A REVIEW OF MULTIPLE BEAM ANTENNA ARRAY TRADEOFFS

Abstract

Telemetry instrumentation antennas often require several beams to allow simultaneous tracking of several targets. These multiple beams can be provided several ways, including multiple beam antennas and phased arrays. A brief review of the tradeoffs involved in implementing multiple beams with phased arrays is given. Planar arrays, which may be combined to provide wide angular coverage, include a corporate feed giving multiple independent beams, a distributed configuration with independent beams, the Butler beamformer, and the Gent-Rotman beamformer. Conformal implementations include cylindrical and conical arrays, and the spherical dome lens.