US 11,843,181 B2
Active software defined electronically stirred phased array antenna
Alex Sissoev, Chatsworth, CA (US); and Joseph Klein, Chatsworth, CA (US)
Assigned to AEROANTENNA TECHNOLOGY, INC., Chatsworth, CA (US)
Filed by AEROANTENNA TECHNOLOGY, INC., Chatsworth, CA (US)
Filed on Aug. 27, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/459,254.
Prior Publication US 2023/0063390 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
Int. Cl. H01Q 3/38 (2006.01); H04B 1/44 (2006.01); H01Q 1/28 (2006.01); H01Q 1/42 (2006.01)
CPC H01Q 3/38 (2013.01) [H01Q 1/28 (2013.01); H01Q 1/42 (2013.01); H04B 1/44 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aviation antenna assembly comprising:
a radome attachable to an aircraft body;
a plurality of antenna elements;
a directional control switch associated with each of the antenna elements to enable the each of the antenna elements to transition between transmitting via a transmission via a transmit chain or receive via a receive chain;
beam forming network elements disposed in the transmit chain and the receive chain; and
an electronically controlled phased array stirring assembly operably coupled to the directional control switch of the each of the antenna elements and to the beam forming network elements to perform electrical stirring with respect to signals in the transmit chain and the receive chain,
wherein the antenna elements, the directional control switch, the beam forming network elements, and the electronically controlled phased array stirring assembly of the antenna assembly are all disposed within the radome,
wherein the electronically controlled phased array stirring assembly comprises a digital signal processor (DSP) that is operably coupled to the directional control switch associated with the each of the antenna elements, and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) operably coupled to the beam forming network elements,
wherein the DSP and the FPGA are operably coupled via a control bus,
wherein the receive chain comprises a low noise amplifier disposed closer to a corresponding one of the antenna elements than a band pass filter that is operably coupled to a path isolation circuit, and
wherein the path isolation circuit comprises a combiner operably coupling:
a first isolated path low noise amplifier and first receive beam forming network circuit, and
a second isolated path low noise amplifier and second receive beam forming network circuit.