6:1 PUMA Arrays: Designs and Finite Array Effects

• Main Author: Lee, Michael
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 2016
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/masters_theses_2/356; https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1365&context=masters_theses_2

A new low-cost 6:1 Planar Ultrawideband Modular Antenna array design is introduced with broadside VSWR < 2, VSWR < 2.6 while scanning out to 45° and < -15 dB cross-polarization out to 45° in all planes while maintaining optimal aperture sampling (fH = fg), and a 0.48λg profile. A 200% scaled variant of the 6:1 PUMA array was designed with a 3:1 bandwidth and similar impedance and polarization performance as the 6:1 PUMA array. The two array elements were incorporated in a wavelength-scaled array (WSA) architecture which reduced the total number of elements (per polarization) by 56%. The finite array polarization ratio of various ultrawideband arrays (UWB) were analyzed and compared with their infinite array counterparts. Two methods for realizing the polarization ratio were examined, along with a discussion on finite array truncation effects on polarization. These finite array techniques were used to compare the polarization properties of a traditional single-element based 6:1 PUMA array with the PUMA wavelength-scaled array implementation.