Conical log spiral antenna development for the UWBRAD ice sheet internal temperature sensing

The Ultra-wideband Software Defined Radiometer (UWBRAD) for ice sheet internal temperature sensing is designed to provide observations of ice sheet brightness temperatures from 500-2000 MHz. This paper reports antenna design considerations for the UWBRAD radiometer. A prototype 4 channel radiometer and antenna were deployed in Antarctica, and the full 12 channel radiometer has been planned for airborne deployment over Greenland in September 2016. Deployment in Antarctica requires careful material considerations which will function at very low temperatures. Airborne deployment requires the antenna pass aircraft certifications and be able to withstand the drag forces without failure. The conical logarithmic spiral antenna design was selected, fabricated, and tested for the radiometry applications discussed.