An Ultra-Wideband Tightly Coupled Dipole Array Co-Designed With Low Scattering Characteristics

The scattering reduction of wideband phased antenna arrays has always been a significant challenge. An ultra-wideband tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA) co-designed with low scattering characteristics is developed in this communication. The TCDA element within an infinite array is designed from 4 to 16 GHz for VSMR <; 2.6 when scanning up to ±60°. To investigate the scattering performances of the proposed TCDA, a tapered slot array (TSA) with the same aperture size as that of the TCDA is selected as a reference antenna with comparable radiation characteristics. Two prototypes for the proposed TCDA and the reference TSA have been fabricated and measured. Simulated and experimental results show that the proposed TCDA has a scattering cross section (SCS) reduction band ranging from 4 to 18 GHz at normal incidence. The comparisons of monostatic SCS under oblique incidence at several sample frequencies are also considered for both the TE and TM polarizations in different planes. A reasonable agreement is obtained between measurement and simulation results.