United States Patent [191

[H1

3,711,858

Reeder, Jr.

1451

Jan. 16, 1973

[541

[75]

MONOPULSE RADAR ANTENNA

3,508,275

4/1970

Deveau et al ....................... ..343/768

STRUCTURE

3,569,973

3/1971

Braumbaugh, Jr. et al....343/77l XR

Inventor: George C. Reader, Jr., Pasadena,

Md

Primary Examiner__Herman Karl Saalbach

Assistant Examiner-Marvin Nussbaum

[73] Assignee: Westinghouse meal-k Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa.
Feb. 24, 1971

Attorney-F. H. Henson, E. P. Klipfel and D. Schron

[

57

AB

STRAC

[22]

Filed:

[21]

Appl-No-l 118,363

sections for producing monopulse arrays and incor~

[52]
[511
[58]

us. Cl .................................. ..343/771, 343/854

lm. Cl. ........................................... ..H0lq 13/10
Field of Search
343/767_77l 854

porating means for reducing sidelobes. This is

hieved by Providing Wave guide 9mm? the f"
quadrants of a mmPulse antenna "h idlacent ends
of the wave guides in the quadrants being staggered

An antenna structure formed from slotted wave guide

""""""""""" "

[56]

such that certain wave guides in one quadrant extend

into an adjacent quadrant and vice versa. The stag

References Clted

gered con?guration effectively reduces the slope of

UNITED STATES PATENTS

the transition in phase from one quadrant to the other

and results in a reduction in amplitude of the side

3,l50,375
2,83l,l90

9/l964
4/1958

Bevan et al ......................... ..343/768

Trinter ........................ .. 343/771 XR

]0beS_

2,940,075

6/l960

Stavis et al ................... .. 343/771 XR

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures

PATENTEDJAH 16 ms

3.711.858
SHEET 2 OF 2

82
DISTANCE FROM CENTER
OF ANTENNA- ELEVATION

monkjia.
O

'

'

l'o '

I12

ANGLE OFF BORESIGHT (BEAMWIDTHS)

3,711,858

MONOPULSE RADAR ANTENNA STRUCTURE

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Invention herein described was made in the

course

of

or

under

a contract

or

In accordance with the present invention, the

generation of sidelobes because of the abrupt change in

subcontract

thereunder, (or grant) with the Department of the

phase at the abutting ends of wave guides in a slotted

Navy.

wave guide configuration for monopulse radars is

reduced or eliminated. This is accomplished with the

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

use of an antenna of the slotted wave guide type includ

ing at least two segments each formed from a plurality
of parallel slotted wave guides. The ends of the wave
guides in one segment are closely adjacent the ends of
the wave guides in the other segment, and the wave
guides in one segment are aligned with those in the
other segment. The adjacent ends of the wave guides in
the respective segments are staggered such that certain

In conventional radar systems, conical scanning is

often used to obtain the angular position of a target
with respect to the boresight axis of the radar antenna.
Radiation from the antenna is in the form of a narrow

pencil beam which is made to rotate circularly about

the boresight axis so that the radiation pattern is in the
form of a cone whose vertex is the center of the radiat

ing antenna. By recording the position of the radiated

wave guides in one segment extend into an adjacent

segment and vice versa to reduce the generation of

energy pulses which are re?ected by a target

somewhere in the 360 circular path traveled by the

beam, the angular position of the target may be deter
mined.

sidelobes due to an abrupt discontinuity at the junction

least two antenna or antenna segments rather than one;

ing quadrants of the circular con?guration; however, in

of the two segments.

In most cases, the antenna will include four segments
20
In a monopulse radar system, on the other hand
in order that both azimuth and elevation information
complete angular information is obtained from a single
can be obtained. The outer peripheral con?guration of
radiated energy pulse. This is accomplished by using at
the antenna is usually circular with the segments form

and in the case where complete azimuth and elevation 25 any event, the outer periphery of the antenna will or
dinarily de?ne a geometrical con?guration in which the
information is to be derived, the antenna must be di
four quadrants or sectors are all of "the same size.
vided into four quadrants, two above the other and
The above and other objects and features of the in
separated along generally vertical and horizontal divid~

vention will become apparent from the following

ing planes. The antenna segments are spaced apart

from a common center point and are aimed so that 30 detailed description taken in connection with the 'ac

companying drawings which form a part of this speci?

cation, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the general
principle of a monopulse radar;
FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram showing the

their cone-shaped lobes or radiation beams overlap.

Any target in the field formed by the overlapping lobes
will send re?ected energy pulses back to the respective
antenna segments. Unless the target lies at equal
distances from two segments, the amplitudes and
phases of the reflected energy waves arriving at the an

manner in which the antenna of the invention may be

connected to transmitting and receiving circuitry;

tenna segments will vary. By comparing the amplitude

FIG._3 is an elevational plan view of the antenna of

or phase differences, an angular error signal is derived

the invention;

whose magnitude and polarity indicates target distance

mines target angularity by comparing the amplitudes of

received signals at a plurality of antennas or antenna

segments; whereas the conical scan system determines

angularity by noting amplitude variations in re?ected

signals as the antenna and lobe travel through 360.
It has been found desirable to employ in monopulse
radar systems an antenna formed from slotted hollow
pipe wave guides. In an antenna of this type, the wave

guides are aligned in side-by-side relationship and pro

vided with slots in the forward faces thereof. Four sets
of such slotted wave guides must be provided to form

'

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the slotted

wave guide sections of the antenna of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a plot of error signal voltage versus angle for
the antenna of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 6 is a plot of amplitude versus angle showing the

and direction from the center point between the anten

na segments. The monopulse system, therefore, deter

45

reduction in generation of sidelobes with the teachings

of the invention.
With reference now to the drawings, and particularly

to FIG. 1, the principle of a monopulse radar is shown

for locating a target in one dimension, such as azimuth
or elevation. Two antennas or feedhorns 10 and 12 are

spaced at equal distances from a common center line

14. The radiated lobes or ?elds l6 and 18 overlap to
form a combined field 20. If a target 22 is found within

the four quadrants of a monopulse antenna for deter

the combined ?eld, simultaneous pulses emanating
mining azimuth and elevation information, the ends of
from
the antennas 10 and 12 will be re?ected back to
the wave guides in two of the quadrants abutting or 55 their respective antennas. However, since in the
being closely adjacent the ends of the wave guides in
present illustration the target is nearer to the center of
the remaining two quadrants.
the beam of antenna 12 than that of antenna 10, the
In an antenna of this type, it is necessary that the four
re?ected pulses arriving at antenna 12 will be greater in
quadrants be phased differently in order to obtain the
amplitude than those arriving at antenna 10. Likewise,
angle error signal. This phasing results in a discontinui
the signal received at antenna 12 will lead in phase that
ty in the illumination pattern of the antenna. Speci?
received at antenna 10. By comparing the difference in
cally, there is a discontinuity at the center of the anten
amplitude or phase between the two received signals,
na where the ends of the wave guides in the respective
an angular error signal can be derived whose mag
quadrants abut each other. At this point, the phase of
65 nitude and polarity will indicate the position of target
the wave energy abruptly changes from a positive value
22 with respect to center line 14. The amplitudes of the
of high amplitude to a negative value of high amplitude,
received pulses will also indicate the range of the target
with the result that excessive sidelobes occur.
22.

3,711,858
3

A schematic circuit diagram of a monopulse radar

system employing the antenna of the invention for
locating a target in both azimuth and elevation is shown
in FIG. 2. The antenna 24, hereinafter described in
detail, includes four quadrants A, B, C and D, each of

ble wave guide plumbing, not shown, but within the

skill of the art, is provided between the hybrid junctions

26 and 32 (FIG. 2) and the quadrants A, B, C and D to
achieve this illumination pattern. It will be noted that
the illumination pattern changes abruptly at the junc
tion of the terminatin ends of the wave guide sections

which acts as a separate antenna corresponding to one

in quadrants B and C. pecifically, radiation of positive

of the two antennas 10 or 12 in FIG. 1. The segments A

phase increases in amplitude from the edge of the an

tenna to the center line thereof; whereupon the phase

and D are connected to the two arms of a hybrid junc

tion 26 such as a magic tee or a short-slot coupler.
The sum and difference signals appear at the other two
arms 28 and 30 of the hybrid. Similarly, the segments B

changes along the straight line edge 79 (FIG. 5) to a

negative value of high amplitude and then decreases in
amplitude as the other edge of the antenna is ap
proached. Furthermore, with an arrangement of that
type, sidelobes of considerable amplitude are
generated as shown by full-line curve 80 in FIG. 6
which is a plot of amplitude versus angle off the
boresight axis of the antenna.
In accordance with the present invention, reduction

and C are connected to the two arms of a hybrid junc

tion 32 with the sum and difference signals appearing at
the other two arms 34 and 36. The sum signals 28 and
34 are applied to the two arms of a third hybrid junc
tion 38 which produces, in channels 40 and 42 a sum

signal and a difference signal, respectively. In addition,

the difference signals at arms 30 and 36 are applied to a

hybrid junction 44 which produces in channel 46 an

elevation difference signal. The signals in channels 40,

20

in sidelobes is achieved by staggering the terminating

ends of the parallel wave guide sections 74 in quadrants
B and C as well as in quadrants A and D. This creates a
condition wherein the phases at the termination are
more or less mixed and the phase reversal is not as

42 and 46 are applied to mixers 48, 50 and 52, respec

tively, where they are mixed with the output of a local

oscillator 54 and then applied through intermediate

frequency ampli?ers 56, 58 and 60 to an amplitude de

steep as when the terminations are aligned, resulting in

tector 62 and to two phase detectors 64 and 66, respec 25 the illumination pattern indicated by. the broken line 82
in FIG. 5. Furthermore, as can be seen from the
tively. The output of the amplitude detector 62 is a
broken-line curve 84 in FIG. 6, the amplitudes of the
signal proportional to the range of the target; the out
sidelobes are considerably reduced by staggering the
put of phase detector 64 is an azimuth angle error
ends of the wave guide sections.
.
signal; and the output of phase detector 66 is an eleva
Although the invention has been shown in connec
tion angle error signal. The transmitter 68 is connected
tion with a certain speci?c embodiment, it will be
through duplexer devices 70 and 72 to the sum channel
readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various
40.
changes in form and arrangement of parts may be made
The antenna 24 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4. It
to suit requirements without departing from the spirit
is generally circular in con?guration and includes the
four quadrants A, B, C and D. Each quadrant, such as 35 and scope of the invention.
I claim as my invention:
quadrant B, is formed from a plurality of parallel wave

1. In an antenna of the slotted wave guide type, at

least two segments each formed from a plurality of
parallel slotted wave guides, the wave guides in at least
one segment being positioned end to end with the wave

guide sections 74 provided with angled slots 76 spaced

along their forward walls.
The wave guide sections 74 are shown in detail in
FIG. 4. They comprise a piece of hollow-pipe wave
guide which carries the energy from a transmitter. At
the point where radiation is desired, the holes or slots

guides of at least one other segment, the longitudinal

axis of all wave guides so positioned being parallel, with
the adjacent ends of selected wave guides being stag

76 are cut and so shaped and spaced that radiation

from them is of the desired form. Thus, the antenna

gered such that certain wave guides in one segment ex

feed and the antenna itself are really one and the same 45 tend into an adjacent segment and vice versa to reduce

the generation of sidelobes due to a discontinuity at the

thing. Note that the wave guide sections 74 in quadrant

B, for example, are aligned with those in quadrant C
and that all wave guide sections in quadrants A, B, C
and D are parallel to each other. Furthermore, ends of
the wave guide sections 74 in quadrant B have ter

junction of the two segments, and means for feeding

out-of-phase wave energy to the wave guides in the

respective segments.
2. The antenna of claim 1 wherein the antenna is cir

cular in configuration and there are four segments each

minating ends which are closely adjacent terminating

ends of the wave guide sections in quadrant C.
Similarly, the wave guide sections 74 in quadrant A
have terminating ends which are closely adjacent the

defining a quadrant of a circle.

55
terminating ends in quadrant D.
i
It is common in slotted wave guide antennas of this

two segments are above the other two.

3. The antenna of claim 2 wherein the parallel wave

guide sections are aligned along vertical axes such that

type to align all of the terminating ends of the parallel

wave guide sections 74 in quadrants B and C, for exam
ple, along a straight line. This results in the illumination
pattern shown by the full-line curve 78 in FIG. 5. Suita

65

'

4. The antenna of claim 1 including means for feed

ing wave energy to said wave guides to produce an illu
mination pattern where the phase of the wave energy
reverses at the adjacent ends of the wave guides.
*

1k