Integrated Inflatable Patch Antennas for Planar and Cylindrical Antenna Arrays

When rigidized with pressurized gas in a similar way as balloons, dielectric films carrying printed circuits can be considered for use as antennas. When the antenna is stiffen with pressurized gas, a ratio of the antenna size to weight, reaches maximum permissible values for the state-of-the-art material technologies. Furthermore, inflated patches are particularly attractive for wide potential uses, when they combine into arrays. This paper is focused on such lightweight printed antennas. Two forms of antenna elements and some recent our ideas for their beamforming circuits - made with thin films - are presented. To widespread uses, convenient antenna stowing and deploying is of great importance. That is why, it is recommended to develop feed networks with similar lightweight properties in a form of inflated cells. Generally, inflated antennas feature convex surfaces. For that reason they are well suited for use in conformal antennas, particularly in cylindrical ones.