reduces the mass of the follower to reduce the displacement inaccuracy during acceleration. The length of the follower is preferably equal to the distance between the poles of the magnet.

Position sensing system with magnetic coupling

An improved method for producing a gold conductor on a substrate in the manufacture of a thick film hybrid circuit, such that the gold conductor is suitable for wire bonding. The method comprises screen printing a fluxless gold paste on the substrate, and then firing the substrate and paste. The paste includes the resinate of a metal that can form an alloy with gold and that can also form an oxide at the firing temperature. Suitable gold pastes include bismuth and cadmium resinates in a total amount by weight of less than 1%.

Method of making thick film gold conductor

A screen printing method and apparatus in which the ink pressure is held constant by varying the squeegee speed and/or the squeegee angle during a print stroke. In one method, the squeegee velocity v and/or squeegee angle .alpha. are controlled such that v times the square root of the amount of ink A on the screen before the squeegee, divided by the square of the sine of .alpha., is substantially constant. In another approach, the pressure is directly measured and held constant during the print stroke. The quantity A may be determined as a linear function of the squeegee position during the print stroke. A screen printing apparatus is provided having a squeegee with a planar surface and a contact edge at the lower edge of the planar surface. The squeegee is mounted such that it can be rotated about the contact edge, to thereby vary the squeegee angle without changing the elevation of the contact edge.

Screen printing method and apparatus

A capacitance measuring circuit board test system (10, 10') for measuring the electrical continuity and integrity of line segments (14) on a circuit board (12) including: a test stand support (20); a conductive pliant circuit board backside reference plane (19, 29, 34) carried by the support (20); means for pressing the circuit board (12) into intimate mutually coextensive face-to-face contact with the conductive pliant material (29) defining the reference plane (19, 29, 34) with the interface therebetween being devoid of air gaps; and, a capacitance measuring device (16, 40) having sensory terminals (5, 18 and 44, 45) respectively coupled to a relatively movable test probe (11, 46) and to the backside reference plane (19, 29, 34) for measuring the capacitance of the circuit board line segments (14) between n test points and the backside reference plane (19, 29, 34). The systems disclosed include methods and apparatus suitable for use with a wide variety of circuit boards (12) including single- or double-sided circuit boards, single- or multi-layer circuit boards, and circuit boards with and/or without internal ground and/or power planes; and, with a wide variety of different types of capacitance measuring devices including, for example, three point capacitance meters (16) and four point capacitance meters (40), in the latter of which current is driven through the circuit board (12) and test system (10') from a high-potential drive terminal (41) to a low-potential drive terminal (42) associated with the meter (40) while the voltage levels at the high- and low-potential sensory terminals (44, 45) are measured with the voltage drop therebetween being indicative of line segment capacitance.

Capacitive circuit board testing system and method using a conductive

An improved light transducer such as a solar cell and, especially, a concentrator solar cell, together with processes for forming the same which permit the formation of light transducers characterized by their improved efficiency, especially, at concentration ratios on the order of 100 Suns and greater; and, more particularly, an improved process for forming concentrator solar cell electrodes, and improved concentrator solar cells produced thereby, characterized in that the electrodes comprise a multiplicity of closely spaced, fine-line--i.e., preferably on the order of less than about 1.0 mils in width--electroplated electrodes which are on the order of at least as thick as they are wide and, preferably which are at least 0.7 mils in thickness yet, which are characterized by their relatively sharp, vertical edge profiles and which are essentially devoid of lateral 'spread' of the electroplated electrode materials.

Electrodes for concentrator solar cells, and methods for manufacture

An electrically conductive, anti-reflective coating is formed on a base layer of prepared silicon in such a manner as to form a good ohmic contact therewith. If doped, the coating can serve as an impurity source during a following diffusion step, in which a PN junction is formed in the silicon. Undoped coatings may be used when the PN junction has previously been formed in the silicon. Thick film electrical contacts are then formed by screen printing on the top surface of the anti-reflective coating and then fired at high temperature, i.e. 500.degree.-1000.degree. C. The material comprising the coating is such that it acts as a barrier to the diffusion of the metal forming the electrical contacts into the silicon base layer during the firing of the thick film contacts. Since the coating is electrically conductive, a conductive path between the contacts and the silicon is established.

Process for fabricating solar cells and the product produced thereby

A solar cell including a dielectric isolation member to electrically isolate an active region of the cell from the unfinished edge thereof and to protect the p-n junction from surface contaminants. The isolation member is fabricated on top of a semiconductor wafer before diffusion.

Growing community of inventors

Auburn, WA, United States of America

Dietrich E Riemer