Dielectric-free metal-only dipole-coupled broadband radiating array aperture with wide field of view
View Patent ↗Dielectric-free, metal-only, dipole-coupled broadband radiating array aperture with wide field of view.
1. A dipole-coupled broadband radiator structure, comprising:
a ground surface having first and second openings disposed therethrough; and
adjacent first and second dipole antennas each comprising two loops with each loop disposed in a respective plane perpendicular to the ground plane, a selected one of the loops of each of the antennas having a first end shorted to the ground surface and a second end disposed in a respective one of the first and second openings, with the respective planes of a selected loop of each of the first and second antennas disposed perpendicular to one another.
2. The dipole-coupled broadband radiator structure according to claim 1 , wherein the loops comprise self-supporting metal structures.
3. The dipole-coupled broadband radiator structure according to claim 1 , comprising RF transmitter/receiver circuits below the ground surface in electrical communication with the second end of each loop of the first and second antennas.
4. A two-dimensional array of radiator structures according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a selected first end of the first dipole antenna is capacitively coupled to a selected first end of the adjacent second dipole antenna.
5. A plurality of two-dimensional arrays according to claim 4 , arranged to provide a three-dimensional array.
6. The two-dimensional array according to claim 4 , wherein the length of a unit cell of the two dimensional array taken along the ground surface is approximately half of a wavelength at the upper end of the frequency range over which the array operates.
7. A two-dimensional array of radiator structures according to claim 1 , wherein each antenna has a leg, and wherein respective adjacent legs of the adjacent first and second dipole antennas are interdigitated.
8. A two-dimensional array of radiator structures according to claim 1 , wherein each antenna has a leg, and wherein respective adjacent legs of the adjacent first and second dipole antennas are interwoven.
9. The dipole-coupled broadband radiator structure according to claim 1 , wherein each loop of the second dipole antenna has a first end shorted to the ground surface and a second end disposed in the second opening.