A 256-Element 30-40 GHz Dual-Polarized Tx/Rx Phased Array with 62 dBm EIRP

This paper presents a 16×16 element 30–40 GHz dual-polarized Tx/Rx phased array. The array is built on a multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB) by integrating SiGe beamformer ICs (BFIC) with slot-fed patch antennas. The array is designed to be dual-polarized with a single beam and has a measured cross-polarization rejection of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$&gt; 35\text{dB}$</tex>. To get maximum antenna gain and equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP), the antenna element period is expanded to <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$0.8\lambda$</tex> at 40GHz, which results in <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\pm 20^{\circ}$</tex> and <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\pm 10^{\circ}$</tex> scanning capability at 30 and 40 GHz, respectively, in all planes. In the Tx mode, the array achieves an EIRP of 62 dBm at Psat. Application areas are for mechanically -assisted phased -arrays in Ka - band communication and radar systems, where the mechanical mount takes care of gross pointing and the phased-array takes care of precise pointing in a 20-40° cone.