True Time Delay Beam Steering/Shaping Phased Array Antenna System for Plasma Diagnostics

An electronically controlled beam focusing/ defocusing Phased Array Antenna (PAA) system is proposed for use in Microwave Imaging Reflectometry (MIR) systems, which are being developed to measure plasma density fluctuations. The design, construction and performance of a Ka-band 1times8 true time delay E-plane beam scanning and broadening phased array system based on piezoelectric transducer controlled delay line technology using antipodal elliptically-tapered slot antennas are presented. The beam is steered from -21degto +24degand the 3 dB beamwidth is widened by about 10deg, the latter being the requirement for the target MIR system.