Radome wall design having broadband and mm-wave characteristics

摘要

The invention describes a multi-layer radome construction which is termed a D-sandwich and allows excellent transmission efficiency over areas of the entire spectrum of DC to at least 100 GHz. The radome wall construction comprises a core layer of low dielectric constant material bounded by intermediate layers of high dielectric constant material which themselves are bounded by additional layers of low dielectric constant material. Each of the low dielectric constant layers has a substantial electrical effect upon the performance of the radome as well as being a high strength material which provides substantial structural rigidity to the radome. The radome may be further provided with one or more protective surface coatings for certain environmental conditions, without destroying the desired transmission characteristics of the radome. The dielectric constant, loss tangent and thickness of the various materials in the multi-layer construction of the invention are designed to provide excellent transmission efficiency over the frequency and angular range desired. The thicknesses of the various layers in the multi-layer construction are also designed to minimize insertion and return losses thereby minimizing loading of radar transmitters as well as being relatively insensitive to aspect angle and arbitrary wave polarization.