Paper Review:

- 02 wide angle scanning linear phased array antenna (E & H).

- Each element is a wide beam U-shaped microstrip antenna with electric walls.
- RF band is 3.2 to 3.8 GHz
- S-Band (Radar and SATCOM)
- AWACS / AEW&C used this band.
- E plane has 3 dB beamwidth of 140 deg and H plane has 220 deg scanning linear
array center at 3.5 Ghz
- The beam scans in E plane with in +/- 75 deg with beam fluctuation of less than 3
db and SLL less than -5 dB.
- The beam scans in H plane with in +/- 90 deg with beam fluctuation of less than 3
db and SLL less than -5 dB.
- Each linear array consists of 9 elements.
- Simulation results matches with measured results.

- Phased arrays have agile and flexible beam scan, however the limitations of
beamwidth of elelment pattern are due to mutual coupling.
- Gain fluctuations are more at wider angles (lower elevation) ie endfire.
- They are due to mutual coupling among array elements.
- Typical values id +/-45 deg with 4-5 dB gain fluctuations.
- Various techniques were studied by different people to reduce the gain
fluctuations near endfire regions and to increase the coverage to +/- 60 deg.
- Some used special material over the antenna array but it increases the size.
- Some studied the degradation is due to impedence mismatch b/w array and free
space. Structure was put over the array to study the element resistance, which
vaires cos theta and 1/ cos theta i E and H plabe respectively.
- Some tried changing the antenna structure by reconstructing antenna or plastic
patch but it increases complexity.
- Some tried splititng one array into 3.
- Some tried to suppress the surface waves through high impedence periodic
structures and broaden the radiation pattern of antenna element.
- Challenge is to make wide angle scanning, one way is to use wider beams.
- We can make wider beams through different techniques such as:
- extending the size of the substrate
- applying high-permittivity substrates (google: As we increase permittivity
of the substrate used for the patch antenna design, the size of the antenna
reduces. One more advantage is beamwidth of the antenna increases. But, bandwidth
and gain of the antenna reduces with respect to the increase in the permittivity
value)
- operating at higher-order modes
- employing a pyramidal ground structure and loading a metal case
- using a two-layer stacked electromagnetic coupling microstrip patch which
is loaded with two arc gaps and three stubs.
- In this paper, a wide beamwidth antenna is designed which consists of a U-shaped
slot microstrip antenna element and two electric walls.
- The bandwidth of the antenna is broadened by the U-shaped slot. (check applyng
high permitivity substare method above when bandwidth decreases)
- The electric walls are used to broaden the beamwidth of the antenna.
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