Scanning Performances of Wideband Connected Arrays in the Presence of a Backing Reflector

In this paper, the scanning performances of connected arrays that include backing reflectors are investigated. The comparison between connected dipoles and slots is based on the properties of the corresponding Green's functions (GFs). The investigation reveals that connected arrays of dipoles are better suited to scan to wide angles (45 degrees), retaining the minimal number of transmit/receive (T/R) modules. This paper quantifies and motivates this preference. Eventually, the theoretical design of a fully efficient, 40% bandwidth (BW), planar array with the lowest possible cross polarization is presented.