A 2-D Amplifying Array Using Multi-Ported Aperture-Coupled Patch Antennas

This paper proposes a new circuit-fed 2-D amplifying array architecture using the multi-ported aperture-coupled patch antennas. The power distribution achieved by this array is formed by stacking three kinds of basic cells repeatedly. Each cell, which serves as a radiator and also a power relay, has a multi-ported patch antenna and one or two amplifiers. The signal transmission coefficient of the cell from the input port to the output port is designed with a power level of 0dB and a phase of 360 degrees. An X-band 4 x 3 element array with uniform amplitude distribution is demonstrated. The measured results, such as the antenna gain and the radiation patterns, agree very well with the predicted ones, due to the precision design of the basic cells. The measured gain of the antenna array is 27.7 dBi(A) at the frequency of 10.4 GHz on the H-plane, with a half-power beamwidth of 14 degrees in the H-plane and 16 degrees in the E-plane.