Reconfigurable antennas and microwave tomography

该计划涵盖微波工程的两个领域。第一个领域解决了新的可重构航天器天线。一旦电信卫星进入轨道，可重新配置的天线将允许覆盖区域根据市场需求进行修改，从而在卫星寿命期间的不同任务中提供有效载荷的重复使用能力。用于地球成像的遥感天线也需要可重构性。在这种情况下，可以以非常高的速率修改主天线波束。对于小型卫星，一种有吸引力的天线技术包括使用柔性膜来制造反射器和直接辐射阵列。薄膜重量轻，可以折叠，以减少装载体积在发射过程中，这大大降低了使命成本。可重构薄膜天线的可行性将取决于具有可调谐响应的新设备和低损耗传输线的可用性。该计划将提出新的可调装置，专门设计用于膜上的实施。还将研究可重构的透镜和反射器结构。

The program covers two areas in microwave engineering. The first area addresses novel reconfigurable spacecraft antennas. Once a telecommunication satellite is in orbit, a reconfigurable antenna would allow the coverage region to be modified as a function of market demand, thus providing re-use capability of a payload in different missions over a the satellite's lifetime. Reconfigurability is also needed in remote sensing antennas used for earth imaging. In this case, the main antenna beam can be modified at a very high rate. For small satellites, an attractive antenna technology consists in using flexible membranes to make reflectors and directly radiating arrays. Membranes are lightweight and can be folded to reduce stowage volume during launch, which considerably reduces mission costs. Feasibility of reconfigurable membrane antennas will depend on new devices with tunable response and availability of low-loss transmission lines. The program will propose new tunable devices designed specifically for implementation on membranes. Reconfigurable lens and reflector structures will also be studied.