Performance analysis of planar hybrid matrix arrays

An analysis is presented of overall aperture efficiency, weight, and control power requirements for hybrid matrix arrays in synchronous satellite applications. An array is described which is mounted on a 7-foot aperture in a triangular grid fashion and fed by a hybrid matrix consisting of 3-port building blocks which in turn are fed by 9-port matrices. The beam crossover loss is minimized by beam combining at the outputs of the 9 ports. Component losses are analyzed, and residual array gains are calculated for the 7-foot aperture as a function of operating frequency. It is concluded that arrays of this type are practical for net gains of up to 30 dB.