Empirical and theoretical characterization of Multioctave Planar Phased Arrays

Theoretical and empirical characterizations of Multioctave Planar Phased Arrays (MPPA) are highly difficult, complex and costly; rooted in MPPA´s complexity and its huge data and metrics that encompass large spatial and frequency domains. This paper presents theoretical and empirical characterizations as applied to an MPPA called Traveling-Wave Antenna Array (TWAA). The physical model has 16×16 elements, fed with True-Time Delay (TTD) corporate feeds for wide-angle scan up to 60° off broadside over 2-12 GHz. Excellent agreements between theoretical and empirical data were observed except for angles beyond 45°. Merits and limitations of classical and numerical analysis approaches are discussed.