Lightweight, low cost printed antenna arrays

The advantages of stripline-fed, printed aperture antennas over conventional microstrip patch antennas with planar feed lines are studied and discussed. The design parameters for the selected aperture shapes are presentedalong with measured data for several arrays. A 2 × 2 array of rectangular slots and a 4 × 4 array of annular ring slots, both with stripline feed networks, have been built and tested. A lightweight 8 × 8 array of proximity-coupled patch elements with a corporate feed network was also built and tested. Comparison of the weights of each of the antennas that are tested is described, demonstrating that proper choice of materials and the antenna geometry aid in decreasing the weight and cost of printed antenna arrays.