Design and Optimization of Broadband Matching Networks for Wide-Scanning Phased Arrays

A new design method for broadband matching of phased arrays is presented. Optimization is used to impedance match to a wide frequency range and multiple scan angles. This method enables the user to specify the frequency range of interest, a target return loss, and available component values. An optimized matching network was designed and fabricated for a synthetic aperture radar, achieving 76% and 78% improvement in the optimizer objective function for the simulated and fabricated networks, respectively, at a scanning range of -40° to 40° and a fractional bandwidth of 28.7%.