There is significant interest to integrate a variety of high speed communications using a single multi-functional front-end (transceiver) matched to an ultra-wideband (UWB) aperture. The availability of small UWB conformal apertures can provide a new paradigm in the way we collect and process information. However, utilization of this bandwidth imposes several requirements on the aperture, starting with a wideband feed network and the ability to scan down to low angles over the entire purported bandwidth (at least down to 70°). Concurrently, a scalable and power-efficient digital back-end is needed to realize digital beam-forming for cognitive sensing. A perennial challenge is the tradeoff between size, gain, and bandwidth. That is, the design of low profile, power-efficient, wideband conformal transceivers is desirable for conformal integration on small platforms.
