ANTENNA STRUCTURE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD

摘要

An antenna structure and associated method are disclosed that provides a lightweight and reduced-cost antenna element. The antenna structure may include a printed circuit board material coupled to a support structure. The printed circuit board may include electrical circuitry patterns and may have components mounted thereon to provide desired transmit and receive functionality, for example, to provide radio frequency transmit/receive functionality along with phase shifter and control circuitry. The support structure may be a light-weight material, for example, a space-qualified foam material that is strong and light-weight. The combined antenna structure of the present invention may thereby form a strong, rigid and light-weight antenna structure that may be used as sub-array elements in an antenna array, such as an ESA system.