Ultra Wide B a n d Cylindrical Array a n d 360-Degree Beam Scan System

J. J. Lee, R. S.Chu, S.Livingston, R. Koenig

Raytheon Systems Co.
R2-V518, PO Box 902, EL Segundo CA 90245
jlee86west.ravtheon.com

Abstract -An ultra wide band cylindrical array consisting of 48 radial columns of end-fired elements is
described. A 5-column mini-sector test array was built and tested. Test results for 100 to 900 MHz were
recorded. Interleaved with the cylindrical array at the outer rim is a 96-element wide band (500-2000
MHz) ring array for IFF operation.

1. Cylindrical Array
The antenna proposed here is a non-rotating cylindrical array, conformal to an AWACS type radome, with
360-degree beam scan accomplished by a commutation switch matrix [l]. As shown in Figure 1, the
cylindrical array consists of 48 columns of end-fired elements arranged in a radial configuration. To
increase the EL gain, two decks of such elements are used. A true-time delay cable assembly feeds each
end-fired column. To form a beam in any given AZ direction, only 16 out of 48 columns are required at a
time. The design goal is to achieve -21 dB directivity, but the feed loss may reduce the gain by 1 or 2 dB.
Calculated AZ and EL beam pattems at 425 MHz are given in Figure 2. A ring array of 96 vertically
polarized elements may be interleaved with the horizontally polarized array on the outer rim for IFF
applications. To form an 8" IFF beam in the AZ plane, only 8-10 elements are required for a giver1
direction. Figure 3 is a schematic of the AZ beam-forming network for transmit and receive. It includes
fixed delay lines for wide band performance. In conjunction with the 1.3 commutation switches at the
output ports, the (16x16) transfer switch matrix correspondingly maps these delays into the 16 elements
on the circle to equalize the differential path lengths for any beam direction. There are 48 beam positions
(7.5" step size), but refined beam scans can be achieved by using the phase shiflers. On receive, digital

beam forming with photonic links may be used to provide AZ and EL beam agility through adaptive
nulling. The EL feed for each radial column may include time delays to steer the beam in the EL direction.
2. Five-Column Test Array

To prove the concept and demonstrate the wide band features of this design, a doubledeck mini-sector
UHF array consisting of five columns of end-fired elements was built and tested (Figure 4). A small1 IFF
array of seven elements interleaved with the UHF test array was also built and tested. To minimize the
mutual coupling and edge effects of a cylindrical array, low-Q flared dipole (wide band 'bunnyeai')
elements were used [Z].They were fed by a cable assembly, which equalizes the time delays in the
longitudinal direction for coherpnt combining. Measured data indicated that coupling among the UHF
elements and coupling between the UHF and IFF array were small. Other h i g h 4 narrow band (resonant)
approaches may not enjoy the same advantages.

Antenna Patterns Excellent beam pattems from 100 to 900 MHz were measured. The measured AZ
patterns of the five-column test array for 300 - 600 MHz are shown in Figure 5.The 3-dB beam width in
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the AZ plane is about 19 degrees for the five-column sector array. Corresponding EL patterns of the fivecolumn sector array were measured with the test array turned vertically. The 3-dB beam width of the fivecolumn sector array in the EL plane is about 46 degrees.
Antenna Gain -The gain of the five-column sector array (double-deck) was measured over 200 to 1000
MHz. Its net gain at 425 MHz is about 13.5 dBi with feed loss taken into account. Note that the feed
network was not optimized, and the total loss had not been carefully measured due to budget constraints.
It is expected that 1 dB improvement in the feed efficiency can be achieved in the full size development.

Phase Center The five-column sector array has a linear frequency response over 100 to 900 MHz. The
phase variation of the antenna is less than +I- 15 degrees over the entire band after a linear slope was
removed. This implies that the antenna has very little phase distortion, a basic requirement for wide
instantaneous bandwidth. In the pattern measurements, complex data (amplitude and phase) were
recorded. The phase center of an array, if it exists, can be determined from the phase data collected. The
phase center is defined as a virtual point from which the energy appears to emanate when measured in
the far field. An end-fired array has its phase center located at the tip of the array. The phase center of
the six-element end-fired column was measured in an active environment, i.e. with the central column
embedded in the five-column (double-deck) mini-sector array. Measured data confirmed that the phase
center was indeed located at the tip of the array. This was deduced by introducing a phase offset to the
measured data to account for a linear displacement of the rotation axis going through the 2"d element
(-60 cm from the tip). This correction flattens the phase plots over the entire band, 100 to 900 MHz, an

indication of a well-defined phase center over a wide band.

Mutual Coupling Mutual coupling between the IFF and UHF antennas was below -35 dB over 0.3to
2000 MHz. Mutual coupling between a discrete IFF and UHF radiating element was below -20 dB. The
wide band system makes it possible to test its performance in an imperfect range by gating out
reflections and multipaths in the time domain. With 800 MHz bandwidth, we could calibrate the system
with a nano-second pulse, and gate out undesirable scattering from the environment. Details of the
measurements are given in an internal test report [3].
Acknowledgments: The work was supported by Raytheon West (formerly Hughes Aircraft Co.) undei
1998 IR&D funding. The authors would like to thank Steve Pekarekfor his contributions in the
construction and testing of the antenna.
References
[I]. J. J. Lee, R. S.Chu, K. Schaffer, "Wide Band Cylindrical UHF Array," U S . Patent 5,874,915, 1999.
[2]. J. J. Lee, S. Livingston, "Wide-band bunny-ear radiating element," IEEE Antennas & Propagat.
Symposium Proceedings, p. 1604, 1993.
[3]. "Mini-Sector UHF and IFF Antenna Test Report," Raytheon Systems Co. December 1999.

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Refined Beam S a n

ConformalArray W l h 48
Columns of Wideband End-Fired
Subarrays
F,xed Dome ,No RotaryJ ~ i n , ,

Di@d BeamtamingOn Recalm

(opuona 16 or 48 Channels Of
Fiber ODUCUnks to RBatlverl

Figure 1. Configuration of cylindrical wide band arrays.

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Figure 2. Calculated AZ and EL pattems of a 120-deg sector array at 425 klHz.

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LOWPower Phase Shifter.

For Fine Steering In Az

16 x 16 Transfer Swltches

1:16 Power Divider

Low Power Feed Nehvork

Fixed Delay
Lines ForAll
Beam Positloni

Figure 3. AZ beam forming network, which contains delay lines for wide band.

Figure 4. Prototype five-column mini-sector test array under test.

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Figure 5. Measured AZ patterns of the mini-sector test array from 300 to 600 MHz.
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