Ultra wideband transparent RF aperture for electro-optical integration

RF sensors can provide a suitable foundation in developing combined RF/optical imaging apertures. The paper describes an ultra wideband RF aperture as an enabler in a combined conformal Radio Frequency (RF) and Electro-Optical (EO) aperture. The proposed aperture is intended for RF to Mid-IR operation. The RFEO aperture is based on a novel, planar, Interweaved SPiral Array (ISPA). The paper presents a 19:1 bandwidth aperture printed using optically transparent conductor (OTC) on a glass superstrate placed conformally on a ground plane. The OTC enables vertical integration of the EO and RF (with the RF aperture above the EO layer). Multiple RF aperture layers can be used to achieve 1-180 GHZ operation.