US Government As Represented by the Secretary of the Army

Richard A Stern

Richard W Babbitt

Elio A Mariani

John Joseph Borowick

Herbert A Leupold

Thomas E Koscica

Ernest Potenziani, Ii

Boaz Gelernter

Nathan Lipetz

William T Bayha

Gerald F Mikucki

A tetrahedral junction waveguide switch having a first length of hollow rangular waveguide and a second length of hollow rectangular waveguide adjacent each other with a ferrite rod longitudinally disposed therebetween. A magnetic field is created by a superconducting switching coil placed around the junction of the two lengths of waveguide. The normally magnetically biased ferrite rod permits electromagnetic wave energy to be transmitted through the first and second lengths of waveguide. An open circuit control means selectively and controllably interrupts the current flowing around the superconducting switching coil causing the longitudinal magnetic field to be removed from the normally magnetically biased ferrite rod. The waveguide switch is thereby placed in a cut off, nontransmission, or reflective mode preventing transmission of electromagnetic wave energy. The waveguide switch of the present invention has reduced size and weight and improved switching speed than that of prior waveguide switching devices.

Millimeter wave ferrite switch utilizing a superconducting switching coil

A microstrip circuit having a plurality of coplanar microstrips mounted on a common dielectric substrate. A planar circulator is coupled to a junction of the microstrips. The circulator includes a ferrite disc which lies in the plane of the substrate. The circulator also includes a biasing permanent magnet in the form of a planar, toroidal-shaped magnet having magnetic sections that are embedded in the dielectric substrate. The magnetic sections from a split cylinder that encircles the ferrite material while permitting the microstrips to pass therethrough.

Microwave circulator with a planar, biasing, permanent magnet

A microstrip transmission line substrate to substrate transition is provi comprising a pair of spaced-apart dielectric substrates having facing inner surfaces and ground planes on the non-facing outer surfaces and a parallelepiped-shaped dielectric waveguide element sandwiched between the substrate inner surfaces. The waveguide element has a pair of rhomboidal-shaped sides and a pair of sloping ends. A first microstrip conductor is disposed on the inner surface of one of the substrates and the upwardly-sloping end of the waveguide element contiguous to that surface. A second microstrip conductor is disposed on the inner surface of the other substrate and the other sloping end of the waveguide element, so that a pair of mutually-inverted microstrip transmission lines is formed. The dielectric constant of the material of the substrates is preferably much less than the dielectric constant of the waveguide element material.

Microstrip transmission line substrate to substrate transition

A microstrip electronic scan antenna array is provided comprising a hollow elongated octagonal-shaped housing formed by four quadrantially-disposed microstrip patch antenna arrays and four filler panels extending between the patch arrays. Three, independently-switchable microstrip Y-junction circulators are tandem interconnected in a double-ended wye configuration on a common dielectric substrate forming an octagonal end cover for the housing. Each of the three circulators acts as a single pole-double throw switch and the sequence of energization of the four microstrip patch antenna arrays is determined by controlling the sequence and direction of circulator coupling action of the three circulators.

Microstrip electronic scan antenna array

An antenna comprises a microstrip transmission line which includes a strip conductor and a ground plane conductor separated by a dielectric substrate; a portion of the substrate being adapted to enable energy within the substrate to radiate away from the microstrip transmission line. To permit frequency-scanning, the substrate has an antenna portion formed therein which is adapted to permit RF energy supplied to the microstrip transmission line to be directionally radiated away from the microstrip transmission line at the antenna portion, the direction of radiation being a function of the frequency of the supplied energy. The substrate may have greater capacitance at said antenna portion than at other portions of said substrate.

Microstrip frequency-scan antenna

An rf, phase-array, microstrip antenna having a slotted ground plane mounted on one surface of a dielectric substrate. A network of strip lines is mounted on an opposed surface of the dielectric substrate. The network includes eight parallel rows of coupling strip lines mounted in superposition with eight rows of radiating slots. The slots in each row form a linear array. The slot spacing in each row is uniform and is different form different rows. The network further includes an input/output strip line, a plurality of switchable microstrip circulators and a plurality of branching strip lines connected to the circulators in a tree network. A scanning circuit is connected to the control terminals of the circulators for selectively completing an rf transmission path between the input/output strip line and the coupling strip lines. Each linear array is directional, having a major lobe, and each major lobe is oriented in a different direction. Periodic switching by the scanning circuit between the linear arrays causes the antenna to scan a region of space via the different major lobes.

Slotted microstrip electronic scan antenna

A millimeter wave microstrip, high reverse loss isolator is provided comprising a monolithic ferrite element disposed on one surface of a section of microstrip dielectric substrate having a ground plane on the opposite substrate surface. The ferrite element has a pair of right prism-shaped central portions each having three prism faces and two downwardly sloping transition arm portions extending radially outwardly from two of the prism faces. A bar shaped connecting arm portion interconnects the remaining prism faces of the pair of central portions. All of the top surfces of the ferrite element are covered with microstrip conductor and four sections of microstrip conductor are disposed on the surface of the substrate in alignment with the downwardly-sloping transition arm portions of the element. Permanent magnet biasing means mounted on the ground plane beneath the ferrite element central portions cause these portions to act as microstrip Y-junction circulators. The shared connecting arm portion of the element connects the circulators in tandem so that a four port (two ports terminated) high reverse loss isolator results.

Microstrip high reverse loss isolator

A transitioning microstrip circulator. A Y-shaped circulator having two ps coupled to a first planar substrate and a third port coupled to a second planar substrate. The first and second planar substrates are substantially parallel and have the circulator sandwiched between them. The circulator selectively directs a millimeter wave signal along a millimeter wave transmission line to a selected port. Thereby, a signal can be coupled to circuit elements placed on each substrate. Circuit elements placed on the first and second substrate are stacked one on top of the other. This permits design flexibility and smaller packages for electronic devices.

Microstrip ferrite circulator for substrate transitioning

A composite microstrip circuit with a plurality of discrete microstrip conents made from materials having different dielectric constants mounted thereon. A transitional taper is formed on each discrete microstrip component at the point where a connection is made between other components or devices. The base on which the discrete microstrip components are positioned has a dielectric constant lower than any of the dielectric constants of the discrete components. The transitional taper results in a low cost, low loss interconnection between discrete microstrip components.

Microstrip circuit with transition for different dielectric materials

An antenna array includes several antenna elements, each having a microstrip transmission line which includes a strip conductor and a ground plane conductor separated by a dielectric substrate; an antenna portion of the substrate being adapted to enable energy within the substrate to radiate away from the microstrip transmission line. The substrate may have greater capacitance at the antenna portion than other portions of the substrate. The antenna portion is adapted to permit RF energy to the microstrip transmission line to be directionally radiated away from the microstrip transmission line at the antenna portion, the direction of radiation being a function of the frequency of the supplied energy and the antenna slot separation. The individual antenna elements are connected, preferably in pairs, to switching elements, preferably microstrip-type circulators, providing a switchable transmission path from an RF input to a selected antenna element. Each antenna element preferably provides a different radiated beam direction in response to a given input frequency. A desired beam direction can be selected by selecting a corresponding antenna element by means of the switching elements. Thus, by sequentially switching from one antenna to the next, electronic beam scanning can be accomplished without changing the frequency of the RF input.

Switchable scan antenna array

In the manufacture of a ferrite circulator, a ferrite material is introdu into the cavity area of a microstrip circuit or substrate by arc plasma spraying, thus eliminating any chance of gaps between ferrite material and microstrip circuit material.

Method of making a ferrite circulator

A latching type of microstrip reciprocal phase shifter is provided having a oroidal-shaped ferrite core with a length of microstrip conductor wound about the outer cylindrical surface of the core and a ground plane mounted on the inner cylindrical surface of the core surrounding the aperture in the core. A single control wire is passed through the aperture in the core and creates a circular magnetic field in the core surrounding the aperture when the core is pulsed with a unidirectional current pulse. By successively pulsing the control wire with current pulses of opposite polarity, the core may be switched back and forth between a first saturated magnetic state in which it exhibits a first insertion phase with respect to millimeter wave energy traveling between the ends of the microstrip conductor disposed on the outer cylindrical surface of the core and a second non-saturated magnetic state in which it exhibits a different insertion phase with respect to such millimeter wave energy traveling along the microstrip conductor on the outer surface of the core.

Compact microstrip latching reciprocal phase shifter

A microstrip nonreciprocal latching phase shifter has a ferrite rod with ramp-shaped dielectric waveguide members at the ends thereof mounted on one surface of a microstrip dielectric substrate having a ground plane on the opposite surface thereof. The dielectric constants of the ramp members and the rod are substantially the same and the substrate dielectric constant is substantially less than the dielectric constant of the ramp members. A dielectric plate is on top of the rod. A microstrip conductor mounted on the substrate, the ramp members and the plate in axial alignment with the rod extends between the ends of the substrate. The rod has a rectangular longitudinally-extending passageway therein filled by a dielectric core insert having a dielectric constant greater than the dielectric constant of the rod. A single control wire is disposed in and aligned with the core insert. By selectively pulsing the control wire with reversible polarity current pulses, circular magnetic fields of reversible directions are created in the toroidal-shaped flux path formed in the rod around the wire, so that the rod acts as a twin slab type of phase shifter with respect to millimeter wave energy passing from one end of the microstrip conductor to the other end thereof.

Millimeter wave microstrip nonreciprocal phase shifter

A microstrip antenna is improved by applying a thin coating of ferrite maial to the surface of the metal ground plane of the antenna by flame spraying or arc plasma spraying. The applied ferrite coating is not exposed to a high temperature anneal cycle.

Slotted microstrip antenna with ferrite coating

A millimeter wave microstrip Y-junction circulator is provided comprising a ection of microstrip dielectric substrate having a cone-shaped ferrite element mounted on one side thereof together with three, Y-junction oriented sections of microstrip conductor extending from the base of the ferrite element and an electrically conductive ground plane mounted on the other side thereof. The ferrite element is covered with a cone-shaped microstrip conductor which electrically interconnects the three Y-oriented sections of microstrip conductor. When the ferrite element is fabricated of a spinel type of ferrite, a small permanent magnet is mounted on the ground plane beneath the ferrite element to provide a unidirectional magnetic field which produces a circulator action with respect to RF energy applied to the three sections of microstrip conductor. If the ferrite element is fabricated of a hexagonal type of ferrite which produces its own internal oriented magnetic field, no external magnetic biasing means are required for the circulator.

Growing community of inventors

Allenwood, NJ, United States of America

Richard A Stern