A New Class of 2D Scanning Planar TTD Multibeam Networks

In this work, a new class of beamforming networks is introduced capable of steering beams in both azimuth and elevation planes. Traditional planar Blass matrix topologies, can only steer their beams in one plane. Here, we present a new planar Blass matrix topology (and the associated formulation) that can steer its beams in both principal planes. This matrix is (to our knowledge) the first true-time-delay planar multibeam network that can scan the entire field of view. As a proof of concept, an 8-beam 4×2-antenna multibeam network is designed and simulated, showing its full dimensional squint-free beam steering capability over the 24 GHz to 40 GHz bandwidth.