Wideband planar phased array antenna at Ku frequency-band for synthetic aperture radars and radar-guided missiles tracking and detection

This paper introduces the complete design, simulation and implementation of 1×2, 1×4, 1×8 sub-arrays antennas and 8×8 planar phased array antenna including power combiners and matching networks. U-slotted rectangular microstrip patch antenna element with aperture coupled feeding technique and impedance bandwidth of more than 20% at center frequency of 17.75 GHz is used as an array element. Method of moment (MoM) is used in the analysis process using the agilent-momentum tool in advanced design system (ADS) package. Gain of about 9 dBi is achieved for the 1×2 sub-array, about 12 dBi for the 1×4 sub-array, and about 14 dBi for the 1×8 sub-array with about 80% efficiency. Better than -10 dB return loss parameters are achieved for all sub-arrays in the frequency band 16-18 GHz that ensures good impedance matching. Comparison between the measured and the simulated gain radiation patterns of the 1×8 sub-array shows good agreement. The developed sub-arrays antennas and the planar phased array antenna are suitable for different radar applications. This includes synthetic aperture radars (SAR) and the detection and tracking of the radar guided missiles.