Low In-band-RCS Tightly Coupled Dipole Array Based on Metamaterial Absorber

In this paper, a tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA) with wide-angle radar cross section (RCS) reduction property is designed. Specifically, the planar metamaterial absorber (MMA), which consists of metal strips loaded with resistors, is integrated between the TCDA and the ground plane. This assignment benefits the TCDA with the low RCS property. To verify the design principle, an 8×8 low RCS TCDA is designed and simulated in commercial software. And the simulated results reals that more than 5 dB RCS reduction and ±30° beam scanning angle is realized during 10-15 GHz. This work offers a simple method to design phased arrays with a distinct RCS reduction performance, without significant deterioration in antenna properties, such as gain and bandwidth.