COMBINATION ANTENNA ELEMENT, ARRAY AND PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD

摘要

A combination antenna element is provided. A first antenna element, for example a waveguide antenna, may be coupled to a waveguide feed such as a Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW). The waveguide antenna may be formed as an aperture at a terminus of the SIW and disposed within a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) internal layer. A second antenna element, for example a microstrip patch antenna (MPA), may be provided on an outer PCB layer, the MPA defining an interior region, the interior region being positioned in line with the first antenna element. Also in some embodiments, the second antenna element is coupled to another antenna feed such as a transmission line feed which propagates signals in a different electromagnetic propagation mode than the waveguide. The transmission line feed may be a stripline located within the waveguide. An antenna array incorporating the combination antenna element is also provided.