A Wide-Angle Scanning Focal Plane Array Design Method for Millimeter-Wave Applications

This article investigates the limits of focal plane array (FPA) systems with wide-angle scan capabilities. A design and analysis methodology has been established to optimize the system. A physical optics (PO) model is used to obtain focal plane fields. The influence of focal length over dish diameter ratios (F/D) of the antenna on the focusing characteristics is analyzed. In addition, the impact of axial displacements of the FPA on aperture efficiency is presented. The study gives guidance for the optimal F/D and the axial displacements to improve scan capabilities for a given focal plane array size.