G-Band Micro-Fabricated Frequency-Steered Arrays With 2$^\circ$/GHz Beam Steering

Abstract

In this paper, we describe micro-fabricated frequency-scanned slot waveguide arrays operating between 130 and 180 GHz for planetary landing radar. The group delay dispersion of the feed line is increased by corrugating the bottom rectangular waveguide wall. Both 16-element and 32-element linear arrays are fed by micro-coaxial corporate feed networks to narrow the beam in the non-scanning direction. Two-dimensional (2-D) antenna arrays and feed networks are photo-lithographically fabricated using a sequential metal deposition process. The 16-by-21 array demonstrates a 6° beamwidth and 2° /GHz steering over a 40° scan angle.