Defining Phased Array Bandwidth

Phased arrays play an increasingly important role in communications and radar systems. These systems require wideband signals to achieve the desired high-performance goals. A phased array's bandwidth depends on much more than the bandwidth of its components. When designing phased arrays, the traditional time-harmonic analysis methods do not capture all of the frequency performance constraints imposed by the array architecture. Grating lobes limit the maximum element spacing, while pulse/symbol dispersion and beam squint limit maximum array size and bandwidth. Hardware frequency limits bound the operating bandwidth of the array. This article discusses time-dependent performance concerns of phased arrays that limit bandwidth, such as the constraints imposed on scan angle, frequency bandwidth, beam squint, dispersion, and hardware.

Automated summary

Phased arrays have become increasingly important in communications and radar systems, which require wideband signals to achieve high-performance goals. However, traditional time-harmonic analysis methods do not capture all frequency performance constraints imposed by the array architecture. Grating lobes, pulse/symbol dispersion, beam squint, and hardware frequency limits all limit the bandwidth and size of the phased array.