Active Vivaldi Antenna Timed-Array for Ultra-Wideband 3D Beamforming

Abstract

Background: This paper presents a three-dimensional antenna array for electronic high-resolution beam spatial scanning. System and Design Structure: The system consists of five identical elements, arranged in a cross shape (3+3), where each element is formed by a Vivaldi planar antenna equipped with a Ultra Wide Band (UWB) pulse generator (PG), connected to a programmable delay circuit (PDC). The Vivaldi antennas were designed with copper and a Roger (RO3203) substrate, while the PG and PDC were designed using the 0.18μm CMOS Standard process. The project was designed in an integrated simulation environment (electric + electromagnetic), combining LTSpice 4, MicroWind 3.5 and CST MW Studio 2011 design tools. Monte Carlo simulations showed fully consistent results with those of theoretical models. The main lobe has a gain of 13dB, 28º × 27º angular width, a beam steering between 31º and -24º for θ, and between 29º and -29º for the φ angles at 6.2GHz of center frequency.