2-dimensional ultra-wideband monopulse based direction finding

A novel ultra-wideband (UWB) 2-dimensional angle of arrival (AOA) estimation technique is presented. Using a planar arrangement of one dielectric monocone antenna surrounded by four dielectric rod antennas all exhibiting an almost frequency independent beam pattern in the range of 2-4 GHz, precise 2-dimensional direction finding based on the amplitude monopulse principle is applicable. Thereby an average absolute angular error of 2deg in a range of plusmn50deg in both thetav and rho is achieved. Using two auxiliary dielectric rod antennas time difference of arrival (TDOA) based direction finding can also be employed, whereas the array dimensions can be kept very compact.