The Boeing Company

James L Freeman

Bernard J Lamberty

George S Andrews

Sankar Ray

Disclosed is an array antenna (10) that may be reconfigured to point in multiple directions. The array antenna includes a driven element (12) coupled to a transmission line (14) and a pair of passive elements (22) and (24). The passive elements (22) and (24) each include three antenna segments that are coupled together by a pair of optoelectronic switches (26) and (28), respectively. When the optoelectronic switches coupled to a particular passive element are closed the element functions as a reflector; when the switches are open, the element functions as a director. Other reconfigurable antennas are also disclosed, including antennas with reconfigurable gain and field pattern characteristics.

Reconfiguration of passive elements in an array antenna for controlling

Disclosed is an optically activated microwave switch (10) which includes a field-effect transistor (12) that is switched between conducting and nonconducting states by a photodiode (14) that is connected between the field-effect transistor gate and drain electrode and a photodiode (16) that is connected between the field-effect transistor gate and source electrode. The circuit is configured and arranged for switching unbiased sinusoidal microwave signals of a frequency as high as approximately 10 gigahertz. A cascade arrangement of switches (10) provides increased signal handling capability in situations in which a single switch cannot be employed. Monolithic integrated circuit realizations of both single stage and cascaded stage arrangements are disclosed in which the semiconductor substrate is GaAs, the field-effect transistors are metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors and the photodiodes are interdigitated metal-semiconductor-metal devices.

Growing community of inventors

Renton, WA, United States of America

James L Freeman