An active and passive antenna pattern comparison

In this paper a wideband antenna integrated with a MMIC is reported for electronic warfare applications. The active device is located inside the mechanical structure to add new functionalities to the antenna unit and enhance strongly its performances. The new functionalities include a high power protection device, a balun, an impedance transformer and a wideband amplifier. The antenna gain is improved by more than 10 dB from 2 GHz to 18 GHz. This represents one of the widest band amplifier integrated in the antenna case with power limiter capabilities. Finally the device has a single bias for easy integration. The final antenna prototype will be characterized by a more compact shape, less weight and less cost compared to the previous version.