I. N. Gazaliev1, K. V. Kozlov2, V. F. Los’3
1–3 JSC “Radio Engineering Corporation “Vega” (Moscow, Russia)

Synthesized aperture radars (SAR) operating in several frequency ranges are used in airborne aviation and space earth survey systems. Of particular interest is the decimeter frequency range (P-band), at which the vegetation cover contrasts are better distinguished and the probability of detecting buried objects and subsurface geological structures is higher.

An actual task is SAR implementation based on small aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles, where weight and size characteristics play a decisive role. Being an important component of SAR antenna array makes a significant contribution to these characteristics, therefore minimizing the weight and size of it is important.

It is known that mushroom-like electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) metastructures exhibit unique electromagnetic properties that have led to a wide range of electromagnetic device applications. One important application of this feature is that one can replace a conventional perfect electric conductor ground plane with an EBG ground plane for a low profile antenna design.

In this article, the possibility of implementing a low profile P-band antenna array based on the mushroom-like EBG metastructures has been demonstrated. Antenna array profile height is 37 mm (0,055λ0), VSWR is less than 1,7 in the operating frequency range 400–500 MHz (22%) and the unit mass is 1,5 kg/m2.

Gazaliev I.N., Kozlov K.V., Los’ V.F. Low profile P-band passive antenna array based on metastructure. Antennas. 2022. № 6. P. 55–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18127/j03209601-202206-04 (in Russian)

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