Exponentially Tapered Biconical Antenna

Emergence of Software Defined Radio (SDR) for the commercial sector and Software Communications Architecture (SCA) for the military sector has broadened antenna frequency requirements greatly. Co-site interference, blockage, and overall real estate availability are just some of the problems that have plagued the growth in frequency requirements and the associated problems with multiple individual antennas. The Joint Tactical Radio System’s (JTRS) goal is to reduce 25 to 30 radio families into one system to cover 2 MHz to 2 GHz, and beyond, using very few antennas. Using a bicone antenna configuration as a feed transformer and exponentially tapered reflector fins to radiate the antenna’s energy, SSC San Diego has developed an antenna capable of transmitting over a range of 130 MHz to 9.0 GHz Benefits Omni-directional and vertically polarized Compact design decreases the traditional bicone antenna diameter from 56" to 24", a 60% reduction Protected in a cylindrical fiberglass tube Return loss is reduced over operating frequency bands compared to classical designs Does not require a ground plane DoD 5000 Series Technologiy Readiness Level 9