An AESA antenna comprising an RF feeding network with strongly coupled antenna ports

This paper presents an S-band AESA antenna with inexpensive T/R-modules and a novel RF feeding network operation technique. The antenna ports of the front-end's feeding network have no isolation mechanisms, which can be problematic in case of not well matched T/R-modules. However, a novel operation is proposed, and the issue is overcome. A system demonstrator is presented, proving: the novel feeding network operation, the low-cost T/R-module approach and the electronic scanning capabilities of the front-end. This low-cost architecture can enable the use of phased-array technology for civil applications like maritime navigation radar.