Lower profile high-power dual-polarized wide-beam tracking antenna at S-band

An S-band dual linearly polarized monopulse tracking antenna has been developed with a cavity-backed cross-dipole antenna as the element. Wide-beam and wideband tracking have been successfully demonstrated. Systematic design approaches have been presented. The cavity arrangement enhances the beamwidth of a horizontal dipole significantly retaining its wideband characteristics. The element exhibits a 3 dB beamwidth >= 145 degrees. Such a wide beamwidth made the cavity-backed cross dipole an attractive choice as the element for the tracking antenna. The monopulse antenna demonstrates an impedance bandwidth >= 20.7% with isolation superior to 24 dB. Dual polarized tracking has been effectively verified over >= 15% bandwidth with a broad-side gain of 11.2 dBi. The angular field-of-view (FOV) for the tracking is >= 60 degrees. Higher tracking bandwidth and wider FOV of the array, lower profile, and high-power handling capability are the superiority of the developed antenna.