Mixer-Fed Antenna Array With Full Scanning and Sidelobe Control

Conventional phased array antennas are constrained by the cost of beamforming elements that are integrated at each array element to control the amplitude and phase of radiated signals. Methods to reduce the required beamformers are typically limited in scan range and sidelobe control. Here, we report how a phased array fed with integrated mixers at each element enables full beam steering and beam shaping with a reduced number of beamformers. By feeding an antenna array with rows and columns of amplitude and phase-controlled signals, the phase-addition properties of mixers are exploited to generate the required phase profile. Compared with a conventional phased array with N × M beamformers for N × M array elements, this technique requires N + M beamformers. Radiation patterns from a low-profile proof-of-concept $8 \times 8$ element transmitting array with 16 beamformers demonstrate beam scanning and sidelobe control.