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2007
Conference Paper
Titel
Conformal and structure integrated antennas - Design and technology
Abstract
The present paper gives an overview over general properties of conformal and structure integrated antennas, recent achievements in electromagnetic modelling and design, beam forming methods, signal processing and array technology. It shows examples of single (electronic radar with conformal antenna array, ERAKO) and double curved antenna arrays as well as an spherical antenna array front-end, as developed recently including numerical and experimental results for antenna matching, array pattern synthesis, and mutual coupling. The adoption of conformal antenna arrays is of high interest for unmanned air systems (UAS) where weight and size constraints are especially severe. However, the number of commercial applications in communications and radar systems is still comparably small due to high cost and lack of manufacturing technology for larger arrays. Hopefully, recent technology developments as described, including carbon fibre structures for aircrafts or vehicles and highly integrated mixed-signal circuits on Silicon Germanium (SiGe) chips, will facilitate the production of conformal antennas on curved surfaces and make their application more attractive in an industrial environment.
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