Inertialess Electronic Geodesic Scanner

摘要

The design parameters for a practical X-band electronic 360 degree scanning antenna have been evolved. The antenna employs two geodesic Luneberg lenses and a secondary radiator in conjunction with a switching network consisting of latching circulators arranged in a tree-type configuration. The general technique also is applicable to a sector scan system. A complete mechanical layout has been made of a typical model with the following theoretical characteristics: an azimuth beamwidth of 3.8 degrees, an adjacent beam overlap of 2 dB, an insertion loss of less than 3 dB, a peak power handling capability of 20 KW minimum, and an average power capability in excess of 100 watts. This type of scanning antenna has the advantage that the gain, beamwidth, side-lobe level, and cross-over points of adjacent beams are constant with scan angle. In addition, the beam positions are stable because they are determined by the mechanical position of the feeds and consequently are insensitive to changes in operating conditions. (Author)