U.S. patent number 3,716,869 [Application Number 05/094,369] was granted by the patent office on 1973-02-13 for millimeter wave antenna system.
Invention is credited to Jack Evans, William I. Gould, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,716,869 |
Gould, Jr. , et al. |
February 13, 1973 |
MILLIMETER WAVE ANTENNA SYSTEM
Abstract
A millimeter wave antenna mounted on a satellite includes a
parabolic reflector fabricated of carbon fiber reinforced plastic
(CFRP) composite material to enable the parabolic shape of the
reflector to be maintained to within three percent of a millimeter
wave length despite possible temperature variations on the order of
300.degree. F. between portions of the reflector illuminated by the
sun and in the umbra. Waveguides, fabricated from CFRP, for a feed
positioned approximately at the focal point of the reflector are
the sole mechanical supporting means for the feed. To take
advantage of the physical properties of the carbon fiber reinforced
plastic composite materials a honeycomb structure is sandwiched
between layers of the CFRP. The surface of the reflector
illuminated by the feed is coated with a thin film of aluminum
which functions as a millimeter wave reflector. The waveguide CFRP
interior is coated with a thin film of aluminum to provide the
millimeter wave conducting surface.
Inventors: |
Gould, Jr.; William I. (Silver
Spring, MD), Evans; Jack (Baltimore, MD) |
Assignee: |
|
Family
ID: |
22244752 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/094,369 |
Filed: |
December 2, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
343/779; 343/909;
343/912; 343/781R |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01Q
25/002 (20130101); H01Q 15/144 (20130101); H01Q
15/16 (20130101); H01Q 19/19 (20130101); H01Q
1/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01Q
19/10 (20060101); H01Q 25/00 (20060101); H01Q
1/00 (20060101); H01Q 19/19 (20060101); H01Q
15/14 (20060101); H01Q 15/16 (20060101); H01q
019/14 () |
Field of
Search: |
;343/840,912,915,779,781,909 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lieberman; Eli
Claims
We claim:
1. An antenna system on a spacecraft outside at the atmosphere and
thereby subject to temperature differences of 300.degree. F.
between surfaces exposed to sunlight and shaded from sunlight
comprising a reflecting dish having a focal point, said dish being
mounted on the spacecraft, said dish being fabricated from carbon
fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite materials, a millimeter
wave feed illuminating said reflector and effectively located at
said focal point, waveguide means for exciting the feed extending
between the dish and the feed, said waveguide means including a
shaft having a hollow honeycomb core, first and second CFRP
laminates respectively bonded to the inner and outer surfaces of
the core, and an electrically conducting surface on the first CFRP
laminate forming a guiding structure for waves exciting the feed
and, a reflecting metal layer covering substantially the entire
carbon fiber reinforced plastic surface of the reflector
illuminated by the feed.
2. The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the dish is fabricated
from a honeycomb core having a planar face on which there is bonded
a laminate including a CFRP sheet.
3. The antenna system of claim 2 wherein the laminate includes a
plurality of CFRP sheets, each of said sheets having isotropic
longitudinally directed fibers of CFRP, adjacent ones of said
sheets being bonded together and having the fibers thereof
extending at mutually right angles.
4. The antenna system of claim 3 wherein the metal layer is
deposited on the surface of the laminate illuminated by the
millimeter waves exciting the feed.
5. The antenna system of claim 4 wherein a silicon oxide layer is
deposited on the metal layer.
6. The antenna system of claim 1 wherein the dish is fabricated
from a honeycomb core having a pair of planar faces on each of
which there is bonded a laminate including a CFRP sheet.
7. The antenna system of claim 6 wherein each of the laminates
includes a plurality of CFRP sheets, each of said sheets having
isotropic longitudinally directed fibers of CFRP, adjacent ones of
said sheets being bonded together and having the fibers thereof at
mutually right angles.
8. An antenna system comprising a reflecting dish having a focal
point, a feed positioned substantially at the focal point,
waveguide means for exciting the feed extending between the
perisphery of the dish and the feed and being the only means for
mechanically supporting the feed, said waveguide means including a
shaft having a hollow honeycomb core, first and second CFRP
laminates respectively bonded to the inner and outer surfaces of
the core, and an electrically conducting surfaces on the first CFRP
laminate forming a guiding structure for waves exciting the
feed.
9. The system of claim 8 wherein the waveguide means includes four
struts positioned at mutually right angles to each other, and said
feed includes four elements each excited by energy in said
waveguides.
10. An antenna system on a spacecraft outside of the atmosphere and
thereby subject to temperature differences of 300.degree. F.
between surfaces exposed to sunlight and shaded from sunlight
comprising a first parabolic reflecting dish having a focal point
and mounted on the spacecraft, a subreflector positioned between
the dish and the focal point a first millimeter wave feed
illuminating the subreflector and located in proximity with the
dish, whereby the first feed, the subreflector and the first
reflecting dish form a narrow beam Cassegrain antenna, a second
millimeter wave feed positioned substantially at the focal point,
waveguide means for exciting the second feed, a second parabolic
reflecting dish back to back with the subreflector, and first and
second reflecting dishes and said subreflector and waveguide means
being fabricated from carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP)
composite materials, a reflecting metal layer covering
substantially the entire carbon fiber reinforced plastic surface of
the reflector illuminated by the feed.
11. The antenna system of claim 10 wherein the waveguide meAns for
exciting the other feed extending between the periphery of the dish
and the feed is the only means for supporting the second feed.
12. The antenna system of claim 11 wherein the another feed
includes elements extending toward the dish and terminating between
the focal point and dish, said subreflector including a region
transparent to the millimeter waves exciting the another feed so
that the parabolic dish is illuminated by the another feed and
derives a relatively wide beam in response to excitation thereby.
Description
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION
The invention described herein was made by employees of the United
States Government and may be manufactured and used by or for the
Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any
royalties thereon or therefor.
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to antennas and, more
particularly, to a millimeter wave antenna system mounted on a
spacecraft.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The advantages of utilizing millimeter waves in data relay and
tracking systems have been appreciated. A problem in the use of
millimeter waves in conjunction with spacecraft systems employing
antennas having relatively large parabolic reflectors concerns the
difficulty in maintaining a true conic section reflecting dish,
e.g., a truly parabolic shape of the reflector dish. The difficulty
occurs because of the severe temperature variation, e.g.
300.degree. F., which may exist between the portions of the
reflector that are illuminated by the sun and those portions which
are shaded. When it is considered that the typical size of a
millimeter wave parabolic reflector is on the order of 5 feet in
diameter, it is appreciated that these severe temperature
differences tend to establish nonisotropic heating patterns on the
reflector dish surface, with a tendency for nonuniform expansion.
Nonuniform expansion of the reflector dish surface results in
disadvantageous changes in the shape of the antenna beam, and
frequently results in a loss of directivity of a parabolic antenna
reflecting system. With a loss in directivity, the usefulness of
the antenna for tracking, and possibly high gain data transmission,
is frequently seriously curtailed. Typically, the permissible
tolerance on the surface of a parabolic reflector is .+-.3 percent
of a wavelength of the electromagnetic energy exciting the antenna
system. For millimeter waves, this requirement means that the
surface of the parabolic reflector must be stabilized to between
approximately 0.1 - 0.5 millimeters.
Parabolic reflectors excited by energy in the millimeter wave
region and designed to be placed on spacecraft have in the past
generally been fabricated from aluminum sheets. Aluminum has a very
high thermal coefficient of expansion so that satellite reflector
dishes fabricated from it are usually subject to the problems of
surface shape distortion. In the prior art to overcome reflector
surface distortion, it has generally been the procedure to
equalize, as closely as possible, the temperature gradient across
the parabolic reflector surface. One technique has involved
utilizing heat pipes, while a second has involved covering the
reflecting surface with a shroud opaque to solar energy and
substantially transparent to millimeter wave energy. The
disadvantage of heat pipes is that they increase the weight of the
antenna package substantially. While a shroud does not
substantially change the antenna weight, it frequently introduces a
substantial attenuation, on the order of 2 db, to the millimeter
waves transmitted from or received by the antenna.
In accordance with the present invention, a millimeter wave antenna
for spacecraft use includes a conic section reflector having a
supporting structure fabricated from a carbon fiber reinforced
plastic (CFRP) composite material. This composite material,
described in detail in two articles dated Nov. 18, 1968, and Nov.
25, 1968, of Aviation Week, is particularly well suited for
spacecraft use as the supporting structure of a conic section
reflector excited by millimeter waves because it has virtually a
zero temperature coefficient of expansion. In addition, it has a
high modulus of elasticity, has relatively great tensile strength,
is lightweight and has a relatively high heat degradation factor.
CFRP is derived from polyacrylonitrile plastic filaments that are
combined with a polyester resin, as described in the Aviation Week
articles. The composite material is fabricated in relatively thin
sheets, with the fibers aligned in a single direction. Typical
laminate layups consist of alternating plies in specific
directions. To produce laminates with approximately equal
properties in all directions (pseudo-isotropic) the plies typically
are directed at (.+-.45.degree.), (0.degree. .+-.45.degree.,
90.degree.) in a clockwise reference. To provide strength in two
directions at right angles to each other is substantially the same
plane, a pair of sheets are joined together by suitable bonding
means, such as epoxy resin, with the fibers of the two sheets
running orthogonally to each other.
While the CFRP composite sheet materials have considerable strength
in the direction of fiber orientation, they are quite susceptible
to bending in a plane extending at right angles to the surface of
the sheet. To provide strength in the plane at right angles to the
sheet, a honeycomb aluminum structure is sandwiched between layers
of the CFRP sheets. The aluminum honeycomb is bonded to the CFRP
sheets by epoxy resin while the parabolic surface is formed on a
mandrel.
It might appear that a problem exists in utilizing an epoxy resin
to bond the CFRP sheets to each other and the honeycomb structure
because of the relatively high temperature coefficient of expansion
of the resin and aluminum material in the honeycomb structure. This
problem is not significant, however, because the resin and
honeycomb structure have a tendency to expand only in a direction
transverse to the plane of the CFRP sheets, rather than in the
plane of the sheets. It has been found that distortion at right
angles to the plane of the sheets can be tolerated in a parabolic
reflector because there is only a relatively small movement of the
reflector surface, without effecting the basic reflector shape.
Movement at right angles to the CFRP sheets is relatively small in
the plane transverse to the sheet because the length of material in
that direction is comparatively short and expansion is a direct
function of material length. In contrast, in the plane of the
sheet, there is a substantial amount of material which can result
in considerable expansion of different portions of the reflector
relative to each other. Since there is a relatively small amount of
aluminum honeycomb structure in a direction parallel to the plane
of the CFRP sheets, that material has a relatively insignificant
effect on possible elongation of the sheets. Because the mass of
the CFRP sheets is considerably greater than that of the epoxy
resin bonding the sheets together, the sheets, rather than the
resin, control surface dimensions.
To provide a reflecting surface for the millimeter electromagnetic
waves, the CFRP sheet illuminated by the electromagnetic energy is
coated with a thin film of aluminum. Aluminum is deposited on the
CFRP sheet to a thickness on the order of 4,000 angstroms utilizing
conventional vacuum vapor deposition techniques. The mass of the
aluminum thin film is so small as to have virtually no effect on
the expansion properties of the CFRP sheet to which it is
deposited. To provide further stabilization for the surface of the
parabolic reflector as a function of temperature, a silicon oxide
film is deposited on the thin film of aluminum. The silicon oxide,
which is preferably silicon monoxide, is also deposited utilzing
vapor vacuum deposition techniques and functions to reduce the
possible temperature gradient over the reflector surface.
A further feature of the invention is that a feed positioned
approximately at the focal point of the parabolic reflector is
supported solely by waveguides coupling millimeter wave
electromagnetic energy to the feed. The waveguides are fabricated
from an aluminum honeycomb or laminate structure formed as a shaft
having a hollow center in cross section. When using honeycomb, the
inner and outer peripheries of the structure are layers of CFRP
sheets. The inner sheet has a conducting aluminum layer which may
be a deposited film or a thin shell upon which the laminate is
laid. Preferably, the waveguide surface and shaft have a
rectangular cross section so that they provide a minimum blocking
area for the reflector aperture. In one configuration, the feed
located approximately at the focus of a main parabolic reflector
illuminates a small subreflector located intermediate of the main
reflector and the feed. In this configuration, the area of the
struts is sufficiently small in the direction of wave propagation
to considerably reduce scattering of the wide beam pattern
associated with the small dish or reflector.
It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a
new and improved antenna system particularly adapted for millimeter
waves on spacecraft.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved millimeter wave reflector dish utilized on spacecrafts,
wherein the shape of the reflector is maintained to within .+-.3
percent of the millimeter wave excitation despite differential sun
heating and shading of the reflector surface.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
millimeter wave reflector for use on spacecraft, which reflector
has a stable surface without the use of heat pipes or sun
shrouds.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
millimeter wave reflecting dish to be utilized on spacecraft, which
reflector has a stable surface independent of temperature without
adding weight to the satellite or reducing the transmission
properties of the antenna system with which the reflecting dish is
associated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and
improved millimeter wave reflecting dish for use on spacecraft,
which reflecting dish is fabricated from a material that exhibits
substantially zero thermal coefficient of expansion.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved millimeter wave antenna system including a reflecting dish
with a feed located approximately at its focus and wherein
structural and electrical connections between the reflecting dish
and feed have substantially no effect on the pattern of the antenna
system.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved
millimeter wave antenna system wherein waveguide elements extending
between a reflecting dish and a feed are the sole supporting
elements connecting the feed to the reflector.
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the
following detailed description of several specific embodiments
thereof, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a pictoral view of the environment with which the present
invention is to be employed;
FIG. 2 is a side view of an antenna system in accordance with the
present invention;
FIG. 3 is an end view of a portion of the antenna system of FIG.
2;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating the relative orientation of
a pair of CFRP sheets employed in the reflector dish of the present
invention;
FIG. 5 is a side view, with great magnification of certain
elements, of the reflector dish illustrated in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a portion of the reflector of FIG.
2;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken through the line 7--7, FIG. 4;
FIG. 8 is a side view of a further antenna system in accordance
with the present invention; and
FIG. 9 is an end view of the antenna system illustrated in FIG.
8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference is now made to FIG. 1 of the drawings wherein there is
pictorally illustrated a pair of earth orbiting spacecrafts or
satellites 12 and 13, positioned either in synchronous or low orbit
above the surface of the earth 14. Satellites 12 and 13 include
substantially identical millimeter wave antenna systems 15 and 16,
respectively. Each of antenna systems 15 and 16 includes a
relatively large parabolic reflecting dish for data transmission
and precision tracking purposes, as well as a wide beam dish for
tracking acquisition purposes. The reflecting dishes of antenna
systems 15 and 16 are susceptible to severe temperature gradients
because a portion of the dishes may be exposed to direct
illumination from the sun 17, while a different portion of the
dishes may be in the umbra. The temperature difference between the
portions of the dishes exposed and not exposed to solar radiation
may be on the order portions of 300.degree. F. The severe
temperature gradient across different portions of the reflector has
a tendency to distort the reflector surface and thereby adversely
change the beam width of the antenna system.
Side and end views of one embodiment of an antenna system of the
type that can be employed on satellites 12 and 13 are respectively
illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The antenna system includes a
parabolic reflector 21 having a diameter on the order of 60 inches
in a typical narrow beam millimeter wave data transmission and
target tracking system. Parabolic reflector 21 is illuminated in
response to millimeter waves propagating between the reflector and
millimeter wave feed 22 via a hyperbolic subreflector 23, typically
having a 6 inch length. The feed 22 is centrally located on
reflector 21 to form, in conjunction with reflectors 21 and 23, a
Cassegrain system. Feed 22 is effectively, although not physically,
located at the focal point of reflector 21 to enable a narrow beam,
high gain pattern to be achieved.
A wide beam target acquisition system having a boresight axis
coincident with the boresight axis of the Cassegrain antenna system
is formed by millimeter feed 24 and parabolic reflector 25,
positioned in back-to-back relationship with reflector 23.
Reflectors 23 and 25 have a common supporting structure 26, with
the two reflectors being formed on opposite faces of the supporting
structure. Feed 24 is positioned substantially at a common focal
point for reflectors 21 and 25.
Each of millimeter wave feeds 22 and 24 is a four-horn monopulse
feed capable of excitation in both circular polarization modes.
Feeds 22 and 24 are excited with millimeter wave energy by
equipment included in an electronic package 27 mounted on the back
face of reflector 21, i.e., the face opposite from that through
which feed 22 extends. Waveguides, not shown, extend through
reflector 21 to feed 22 for excitation of each of the four elements
included in feed 24 in response to energization of active elements
included within package 27.
Excition of feed 24 is via four waveguides 31-34, which are
positioned mutually orthogonally to each other and extend between
packages 27 and the wide beam feed. One portion of each of
waveguides 31-34 extends from package 27 along the surface of
reflector 21 to the periphery of the reflecting dish 21 about which
it is turned. Waveguides 31-34 extend to four-horn monopulse feed
24, with which they are electrically and mechanically connected.
The four waveguides 31-34 thereby form struts and provide the sole
menas of support for the millimeter wave feed package 24.
Supporting surface 26 for reflectors 23 and 25 is bonded by a
suitable means, e.g. epoxy cement, to the exterior surfaces of
waveguides 31-34 at an intermediate point between reflector 21 and
feed 24 where the vertical separation between struts 31 and 32 is
approximately 6 inches. By employing the same structure to feed
millimeter waves to feed package 24 as the mechanical supporting
means for the feed, the millimeter wave beams derived from
reflectors 21 and 25 are presented with a minimum obstruction
area.
To provide the dimensional stability required to maintain the shape
of parabolic reflector 21 to within .+-.3 percent of a millimeter
wavelength, reflectors 21, 23 and 25 are formed on a supporting
structure including sheets of CFRP, the properties of which are
described supra in the introduction. CFRP sheets are fabricated
with isotropically directed longitudinal fibers, i.e., the sheets
have a grain running in a single direction, as illustrated on
sheets 41 and 42, FIG. 4, and typically have a thickness of
approximately 20 mils. To provide dimensional stability in two
directions as a function of temperature, a pair of CFRP sheets is
bonded to each other by epoxy so that the grains of the two sheets
run orthogonally to each other.
In one specific embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 5, laminate 48 is
formed by bonding five sheets 43-47 to each other in layers so that
adjacent sheets have fibers extending at right angles to each
other. A second laminate 49, substantially identical to laminate
48, is also formed. Sandwiched between laminates 48 and 49 is an
aluminum honeycomb structure 51 having walls with a thickness on
the order of 0.8 mil to form longitudinally extending compartments
between laminates 48 and 49. The length of the honeycomb
compartments is at least one-half inch to provide sufficient
lateral stiffness and strength to the resulting sandwich structure
whereby the honeycomb forms the core for reflector 21 and
supporting structure 26. Laminates 48 and 49 are bonded to the top
and bottom planar faces of honeycomb structure 51, e.g., by epoxy
cement. The physical properties of the structure illustrated in
FIG. 5 are ideally suited as a supporting element for a millimeter
wave reflector of an outer space antenna system.
To form the sandwich structure comprising laminates 48 and 49 and
honeycomb structure 51 into a supporting structure for a parabolic
reflector the sandwich is molded on a mandrel having the desired
shape. One face of laminate 48 is placed against the mandrel and
the exposed face of laminate 49 is depressed by pressure applied
thereto by a bag. Sufficient pressure is applied to the bag to
deform the sandwich to the shape of the mandrel to produce the
desired shape.
After the sandwich comprising laminates 48 and 49, as well as
honeycomb structure 51, has been appropriately shaped to conform
with the parabolic contour of reflector 21, or the combined
hyperbolic and parabolic contours of reflectors 23 and 25, a
reflecting surface is deposited on surfaces illuminated by
millimeter waves. The reflecting surface is formed by vacuum vapor
depositing an aluminum thin film layer, having a thickness on the
order of 4,000 angstroms, on an appropriate exposed face of
laminates 48 and/or 49. On aluminum layer 52 there is deposited a
silicon oxide thin film layer 53, having a thickness on the same
order of magnitude as aluminum layer 52. Silicon oxide layer 53,
which is preferably silicon monoxide, reduces the temperature
gradient on the reflecting surface. The hyperbolic is very strong
physically in a direction perpendicular to the plane of sheets
43-47, even though the sheets have a thickness on the order of only
20 mils and the honeycomb structure by itself does not possess
appreciable shear strength, i.e., strength in a direction between
the faces thereof loaded by laminates 48 and 49. More importantly,
the thermal stability of the structure in the plane in which
laminates 48 and 49 lie is extremely great. The CFRP sheets
comprising laminates 48 and 49 have virtually zero temperature
coefficient of expansion in the direction of grain orientation. The
honeycomb structure, even though fabricated from aluminum, does not
expand appreciably in the planes parallel to the surfaces of the
CFRP sheets because of the small cross-sectional mass thereof.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawings wherein
there are illustrated enlarged views of reflector 21 in combination
with waveguide 32. Reflector 21 includes CFRP laminates 61 and 62,
as described in conjunction with FIG. 5. CFRP laminates 61 and 62
are bonded, preferably by epoxy, to opposite, substantially
parallel faces of honeycomb aluminum structure 63, having
longitudinal sections extending between the laminates. On the
exterior face of laminate 61, the face of reflector 21 that is
illuminated by the millimeter waves derived from feed 22, are
deposited successive thin film layers 64 and 65 of aluminum and
silicon monoxide.
Wall 66 of rectangular waveguide 32 is bonded to the outer face of
CFRP laminate 62 by epoxy cement. Wall 66, as well as the remaining
exterior walls 67-69 of waveguide 32, are fabricated from a
five-sheet laminate of CFRP, as described in conjunction with FIG.
5. To provide a more rigid support between wall 66 and CFRP
laminate 62 of reflector 21, a curved section 71 of CFRP laminate
is bonded to wall 69 and laminate 62 so that it is slightly spaced
from the inner section between the wall and laminate.
Waveguide 32 includes a honeycomb core 72, having longitudinally
extending sections running generally at right angles between the
inner and outer faces of the waveguide. At the corners of the
waveguide, the honeycomb structure 72 is bent so that a hollow
shaft is formed and the walls of adjacent longitudinally extending
sections are not necessarily parallel.
A further five-sheet laminate 73 of CFRP is bonded on the inner
periphery of honeycomb structure 72 by epoxy cement. On the
interior, rectangular peripheral wall of laminate 73, there is
vacuum vapor deposited a thin film or shell 174 of aluminum to form
the conducting surface for waveguide 32. Film 174 is dimensionally
very stable, being located interiorly of the sandwich construction
comprising a honeycomb structure and a pair of CFRP laminates. The
waveguide structure also possesses considerable three-dimensional
strength because of the combination of the honeycomb with the pair
of laminates on the opposite faces of the honeycomb structure. The
cross section of waveguide 32 for the portion of the waveguide
extending between the periphery of reflector 21 and feed 24 is
identical to that illustrated in FIG. 5 and possesses sufficient
strength to carry support structure 26 for reflectors 23 and 25, as
well as feed package 24.
In response to a temperature gradient being established across
parabolic reflecting dish 21 there is a tendency for differential
expansion of honeycomb structure 63 and laminates 61 and 62 in a
direction at right angles to the planes of the laminates. The
differential expansion in this direction, however, has an
insignificant effect on the millimeter wave beam pattern derived
from dish 21 because the total possible expansion in this direction
relative to the focal distance is less than 1 percent. Because of
the very low coefficient of heat expansion of the CFRP laminates 61
and 62 along the surfaces of the sheets comprising the laminates,
the temperature gradient established across differing portions of
reflector 21 do not cause differential expansion of the reflector
along the surfaces of the laminates. Thereby, the reflector retains
its parabolic shape and does not have tendency to skew about the
reflector focal point. Skew is virtually completely eliminated so
that surface of reflector 21 can be considered as parabolic to
within .+-.3 percent of a wavelength of a millimeter wave. Because
skew of parabolic reflector 21 is virtually eliminated, a plane
wave is derived from the reflector, enabling a very narrow beam
width and high gain to be achieved.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 8 and 9 of the drawings wherein
there is illustrated a further millimeter wave antenna system in
accordance with the present invention. In the system of FIGS. 8 and
9, the tracking and data transmission antenna system is essentially
the same as described with regard to the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and
3 and thereby includes a Cassegrain assembly comprising parabolic
reflecting dish 21, hyperbolic subreflector 23 mounted on support
structure 26, and four-horn monopulse millimeter wave feed 22. As
in the embodiment of FIG. 2, millimeter waveguides 31-34 extend
from four corners of reflector 21 to a four-horn millimeter wave
monopulse feed acquisition package 171. Waveguides 31-34 are also
connected to supporting structure 26 for reflector 23. In the
system of FIGS. 8 and 9, however, horns 172 of feed 171 extend
through apertures provided in supporting structure 26 and
subreflector 23 to illuminate parabolic reflector 21. The ends of
horns 172 are thereby positioned inside the focal point for
reflector 21, which focal point is defined by the intersection of
waveguides 31-34. By moving the ends of horns 172 from the focal
point for reflector 21, the beam resulting from millimeter wave
excitation of horns 172 is spoiled and thereby has a greater width,
enabling it to be employed for acquisition purposes.
In all embodiments shown, reflector 21, supporting structure 26,
and waveguides 3134 are fabricated from a sandwich comprising
laminates of CFRP and a honeycomb interior structure. Also, horns
22 and 172 are made from CFRP. Thereby, dimensional stability to
within 3 percent of a millimeter wavelength is achieved by the
entire antenna assembly. Because the waveguides are small,
typically 1/8 .times.1/4 inch in cross section for millimeter wave
frequencies, the use of honeycomb for members 31-34 may be
eliminated. The waveguides may then be fabricated from CFRP sheets
only.
While there have been described and illustrated several specific
embodiments of the invention, it will be clear that variations in
the details of the embodiments specificallY illustrated and
described may be made without departing from the true spirit and
scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *