CAREER: Near-The-Horizon Steerable Phased Array Antennas with Reconfigurable Inter-Element Spacing and Radiation Patterns

职业：具有可重新配置元件间间距和辐射方向图的近地平线可操纵相控阵天线

• 批准号: 1653915
• 负责人: Maria Pour
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: University of Alabama in Huntsville
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-03-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1653915&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Near; Horizon; Steerable; Phased

The increasing demand of mobile and wireless communications necessitates technology advancements in the antenna, which is a pivotal component of any wireless system. In particular, phased array antennas are sought after in next generation mobile communications as well as wireless communications for military, space, and satellites. The proposed research aims to fundamentally advance the technical approach and methodologies of designing state-of-the-art phased array antennas consisting of reconfigurable radiating elements, featuring wide-angle scanning capabilities, adaptive aperture distributions, and multi-functional radiation properties. It has promising applications in mobile and wireless systems for homeland security, unmanned vehicles, surveillance, remote sensing, automotive radars, intelligent transportation, etc. In addition to the research advancements that will have immediate impacts on the emerging wireless communications, the project will also bring important long-term societal benefits. To address the noticeable shortage of antenna engineers and scientists, the proposed work will significantly contribute to the training of students by integrating education and research in antennas and applied electromagnetics, thus sustaining the U.S. competitiveness in advanced wireless communications. The educational component of the proposed work is focused on developing inter-disciplinary antenna courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). The outreach plan is to foster local community college participation in antenna research activities, engage K-12 students in workshops held at UAH, and attract young students, particularly from underrepresented groups, to study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).The proposed research aims to address existing challenges of near-the-horizon beam scanning antennas with reconfigurable radiation characteristics and, for the first time, investigate adaptive phased array antennas with electronically controlled inter-element spacing. These are realized by utilizing adaptive antenna elements that can facilitate developing radiation matched elements for null steering and wide-angle beam scanning, without compromising desired antenna radiation properties. More importantly, the antenna elements provide unique features through changing their effective source of radiation, and thus allowing electronic control of the array element spacing without using any mechanical means. The proposed research provides a basis to further test the hypothesis of virtual array antennas, since each element of the proposed phased array antenna can be virtually displaced from its physical center. This enables new levels of real-time control of the array aperture fields by reconfiguring both amplitude patterns and phase distributions at the element level, as well as generating wide-angle scanned beams and adaptive radiation patterns at the array level. This will in turn lead to versatile functionality, reduced sidelobe levels, and suppressed grating lobes in the proposed array antenna. The proposed new technique of antenna reconfiguration has promising potential for the future generation of adaptive phased array antennas.

移动和无线通信需求的增长要求天线技术的进步，这是任何无线系统的关键组成部分。特别是，相控阵天线不仅在军事、太空、卫星等无线通信领域，而且在下一代移动通信领域备受关注。本研究旨在从根本上推动设计具有广角扫描能力、自适应孔径分布和多功能辐射特性的可重构辐射元件的最先进相控阵天线的技术途径和方法。它在国土安全、无人驾驶车辆、监视、遥感、汽车雷达、智能交通等移动和无线系统中具有广阔的应用前景。除了对新兴无线通信产生直接影响的研究进展外，该项目还将带来重要的长期社会效益。为了解决天线工程师和科学家明显短缺的问题，拟议的工作将通过整合天线和应用电磁学的教育和研究，对学生的培训做出重大贡献，从而维持美国在先进无线通信领域的竞争力。拟议工作的教育部分侧重于在亨茨维尔阿拉巴马大学（UAH）的本科和研究生阶段开发跨学科天线课程。外展计划旨在促进当地社区大学参与天线研究活动，吸引K-12学生参加在UAH举办的研讨会，并吸引年轻学生，特别是来自代表性不足的群体的学生，学习科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）。该研究旨在解决具有可重构辐射特性的近视界波束扫描天线存在的挑战，并首次研究了具有电控元件间间距的自适应相控阵天线。这些都是通过利用自适应天线元件来实现的，该天线元件可以促进开发用于零转向和广角波束扫描的辐射匹配元件，而不会影响所需的天线辐射特性。更重要的是，天线元件通过改变其有效辐射源提供独特的功能，从而允许电子控制阵列元件间距，而无需使用任何机械手段。本文的研究为进一步验证虚拟阵列天线的假设提供了基础，因为所提出的相控阵天线的每个元件都可以虚拟地从其物理中心位移。通过在单元级重新配置振幅模式和相位分布，以及在阵列级产生广角扫描光束和自适应辐射模式，这使得阵列孔径场的实时控制达到了新的水平。这将反过来导致多功能，降低副瓣电平，并抑制光栅瓣在拟议的阵列天线。所提出的天线重构技术在未来一代自适应相控阵天线中具有广阔的应用前景。

项目成果

Wideband Microstrip Patch Antennas with Transverse Electric Modes

具有横向电模式的宽带微带贴片天线

• DOI: 10.47037/2020.aces.j.350817
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society
• 作者: Mitha, Tanzeela;Pour, Maria
• 通讯作者: Pour, Maria

A MINIATURIZED TM21 MODE CIRCULAR MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA

小型化TM21模式圆形微带贴片天线

• DOI: 10.2528/pierl19020303
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Progress In Electromagnetics Research Letters
• 影响因子: 0.9
• 作者: Naik, Saininad;Pour, Maria
• 通讯作者: Pour, Maria

A Wideband Coplanar L-Strip Fed Rectangular Patch Antenna

宽带共面L形带馈电矩形贴片天线

• DOI: 10.1109/lawp.2021.3096958
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters
• 影响因子: 4.2
• 作者: Radavaram, Sai;Pour, Maria
• 通讯作者: Pour, Maria

A Reconfigurable Radiation Pattern Microstrip Patch Antenna with High Mode Purity

高模纯度可重构辐射方向图微带贴片天线

• DOI: 10.1109/aps/ursi47566.2021.9704490
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI Radio Science Meeting (APS/URSI
• 作者: Iqbal, Zabed;Mitha, Tanzeela H.;Pour, Maria
• 通讯作者: Pour, Maria

E-DPCA Synthesis Technique in Small Linear Array Antennas with Tapered Edge Elements

具有锥形边缘元件的小型线性阵列天线的E-DPCA合成技术

• DOI: 10.1109/past49659.2022.9974990
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: 2022 IEEE International Symposium on Phased Array Systems & Technology (PAST
• 作者: Mitha, Tanzeela H.;Marquardt, Jonathan;Pour, Maria
• 通讯作者: Pour, Maria