Paul Mayes — Series antenna arrays

Paul Mayes understood of the benefits of series array antennas. He also understood some of the challenges. Series feeding is fundamental to broadband antennas like the Log-Periodic Dipole Array (LPDA), and Mayes developed innovative approaches to reduce the size and cost of this type of antenna. Log-periodic antenna arrays of monopoles and slots had challenges not present in dipole versions, and he used modulated-impedance transmission lines to mitigate the resulting structural stopband. Series antenna arrays for frequency scanning applications have a structural stopband that arises near broadside. Mayes used the same modulated-impedance approach to allow these arrays to scan through broadside by moving the structural stopband to a higher frequency. Mayes developed a complementary monopole-slot antenna that provided a wideband impedance match for series antenna arrays, which eliminated the structural stopband in many types of series antenna arrays. These are just some of many techniques developed by Mayes over the course of his career.