Hughes Aircraft Company

Mike D Thomas

Ronald I Wolfson

A double ridge flared trough radiating element, including a double ridge trough waveguide fed by an embedded coaxial or stripline feed network. Energy couples smoothly to and from the feed network and trough waveguide because the equivalent characteristic impedance at the feed point of the shunt connected waveguide is the same as the feed network characteristic impedance. The radiator can be configured to produce linear, dual-linear or circular polarization.

Flared trough radiator

This invention discloses an antenna element (12) or an array of antenna elements (52) for use in multifunctional systems which exhibits wide bandwidth, small size, polarization diversity and conformality. In one preferred embodiment, an array of circular conductive patches (56,58) are formed on a dielectric substrate (54) in which adjacent patches are formed on opposite sides of the substrate (54). Each of the opposite conducting patches (56,58) are configured to form a dual flared slotline such that an electric field created between the two conductive patches (56,58) will exhibit a wide range of impedance matching to free space. By exciting the conductive patches (56,58), radiating electromagnetic waves having a polarization with respect to the orientation of the slotlines is produced. By this, a single array of antenna elements (52) can be used in a multifunctional system.

Wideband arrayable planar radiator

A broadband transition between microstrip transmission line and slotline transmission line. The geometry of integrating the two transmission lines results in a broadband microstrip shunt circuit across the slotline, and a broadband slotline open circuit in the direction opposite of propagation on the slotline. This produces direct coupling between the two transmission lines. The transition does not require any intermediate transmission line types between the microstrip and slotline, and no frequency dependent tuning stubs are used to produce the shunt circuits and open circuits required for coupling. The result is a broadband transition which can be fabricated using standard etching techniques and requiring no plated through holes.

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Thousand Oaks, CA, United States of America

Mike D Thomas