Dual-polarized fully-metallic Vivaldi antenna array in a triangular lattice

Abstract: New mobile communication generations need electromagnetic sensors capable of steering their high-directive beams towards the users. Conventional base stations use square lattice phased arrays to accomplish this task. These arrays are composed of a large number of radiating elements to achieve the required high directivity and scanning capabilities. These systems are of high complexity and cost because after each element there is a large electronic chain. Therefore, it is of high interest to reduce the element count in the aperture of the array while maintaining its performance. Instead of using a square lattice to place the radiating elements, a triangular lattice can be used. It is proven that a triangular lattice optimally samples the aperture and reduces the element count by up to a 15.5%, hence reducing the cost and complexity of the complete antenna system. However, dual-polarized Vivaldi elements do not conform naturally to this kind of lattice and, consequently, they have not been thoroughly studied in the literature despite this well-known advantage. In this work, a novel dual-polarized fully-metallic Vivaldi element is presented. Also, the feeding network for this element is designed in the form of a suspended stripline. This technology presents low loss in comparison with a conventional stripline or microstrip. The radiating elements can be manufactured in a single piece, and they are easily integrated with the stripline feeding by just placing one on top of the other. An infinite array analysis, i.e. unit cell analysis, was performed to show the correct performance of the triangular lattice array and the proposed dual-polarized Vivaldi antenna design. A good matching was achieved over the entire band from 6 to 15 GHz for all the scanning planes and up to 60◦ scanning angle. The active element patterns show the good behaviour of the array, i.e. the absence of scan blindness and grating lobes. Finally, the unit cell analysis is compared to a finite 11×11 array for verification.