An Ultrawideband Dual-Polarized Tightly Coupled Dipole Array (TCDA) With Wide Scanning Range

This letter presents an ultrawideband dual-linearly-polarized tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA) designed for wide-angle scanning in both E- and H-planes. The proposed TCDA design achieves exceptional performance, boasting a bandwidth of 10.2:1 (1.3–13.3 GHz) and an active voltage standing wave ratio of less than 3 when scanning up to ±70° in both E- and H-planes. This superior performance is achieved through the incorporation of four new design elements: 1) gradual shorting posts, 2) resistance patches, 3) a notched balun, and 4) a composite double-layer superstrate. These design elements effectively suppress various resonances, improve impedance matching, and enhance beam scanning capabilities. The antenna element has dimensions of 0.43λc × 0.43λc × 0.57λc, where λc represents the free space wavelength at the center frequency of 7.3 GHz.