UWB Hemispherical Vivaldi and BAVA Arrays for Wide Angle Scanning

We report the first ultra-wide band (UWB) arrays on a doubly curved surface for wide angle electronic scanning. Two different prototypes are developed employing Vivaldi antennas and balanced antipodal Vivaldi antennas (BAVAs) distributed over the surface of a hemisphere. The arrays employ 52 dual-polarized elements. Unit cell simulations demonstrate a good impedance match from 2–12 GHz, and finite array simulations have a realized gain that is within 1 dB of theory. The antennas are metal 3D printed from titanium. Measurements of the arrays will be reported at the conference.