Polarization-Reconfigurable Phased Array Architecture With Optimally Polarized Elements

To reduce the cost of the polarimetric phased array radar (PPAR), a novel array architecture conducive to horizontal (H) and vertical (V) polarizations is proposed. The H/V polarization ports of each element are synthesized into a new port, of which the polarization is determined by the fixed phase shifter connected to its V-polarization port. Then, different polarized elements are arranged properly within the aperture by designing the fixed phase shift of each element. The number of RF electronics is almost halved, while the radiation performance can be maintained above 90% for H/V polarization. In this article, the pattern synthesis model of the proposed architecture is formulated. Based on it, the evaluation function of the element polarization configuration (EPC) is established and optimized. By adopting the optimal EPC results into a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$16 \times 16$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$32 \times 32$ </tex-math></inline-formula> planar array, the polarization radiation stability of the proposed architecture is demonstrated under sidelobe and cross-polarization constraints. By applying different quantization levels, phase deviations, and amplitude distortions to the fixed phase shifters, the robustness of the proposed architecture is verified.