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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 39,

important for the case of targets having low innate backscattering,

such as very small objects or larger targets employing broadband
low-observable characteristics. Additional improvements in processed signal fidelity will be investigated by tests involving alternate
deconvolution procedures [ 131.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank LT Soonpuen Sompaee of the
Royal Thai Navy for his development of acquisition and signal
processing computer programs that were used in this effort.
REFERENCES
[l] J. D. Young, Radar imaging from ramp response signatures,
IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-24, pp. 276-282, May
1976.
[2] J. D. DeLorenzo, A range for measuring the impulse response of
scattering objects, in 1967 NEREM Rec., vol. 9, Nov. 1967, pp.
80-81.
[3] C. W. Hammond, The development of a bistatic electromagnetic
scattering laboratory, M.S. thesis, Elect. Eng. Dept., Naval Postgraduate School, Dec. 1980.
[4] M. A. Morgan, Time-domain scattering measurements, ZEEE
Antennas Propagat., Newsletter, vol. 6, Aug. 1984.
[5] M. A. Morgan and B. W. McDaniel, Transient electromagnetic
scattering: Data acquisition and signal processing, ZEEE Trans.
Instrum. Meas., vol. 37, pp. 263-267, June 1988.
[6] S. Sompaee, Computer algorithms for measurement control and
signal processing of transient scattering algorithms, M.S. thesis,
Elect. Comput. Eng. Dept., Naval Postgraduate School, Sept. 1988.
[7] M. A. Morgan, Scatterer discrimination based upon natural resonance annihilation, J. Electromagn. Waves Appl., vol. 2, no. 516,
pp. 481-502, 1988.
[8] P. D. Larison, Evaluation of system identification algorithms for
aspect-independent radar target identification, M.S. thesis, Elec.
Comput. Eng. Dept., Naval Postgraduate School, Dec. 1989.
[9] N. J. Walsh, Bandwidth and signal-to-noise ratio enhancement of
the NPS transient electromagneticscattering laboratory, M.S. thesis,
Elec. Comput. Eng. Dept., Naval Postgraduate School, Dec. 1989.
[lo] S. M. Riad, Impulse response evaluation using frequency-domain
optimal compensationdevolution, presented at 23rd Midwest Symp.
Circuits Syst., Aug. 1981, Univ. Toledo, Toledo, OH.
[ l l ] E. P. Sayre and R. F. Harrington, Time-domain radiation and
scattering by thin-wires, Appl. Sci. Res., vol. 26, pp. 413-444,
1972.
[12] R. S. Elliott, Antenna Theory and Design. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1981.
[13] F. I. Tseng and T. K. Sarkar, Deconvolution of the impulse
response of a conducting sphere by the conjugate gradient method,
IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-35, pp. 105-109, Jan.
1987.

are given to illustrate the validity of the derived requirement for wellbehaved sidelobes for both parabolic and circular arrays.

I. INTRODUCTION
It is well known that the behavior of sidelobes in a conformal
array is dependent upon the array geometry. For certain canonical
array geometries such as linear, circular, spherical, and cylindrical
arrays, the far-field patterns can be formulated in analytically
tractable expressions [ 11. However, for other nonlinear array geometries, the far-field patterns are not conveniently calculated in a
tractable form and the sidelobe performance for these arrays must
be completed numerically [ 2 ] . In this communication we show that
sidelobe performance in a quadratic phase conformal (QPCA) array
(an array with a quadratic phase distribution across the aperture) is
related to the array curvature and derive conditions that will insure
well-behaved sidelobes for quadratic phase conformal arrays. Also,
the sidelobe performance of a linear array with nonuniform spacing
is related to the curvature of an equivalent conformal array.
The primary reason for analyzing QPCAs is that the analysis
provides immediate insights into the relationship between array
curvature and sidelobe performance. Using the expression for phase
as a function of arclength derived in (2) below, an explicit expression for a QPCA geometry can be derived. This expression is
somewhat complicated (magnitude of the tangent vectors lie on an
arc of sin-) and, as such, conformal arrays have not been designed
with quadratic phase geometry.
However, the results derived from QPCAs apply to more general
array configurations. By expanding phase as a function of arclength
in a Taylor series, all array geometries are seen to exhibit near
quadratic phase characteristics for sufficiently limited aperture size
(i.e., when the third-order series terms become insignificant). In
particular, the parabolic array is shown to have quadratic phase
when phase is expressed in Cartesian coordinates rather than as a
function of arclength and the circular array has near quadratic phase
for limited aperture size. In both the circular and parabolic cases,
the results derived from QPCAs are shown to successfully predict
sidelobe degradation as a function of array curvature.
Consider a conformal array defined on the curve ( x , y ( x)) in the
two-dimensional plane where y is a continuously differentiable
function of x. For simplicity we will assume that y(0) = 0 and that
the antenna elements are omnidirectional. Assume that a plane wave
is impinging on the array at an angle t9 with respect to the positive
y-axis. The phase of the plane wave at ( x , y ( x ) ) relative to the
phase at (0,O)is given by
p S ( x , y ) = T2a
(xsin6

Sidelobe Performance in Quadratic Phase

Conformal Arrays
E. J . Holder
Abstract-Sidelobe performance in an array with a quadratic phase
distribution is related to the array curvature and conditions are derived
that insure well-behaved sidelobes for quadratic phase conformal arrays.
A similar condition is derived for parabolic shaped arrays and results

Manuscript received June 15, 1990; revised March 18, 1991. This work
was supported by the Senior Technology Guidance Council at the Georgia
Institute of Technology.
The author is with the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech
Research Institute, Atlanta, GA 30332.
IEEE Log Number 9101241.

NO. 8 , AUGUST 1991

+ycose)

where h is the wavelength of the propagation signal. In order to

analyze sidelobe degradation, we will assume that the plane wave
signal impinges at t9 = 0. The phase of the electrical pattern at
( x , y ( x ) for an incident wave impinging at an angle 8 given that we
have a signal wave impinging at 0 is given as the difference of the
respective phases (i.e., the beam is formed to maximize the pattern
responses at 0).

The curve y can be expressed independent of any coordinate

frame by defining y in terms of its tangent as a function of the
arclength parameter.

0018-926X/91$01.00 01991 IEEE

a ( s ) = tan- ( y )

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 39, NO. 8,AUGUST I 9 9 1

1235

and a(s) is recognized to be the curvature of a plane curve.

,,If

a(s) =
(1

+ (y y ) 3 2

Then (1) can be written in terms of the arclength parameter s:

The far-field pattern is expressed as

F(0)

eJpds.

(3)

The integral in (2) is tractible when a = 0. However, this

condition insures that the array aperture has constant curvature, in
other words the aperture is a circle or a line. The sidelobe structure
for linear and circular apertures is well behaved and well understood. If we place the additional symmetry constraint on the array
geometry a(s) = -a( -s), then the far-field pattern in (3) can be
expressed as

F(0)

2 / s 2 e ~ ( - C 0 s ~ B cos
P ~( (ps,( s ) sin 0) ds

Sidelobe performance is degraded because sin(u2) is an even

function with respect to U. When zero is included in the interval of
integration ( d l ,d , ) then the areas under the curve for u < 0 begin
to add constructively with the areas for U > 0 causing sidelobe
degradation. The requirement that zero not lie in the interval
( d , , d , ) yields the following requirement:
a
-s-+ - > 0 , if ab > 0
2b
a
S + + - < 0,
if ab < 0.
(5)
26

Since p(s) = a 2 bs, it follows that a sufficient condition for

well-behaved sidelobes for quadratic phase conformal arrays is

p ( s ) > Oor p ( s ) < 0 ,

Relating the requirement in (5) to the array geometry we have

(4)

(sine)s

where S is the total arclength of the array aperture and

P,(S) = / s c o s a ( l )

dl

-SK< s 5 S + .

+ (cos8 - l ) a ( o ) -2

and with a = sin(0) and b = (cos(0) - l)a(0)/2the inequalities

in (5) imply

P,(s) = L s s i n a ( ( ) d l .
It is apparent from (4) that F ( 0 ) = F( - 0) and for cos (0) = 1 this
expression simplifies to the standard zero-order Bessel function for
s = 2r.

Since s = 0 is an arbitrary point on the aperture, it follows from (6)

that a sufficient condition for well-behaved sidelobe is
sin (FOV/2)

Ia(s)SI

< 1 - cos (FOV/2)

-s-5sss+

(7)

F ( 0 ) = / = c o s (sin ( 0 ) sin (s)) ds.

0

II. SIDELOBE
PERFORMANCE
FOR QUADRATIC
PHASE
When a is not constant, the far-field pattern (3) is generally not
tractable. However, for a conformal array that produces a quadratic
phase distribution across the array, an analysis of sidelobe behavior
provides insights into the relationship between array curvature and
sidelobe performance. Let p ( s ) = as bs2, then F becomes

sin (FOV/2)

1 - cos (FOV/2)

A . Parabolic Array
Consider a parabolic array defined by y = cx2 for - L 12 x
L / 2 . Substituting ( 1 ) in (3), the far-field pattern is expressed by

where

F(0)

SL*

=
J

e j ( 2 r / ~ ) ( ) ( s s l n ( 8 ) + c x * ( c o s ( 81))
)K

dx

-L/2

Note that for a parabolic array the electrical phase is quadratic in x .

Applying the change of variables

Applying the change of variables

u=

F is written as

where a = sin(0) and b = c(cos(0)

become

me+1

F(8) =

4Ibl

where the k sign ambiguity depends upon the sign of b, and

d, =

m(-s-+

E(c+$)

&)

1 ) the limits of integration

1236

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 39, NO. 8, AUGUST 1991

Angle of Arrival (Degrees)

Angel of Arr~val(Degrees)

Fig. 4. Circulararray (or's= 1).

Fig. 1. Parabolic aperture antenna pattern (CL = 0.6)

Angel of Arrwal (Degrees)

Angle of Arrival (Degrees)

Fig. 5. Circular array

Fig. 2. Parabolic aperture antenna pattern ( C L = 1).

Itanal = IY'(X)I

<

sin (FOV/2)

-L/2 5 x

L/2.

and where 0 5 4

(or's= 1.5).

a/2. Then

(9)
Figs. 1-3 illustrate the sidelobe performance of a parabolic array
for various values of cL. Notice the degradation in performance for

Figs. 4-6 show the patterns from ideal circular aperture arrays for
a ' s = 1, 1S , and 2. Observe the degradation in sidelobe perfor-

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ANTENNAS AND PROPAGATION, VOL. 39, NO. 8 , AUGUST 1991

1231

mance for as > 1. For a circular array to satisfy (7), it is seen

from (9) that the circular arc must not exceed one radian.

in size but are narrow band and therefore require external tuning to
increase their bandwidth. Moreover, these antennas are backed by
cavities filled with dielectric materials that are relatively heavy,
expensive, and reduce the antenna efficiency.
III. CONCLUSIONS
In this communication, three cavity-backed, crossed-slot antenna
In this communication we show that sidelobe performance in an
array with a quadratic phase distribution is related to the array configurations are described that offer simple design, easy frequency
curvature and derive conditions that will insure well behaved side- tuning, and are lightweight, low loss, and low cost. These antennas
lobes for quadratic phase conformal arrays. A similar condition is have good RF characteristics and provide a bandwidth of about
12%, for a VSWR of 2 : 1, without needing any external tuning
derived for parabolic shaped arrays and results are given to illustrate
the validity of the derived requirement for well-behaved sidelobes circuits for impedance matching. Unlike the conventional crossedslot antennas, these antennas are end-loaded as shown in Fig. 1. Use
for both parabolic and circular array geometries.
of dumbbell-shaped end-loaded slots was first proposed by Silver for
a waveguide slot array [4]. He suggested that dumbbell-shaped slots
REFERENCES
offer lower resonant frequency and are easier to fabricate than
S . W. Lee and Y. T. Lo, On the pattern function of circular arc
ordinary rectangular slots. In the end-loaded slots, the field coupled
arrays, IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat. vol. AP-13, pp 649-650,
into the slots is more uniformly distributed across the length of the
July 1965.
J. K. Hsiao and A. G. Cha, Patterns and polarizations of simultane- slots, making their effective length longer. The longer effective
ously excited planar arrays on a conformal surface, IEEE Trans. length reduces the resonant frequency and makes possible the use of
Antennas Propagat., vol. AP-22, pp. 81-84, Jan. 1974.
an air-filled cavity. The air-filled cavity provides wider bandwidth
and is many times lighter and less expensive than a dielectric-filled
cavity.
The radiating elements described here were primarily designed
for MSAT vehicle phased-array antennas. However, these antennas
also have important applications in airborne systems such as a
End-Loaded Crossed-Slot Radiating Elements
high-speed aircraft with a constantly changing look angle to a
satellite or a ground station [ 11. These applications require antennas
F. Manshadi
that are light, physically small, and have wide upper hemispherical
coverage.
Abstruct-Three cavity-backedcrossed-slot antenna configurationsare
described that offer simple design, easy frequency tuning, and are
lightweight, low loss, and low cost. These antennas are designed for
mobile satellite (MSAT) vehicle phased-array applications. The slots in
these antennas are end-loaded. The end loading makes the slots effectively longer, and hence reduces their resonant frequency. Therefore,
relatively small radiating elements can be achieved for large-angle-scanning phased-array antennas. These antennas have good RF characteristics and provide a relatively wide bandwidth without needing external
tuning circuits for impedance matching. Measurements for the return
loss and the far-field pattern of these antennas are presented.

I. INTRODUCTION
Crossed-slot antennas are important array elements due to their
planar construction and wide beamwidth, which is desirable for
large angle scanning. Shallow-cavity uniform crossed slots were
used as single radiators by Lindberg [l]. He showed that these
antennas produce near hemispherical circularly polarized fields and
are excellent radiators for use on high-speed aircraft due to their low
profile construction. King and Wong [2] have shown that making
the slots nonuniform tends to flatten the voltage standing-wave ratio
(VSWR) response of those antennas. They discussed several nonuniform stepped slot configurations; however, the length of the slots in
those antennas were on the order of one wavelength, which is not
suitable for large-angle-scanning phased-array applications. Tapered
crossed-slot antennas are also used as elements for MSAT vehicle
phased-array applications [3]. These tapered crossed slots are small
Manuscript received July 23, 1990; revised April 16, 1991. This work
was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The author is with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of
Technology, Pasadena, CA 91 109.
IEEE Log Number 9101592.

OF CROSSED-SLOT
ANTENNAS
CHARACTERISTICS

Slot antennas are desirable for applications where widebeamwidth, compact, low-profile, and low-cost antennas are required. For circular polarization, a pair of slot antennas in a cross
configuration should be used. The input signal can be applied either
by a section of microstrip transmission line (coupled to the slots) or
by straight coaxial probes. Use of straight coaxial probes keeps the
antenna element simple and minimizes the losses introduced by
microstrip lines. To avoid generation of higher order modes inside
the cavity, four symmetric probes should be employed. Each pair of
probes is placed in the null field of the other pair to minimize cross
polarization. The center conductor of the probes is soldered to the
top plate of the cavity.
Due to the high Q of their cavity, crossed slots are inherently
narrowband. The bandwidth for large crossed slots is generally
reported to be about 10% or less [l], [5]. However, the bandwidth
is dependent on the shape of the slots and the dielectric constant of
the substrate. The bandwidth is larger for wider and nonuniform
slots or for lower dielectric constant substrates such as air. Relatively wide bandwidth can be obtained if wide slots are used that are
on the order of one wavelength long.
The resonant frequency of the cavity-backed crossed slots is a
function of the physical dimensions of the cavity and the slots, the
shape of the slots, the dielectric constant of the substrate, and the
location of probes. For a cavity-backed narrow uniform slot, the
length of the slot is about half the resonant wavelength. Making the
slot longer, the cavity deeper, or the slot narrower lowers the
resonant frequency. The input impedance of the antenna and the
resonant frequency of the cavity are also dependent on the location
of the probes. The resonant frequency of the cavity is increased as
the probes are moved closer to the center of the cavity. One factor
that affects the resonant frequency is the shape of the slots. By

0018-926X/91$01.00 01991 IEEE