The Boeing Company

Paul Christian Werntz

Raenaurd D Turpin

Carl J Hahn, Iii

Jeffrey T McCollam

Julio A Navarro

Paul J Tatomir

Ketao Liu

James M Barker

John Baldauf

John J Wooldridge

Christ P Tzelepis

Brian M Park

Andre Houle

Sien-Chang C Liu

Patrick Kevin Bailleul

Dennis L Gould

Daniel F Mathews

David Kalian

William J Ceely

Lauriston Chin Wah

Tom M Hikido

James C McCleary

Charles Youngshiuk Park

Thomas Makoto Hikido

Xu Luo

Philip R Grajek

Daniel Francis Mathews

William Joseph Ceely

Systems, apparatuses, and methods provides for technology that controls a confocal antenna system. The technology controls an Integrated Phased Array (IPA) feed system to emit electromagnetic energy towards a sub-reflector, where the sub-reflector reflects the electromagnetic energy to a main reflector, and further where the main reflector receives and reflects the electromagnetic energy to form a radiation pattern on an area. The radiation pattern has a first size and a first gain. The technology conducts an identification that the radiation pattern is to be adjusted so as to adjust the first size to a second size and adjust the first gain to a second gain. In response to the identification, the technology moves the main reflector linearly along a first axis, and electronically steers a beam of the electromagnetic energy emitted from the IPA feed system towards the sub-reflector.

Reconfigurable feed array fed confocal antenna system that can adjust the radiation pattern beam size and the gain performance on-orbit

A reflector for an antenna includes a first shaped region, wherein a curvature of the first shaped region is defined by a corresponding scan angle, and a second shaped region, wherein a curvature of the second shaped region is based on a corresponding scan angle. The curvature of the first shaped region is different than the curvature of the second shaped region.

Confocal antenna system

Systems, apparatuses and methods provides for technology that generates, with a phased array of elements of an antenna system, an array element radiation pattern over a scan angle range, where the phased array of elements is spaced at a predetermined wavelength spacing. The technology reflects, with a reflector of the antenna system, the array element radiation pattern emitted from the phased array of elements to Earth, and establishes, based on a shape of the reflector, a predetermined magnification as a function of scan angle range so as to increase the field-of-view of the antenna system. The technology adjusts, based on the shape of the reflector, the array element radiation pattern, by increasing magnification relative to the scan angle range, to have a gain that increases with increases in scan angle relative to a boresight of the antenna system, and reflects, with the reflector, radiation from Earth to the phased array of elements.

Optical system for enhanced wide scan capability of array antennas

A near-field test system for a phased array antenna includes a probe, a beam forming network, and a computing system. The probe is disposed at a fixed position in a near-field of the phased array antenna and transmits a test beam toward a fixed location on the phased array. The beam forming network is coupled to the phased array and includes a plurality of phase shifters and a beam summer. The phase shifters steer received beams for each antenna element of the phased array to form a planar wave front. The beam summer is coupled to the phase shifters and combines power of the received beams. The computing system is coupled to the beam forming network and scales combined power of the received beams and generates a virtual spectrum for the phased array antenna from scaled power of the received beams.

System and method for near-field testing of a phased array antenna

A near-field test system for a phased array antenna includes a probe, a beam forming network, and a computing system. The probe is disposed at a fixed position in a near-field of the antenna and is configured to receive at least a portion of a test beam radiated by the antenna. The beam forming network is coupled to the antenna and includes a plurality of phase shifters configured to steer the test beam to a position in the near-field when radiated by an array of antenna elements of the antenna. The computing system is coupled to the probe and is configured to normalize received power of the test beam based on the position of the beam in the near-field relative to the fixed position of the probe, and generate a far-field antenna pattern for the antenna from normalized received power of the test beam.

In examples, systems and methods for waveguide antenna arrays with integrated filters are described. An example waveguide antenna array element a waveguide section has a first end and second end. The waveguide section is configured to propagate electromagnetic energy. The waveguide antenna array element also includes a feed configured to launch an electromagnetic wave into the first end of the waveguide section. The waveguide antenna array element also includes a waveguide filter having at least one waveguide cavity coupled to the second end of the waveguide section. The waveguide filter is configured to pass a first set of electromagnetic frequencies and reject a second set of electromagnetic frequencies. Yet further, the waveguide antenna array element includes an antenna coupled to the waveguide filter configured to radiate a portion of the electromagnetic energy passed by the waveguide filter.

Electronics and filter-integrated, dual-polarized transition and radiator for phased array sensors

An antenna platter comprises a plurality of antenna elements arranged as a thin array according to a polygonal grid. The polygonal grid comprises a plurality of paired polygons arranged symmetrically about a central polygon of the grid. In each polygon of the grid, the plurality of antenna elements is arranged in symmetrical pairs about a center point such that the first and second antenna elements of each symmetrical pair are complex conjugates of one another.

Axisymmetric thinned digital beamforming array for reduced power consumption

A beam waveguide may include a first set of dual offset reflectors and a second set of dual offset reflectors. The first set of dual offset reflectors and the second set of dual offset reflectors may each include reflector geometries to produce a radiation pattern that is symmetric about a first axis between the first and second set of dual offset reflectors and to produce an axi-symmetric beam from the second set of dual offset reflectors that is unaffected by any rotation of the first and second set of dual offset reflectors relative to one another about the first axis.

Beam waveguide including Mizuguchi condition reflector sets

A method and system for optimizing transmit beam and receive beam antenna radiation patterns. The method includes inputting initial estimate of beam weights for a transmit beam and a receive beam to an optimizer; and using a cost function to optimize beam weights so that a response peaks in a main region and is minimized in a sidelobe region; wherein the cost function is based on using receive beam and transmit beam characteristics.

Monostatic radar beam optimization

Systems and methods provide intermodulation reduction techniques for multiple beam phased array antennas. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, an optimization approach is employed to determine array element excitations that reduce IM interference.

Multibeam phased array antenna

A method and apparatus for determining and correcting for phased array mispointing errors, particularly those due to structural deformation, is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of receiving a signal from each of a plurality of signal sources at at least one receiving sensor disposed away from the phased array in a direction at least partially toward a receiver of a transmitted signal from the phased array, and determining the phased array pointing from the received signals. The apparatus comprises a receiving sensor for receiving a signal from each of a plurality of signal sources, the receiving sensor disposed away from the phased array in a direction at least partially toward a receiver of a transmitted signal from the phased array, and an array pointing computer for determining the direction of the phased array from the received signals.

Phased array pointing determination using inverse pseudo-beacon

A method for detecting calibration probe displacement for a phased array antenna includes steps of: creating a gold standard set of antenna element phases of the phased array antenna; determining a set of element phase sensitivities of the phased array antenna; measuring a set of antenna element phases relative to array displacement of the phased array antenna; and forming a set of equations using the gold standard set of antenna element phases, the set of element phase sensitivities, and the set of antenna element phases relative to array displacement. The set of equations has an array displacement vector x as unknown; and solving the set of equations for the array displacement vector x provides the location and orientation of the calibration probe displacement.

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Long Beach, CA, United States of America

Paul Christian Werntz