A Low-Profile Broadband Phased Array Antenna with Wide-Scanning Range

A wideband and wide-angle scanning patch array antenna with the height of only 4.2mm is presented. The antenna element operates on the aperture-coupling mechanism with a stacked patches architecture. The structure formed by the foam-filled substrates and the periodical metallic vias with a four-leaf clover (FLC) shape affords a broadband matching with a large field of view. The measured results of the prototype array with
$15\times 15$
elements exhibit a broadside bandwidth of 55% (active
$\text{VSWR} <2$
) and an off-broadside scanning bandwidth over 50% with the angle of 60° (active
$\text{VSWR}< 2.5$
).