Cylindrical polarimetric phased array radar demonstrator: Design and analysis of a frequency scanning antenna array

The design, modeling and measurement results of a mid-size cylindrical polarimetric phased array radar (CPPAR) antenna for weather sensing applications is presented. The beam scanning in the elevation is obtained using the frequency scanning concept while the azimuth scanning is achieved using both the commutation and the beam scanning. The maximum elevation scan angle is about 20 degrees and the frequency range is from 2.7 to 3.0 GHz. The cylindrical array consists of 96 frequency scanning vertical columns mounted on the surface of cylinder with the diameter and height of 2 meters. Each antenna column consists of 19 stacked microstrip patch elements fed by two series feed striplines terminated to matched loads. The patch elements are excited through the aperture on the ground plane. The antenna column is modeled using a full wave solution and then it is fabricated and tested in an anechoic chamber. In addition, the simulation results of the full cylinder consisting of 96 antenna columns are presented.