Compact, Low-Cost, Surface-Mount Active Antenna

A very simple surface-mount dual-polarized active antenna module consists of up/down converter ICs mounted directly on top of a patch antenna radiator. By incorporating ICs on the patch surface, the design saves space, an important feature in phased arrays where wide scanning range requires half-wave spacing. The module is fabricated on a soft substrate and contains only one dielectric layer, no cutouts, and no blind vias. Measurements of both single- and dual-polarized 10-GHz prototypes show a normal copolarized radiation pattern and less than - 12 dB of cross polarization.