An Ultrawideband Dual-Polarized Tightly Coupled Dipole Array (TCDA) With Wide Scanning Range
Liangliang Zhao, Hai‐Liang Zhu, Can Ding, Ganyu Liu, Huiling Zhao, Jinchao Mou, Y. Jay Guo
Abstract
This letter presents an ultra-wideband (UWB) dual-linearly-polarized tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA) designed for wide-angle scanning in both E and H planes. The proposed TCDA design achieves exceptional performance, boasting a bandwidth of 10.2:1 (1.3–13.3 GHz) and an active voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of less than 3 when scanning up to ±70° in both E and H planes. This superior performance is achieved through the incorporation of four new design elements: gradual shorting posts, resistance patches, a notched balun, and a composite double-layer superstrate. These design elements effectively suppress various resonances, improve impedance matching, and enhance beam scanning capabilities. The antenna element has dimensions of 0.43λc × 0.43λc × 0.57λc, where λc represents the free space wavelength at the center frequency of 7.3 GHz. A 12×12 element array was fabricated and tested, further validating the proposed TCDA's noteworthy features, including dual-polarization operation, ultra-wide bandwidth, and the widest scanning angle in both E- and H-planes.