Microstrip Array Antenna and it’s Application
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is widely used as an efficient tool for remote sensing and mapping by Aerospace industries. The desirable features of antenna for Airborne SAR applications include shaped radiation pattern and wide bandwidth capability and high power capability. Generally, planar antennas are well suited for SAR applications.
The most commonly used planar array is microstrip patch array antenna which is inherently low profile and light weight. Multilayer-stacked electromagnetically coupled printed antenna is selected, which overcomes the bandwidth limitation of the conventional microstrip antenna. There is a serious limitation associated with the power handling capability of microstrip patch antenna and cannot be directly used for SAR systems where a pulse peak power of several kilowatts is used. For such applications a hybrid antenna where the feeder incorporated in waveguide or square coaxial line (SCL) can be used. High input power level within feeder networks is brought to lower power levels by using cascaded power dividers. These lower power levels are then fed to microstrip patch antenna. The SCL technology has advantage over the waveguide feeder network in terms of volume and weight.
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is widely used as an efficient tool for remote sensing and mapping by Aerospace industries. The desirable features of antenna for Airborne SAR applications include shaped radiation pattern and wide bandwidth capability and high power capability. Generally, planar antennas are well suited for SAR applications.
The most commonly used planar array is microstrip patch array antenna which is inherently low profile and light weight. Multilayer-stacked electromagnetically coupled printed antenna is selected, which overcomes the bandwidth limitation of the conventional microstrip antenna. There is a serious limitation associated with the power handling capability of microstrip patch antenna and cannot be directly used for SAR systems where a pulse peak power of several kilowatts is used. For such applications a hybrid antenna where the feeder incorporated in waveguide or square coaxial line (SCL) can be used. High input power level within feeder networks is brought to lower power levels by using cascaded power dividers. These lower power levels are then fed to microstrip patch antenna. The SCL technology has advantage over the waveguide feeder network in terms of volume and weight.