Microfabricated dual-polarized, W-band antenna architecture for scalable line arrav feed

Scalable antenna arrays that support active, electronic scanning at W-band are of interest for future remote sensing missions such as the proposed Aerosol, Goad and Ecosystems (ACE) mission. An intermediate step towards an electronically-scanned solution is demonstrated. A dual-polarized passive, 2×8 element 94 GHz array is microfabricated in the Novotronics proprietary PolyStrata® process. Feed networks are located behind the footprint of the array to permit scalable tiling to form larger arrays. Measured S-parameters are presented, demonstrating 2:1 VSWR bandwidth of over 8%, and 45 dB isolation between transmit and cross-polarized receive channel. Measured radiation patterns demonstrate excellent agreement with simulation predictions and repeatability between units.

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