Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
152 words
A planar, low profile phased array antenna comprising: a rectangular arrangement of unit cells that each comprise: a ground plane; a lower dielectric puck comprising a high dielectric constant material disposed on the ground plane; an excitable disc disposed within the perimeter of and on top of the lower dielectric puck; an upper dielectric puck comprising a low dielectric constant material that has a dielectric constant that is lower than that of the lower dielectric puck disposed on the excitable disc; a parasitic disc disposed within the perimeter of and on top of the upper dielectric puck; and wherein the unit cell surrounding the dielectric pucks comprises a dielectric filler material having a dielectric constant that is lower than that of the lower dielectric puck; a radome disposed on top of the parasitic disc and the dielectric filler material; and two orthogonal pairs of excitation probes coupled to the lower excitable disc.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
152 words
A planar, low profile phased array antenna comprising: a rectangular arrangement of unit cells that each comprise: a ground plane; a lower dielectric puck comprising a high dielectric constant material disposed on the ground plane; an excitable disc disposed within the perimeter of and on top of the lower dielectric puck; an upper dielectric puck comprising a low dielectric constant material that has a dielectric constant that is lower than that of the lower dielectric puck disposed on the excitable disc; a parasitic disc disposed within the perimeter of and on top of the upper dielectric puck; and wherein the unit cell surrounding the dielectric pucks comprises a dielectric filler material having a dielectric constant that is lower than that of the lower dielectric puck; a radome disposed on top of the parasitic disc and the dielectric filler material; and two orthogonal pairs of excitation probes coupled to the lower excitable disc.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The antenna of claim 1 wherein centers of the upper and lower dielectric pucks and the excitable and parasitic discs are aligned.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
The antenna of claim 1 wherein the unit cell surrounding the dielectric pucks comprises a dielectric filler material having a dielectric constant that is equal to that of the upper dielectric puck.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
20 words
The antenna of claim 1 wherein the upper and lower dielectric pucks and the excitable and parasitic discs are cylindrical.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The antenna of claim 1 wherein each pair of excitation probes is fed by a separate coaxial cable, with 180° phase reversal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
57 words
The antenna of claim 1 further comprising a feed layer that comprises: a multilayer stripline feed printed wiring board having a plurality of stripline vias that extend therethrough, and a plurality of connectors having center pins coupled to stripline vias of the multilayer stripline feed printed wiring board that couple to respective the pairs of excitation probes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The antenna of claim 1 further comprising: a feeding arrangement that produces both senses of circular polarization that comprises a 90° hybrid having outputs that feed two 180° hybrids whose outputs are coupled to the respective probes of the orthogonal pairs of probes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
99 words
The antenna of claim 7 wherein the 90° hybrid receives left hand circularly polarized and right hand circularly polarized excitation signals, and 0° and 90° outputs of the 90° hybrid are coupled to first and second 180° hybrids, respectively, the 0° output of the 90° hybrid feeds the first 180° hybrid, while the 90° output of the 90° hybrid feeds the second 180° hybrid, 0° and 180° outputs of the first 180° hybrid are coupled to the first pair of probes, and 0° and 180° outputs of the second 180° hybrid are coupled to the second pair of probes.