Wideband antenna pattern

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention include a method to control an antenna pattern of a wideband array antenna wherein a wideband array antenna unit comprising the wideband array antenna and transforming means is accomplished. Embodiments of the invention further include the corresponding wideband array antenna unit and transforming means arranged to control an antenna pattern of an antenna system. The separation between antenna elements in the wideband array antenna can be increased to above one half wavelength of a maximum frequency within a system bandwidth when the array antenna is arranged to operate with an instantaneously wideband waveform.

1 . A wideband array antenna arranged to be operational over a system bandwidth and comprising: at least two antenna elements (E 1 -E N ), arranged to control an antenna pattern of the wideband array antenna, is connected to an electronic system, the antenna pattern control being arranged to be achieved by affecting waveforms between the wideband array antenna and the electronic system with parameters being individual for each antenna element, including that the wideband array antenna is arranged to operate with a waveform having an instantaneous bandwidth B by a separation between the antenna elements in the wideband array antenna being increased compared to conventional array antenna designs to above one half wavelength of a maximum frequency within the system bandwidth when the wideband array antenna is arranged to operate with an instantaneously wideband waveform, thus resulting in a substantially reduced number of antenna elements (E 1 -E N ) without the appearance of grating lobes in the antenna pattern. 
     
     
         2 . The wideband array antenna according to  claim 1 , comprising that the parameters are non frequency dependent. 
     
     
         3 . The wideband array antenna according to  claim 1 , comprising that the parameters are frequency dependent.