A Novel Antenna for Transient Applications in the Frequency Band 300 MHz – 3 GHz: The Valentine Antenna

We propose a novel ultrawideband (UWB) antenna designed specially for transient UWB radar applications. This work is a part of a new project concerning an optoelectronic UWB radar demonstrator with an array of four antennas. This project required the development of a new UWB antenna: the Valentine antenna. This antenna must be lighter and more compact in H-plane to allow the assembly of the array. This array must have a volume lower than 1 m
³
. This antenna, which is composed of curved metallic strips, radiates ultrashort pulses in the frequency band 300 MHz - 3 GHz with very low dispersion, a high gain and a low cross-polarization in the axial direction. The Valentine antenna must support 10kV of peak voltage. This paper describes the Valentine antenna and its main radiation characteristics