Design of Vivaldi array antenna with low sidelobe for Monopulse tracking application

Abstract

Abstract The article will present the array antenna system for Monopulse tracking application. The Antenna includes 3 parts: monopulse comparator, unequal power divider, and antenna array. The monopulse comparator and unequal power divider are designed by microstrip line on PCB. Antenna array consists of 244 Vivaldi elements. Conducted simulation of the antenna system and obtained the following results: The bandwidth of the antenna system is greater than 10% with Voltage Standing Wave Ratio smaller than 1.6 (VSWR ≤1.6); Realized gain of the sum beam (radiation pattern) at the central frequency reaches 26.2 dBi; Sidelobe level of sum beam is less than -20dB in the whole frequency range; The peak and null of two difference beams are smaller than 20dB. With the results obtained, the Antenna Monopulse system is mentioned as completely suitable for use for tracking applications and arrangement in narrow space locations with compact size.