Lower profile high‐power dual‐polarized wide‐beam tracking antenna at S‐band

Abstract

An S‐band dual linearly polarized monopulse tracking antenna has been developed with a cavity‐backed cross‐dipole antenna as the element. Wide‐beam and wideband tracking have been successfully demonstrated. Systematic design approaches have been presented. The cavity arrangement enhances the beamwidth of a horizontal dipole significantly retaining its wideband characteristics. The element exhibits a 3 dB beamwidth ≥145°. Such a wide beamwidth made the cavity‐backed cross dipole an attractive choice as the element for the tracking antenna. The monopulse antenna demonstrates an impedance bandwidth ≥20.7% with isolation superior to 24 dB. Dual polarized tracking has been effectively verified over ≥15% bandwidth with a broad‐side gain of 11.2 dBi. The angular field‐of‐view (FOV) for the tracking is ≥60°. Higher tracking bandwidth and wider FOV of the array, lower profile, and high‐power handling capability are the superiority of the developed antenna.