JPWO2020219794A5 - - Google Patents

Description

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 62/839,121, filed April 26, 2019 and entitled "DIFFERENTIAL SEGMENTED APERTURE." US Provisional Application No. 62/839,121, filed April 26, 2019, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

(background)
The following are radio frequency (RF) technical fields, RF transmitter technical fields, RF receiver technical fields, RF transceiver technical fields, broadband RF transmitter, receiver and/or transceiver technical fields, RF communication technical fields, and related technical fields.

US Pat. No. 7,420,522 to Steinbrecher, entitled "Electromagnetic Radiation Interface System and Method," discloses a broadband RF aperture as follows. "An electromagnetic radiation interface is provided that is suitable for use with radio frequencies. The surface comprises a plurality of conical bristle bodies of metal. A corresponding plurality of end segments, each bristle body The termination section is provided to capture substantially all electromagnetic wave energy received by each individual bristle body, thereby preventing reflection from the surface of the interface. Each termination section may also comprise an analog-to-digital converter for converting the energy from each bristle body into a digital word, the bristle bodies having a plurality of holes therethrough. A plurality of coaxial transmission lines may extend through the ground plane to interconnect the plurality of bristle bodies to the plurality of termination sections."

Some improvements are disclosed herein.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,420,522

(brief summary)
According to some exemplary embodiments, a radio frequency (RF) aperture is disclosed. An interface printed circuit board has a front side and a back side. An array of conductive tapered protrusions has a base located on the front side of the interface printed circuit board and extends away from the front side of the interface printed circuit board. A chip balun is mounted on the back side of the interface printed circuit board. Each chip balun has a balanced port electrically connected to two adjacent conductive tapered protrusions of the array of conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board. Each chip balun also has an unbalanced port. An RF network is located on the backside of the interface printed circuit board and electrically connected to the unbalanced port of the chip balun.

According to some exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, a method of manufacturing a radio frequency (RF) aperture includes coating a surface of a dielectric tapered protrusion with a conductive layer and forming a conductive tapered protrusion. mounting a conductive tapered protrusion on the front side of the interface printed circuit board; Mounting on a printed circuit board and electrically connecting the RF network with the conductive tapered protrusions.

According to some exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, an RF aperture includes an interface printed circuit board having a front side and a back side, an array of conductive tapered protrusions, and RF circuitry. Prepare. The conductive tapered protrusion has a base located on the front side of the interface printed circuit board and extends away from the front side of the interface printed circuit board. The conductive tapered protrusion comprises a dielectric tapered protrusion and a conductive layer disposed on a surface of the dielectric tapered protrusion. RF circuitry is disposed on the back side of the interface printed circuit board and is electrically connected to the array of conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board. In some embodiments, the RF circuitry further couples pairs of adjacent conductive tapered protrusions in an array of conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board. It includes a balun with a balanced port that connects.

Any quantitative dimensions shown in the drawings shall be understood as non-limiting illustrative examples. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are not drawn to scale and any aspect of the drawing is drawn to scale and the scale shown is as a non-limiting illustrative example. shall be understood.

Figures 1 and 2 are a cross-sectional front view and an illustrative differential compartmentalization aperture (DSA), respectively. 1 schematically illustrates a side view and a cross-sectional side view. Figures 1 and 2 are a cross-sectional front view and an illustrative differential compartmentalization aperture (DSA), respectively. 1 schematically illustrates a side view and a cross-sectional side view.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a single QUAD subassembly of the DSA of FIGS. 1-4. shown formally.

FIG. 4 is an interface preprint of the DSA of FIGS. 1-3, including vias and mounting holes. A front view of the printed circuit board (i-PCB) is schematically illustrated and the locations of the baluns and resistor pads are schematically illustrated.

FIG. 5 is a diagram including RF connections, controls, and power connectors shown diagrammatically; 1 schematically illustrates a rear view of the DSA enclosure of 1-4; FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a balanced port of a chip balun between two adjacent conductive tapered protrusions. FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment with an electrically conductive tapered protrusion, in addition to a diagrammatic representation of the connection of the terminals.

7-10 schematically illustrate additional embodiments of conductive tapered protrusions. 7-10 schematically illustrate additional embodiments of conductive tapered protrusions. 7-10 schematically illustrate additional embodiments of conductive tapered protrusions. 7-10 schematically illustrate additional embodiments of conductive tapered protrusions .

(detailed explanation)
1 and 2, each has an interface printed circuit board (i-PCB) 10 having a front side 12 and a back side 14, and a base 22 located on the front side 12 of the i-PCB 10, the i-PCB 10 Front and side cross-sectional views of an exemplary radio frequency (RF) aperture including an array of conductive tapered protrusions 20 extending away from the front side 12 of the are shown. An illustrative i-PCB 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as having dimensions of 5 inches by 5 inches, but this is only a non-limiting illustrative example of a compact RF aperture. FIG. 1 shows a front view of the RF aperture with an inset showing a perspective view of one conductive tapered protrusion 20 at the upper left. This exemplary embodiment of the conductive tapered protrusion 20 has a square cross-section with a larger square base 22 and an apex that does not extend to the full tip, but rather terminates at a flat apex 24 (in other words and the inset conductive tapered protrusion 20 has a frusto-conical shape). This is an illustrative example only, and more generally, the conductive tapered protrusions 20 may be of any type of cross-section (eg, square as in the inset, or circular, or hexagonal, or octagonal). square, etc.). Vertex 24 can be flat as in the inset embodiment, or can reach a sharp point, or can be rounded, or have some other vertex geometry. The rate of taper as a function of height (i.e., the distance "above" the base 22 with the apex 24 at its maximum "high") can be constant as in the inset example. , or the rate of taper can be variable with height, e.g. It can increase or decrease with increasing height to form protrusions with more pointed tips. Similarly, as shown in most detail in FIG. 1, the illustrative array of conductive tapered protrusions 20 is a linear array with regular rows and orthogonal regular columns; , the array may have other symmetries, such as hexagonal symmetry, octagonal symmetry, and the like. In the illustrative embodiment of the inset, a square base 22 and square apex 24 lead to a conductive tapered protrusion 20 having four flat sloping sidewalls 26, however other sidewall shapes are also contemplated, For example, if the base and apex are circular (or the base is circular and the apex reaches a point), the sidewall is a slanted or tapered cylinder, and the hexagonal base and hexagonal For an apex or pointed apex, there will be 6 sloping sidewalls, and so on.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and with further reference to FIG. 3, the RF aperture further comprises RF circuitry, which in the illustrative embodiment includes a chip balun 30 mounted on the backside 14 of the i-PCB 10. . Each chip balun 30 is a balanced port P electrically connected to two adjacent conductive tapered protrusions of the array of conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs 32 passing through the i-PCB 10. _B. (see FIGS. 3 and 6). Each chip balun 30 also has an unbalanced port P that connects with the rest of the RF network. _U (see FIGS. 3 and 6). The illustrative RF network further includes unbalanced port P of chip balun 30. _U includes an RF power splitter/combiner 40 for combining the outputs from. As seen in FIG. 3, an exemplary electrical configuration of the RF network includes an unbalanced port P _U A first level 1×2 RF power divider/combiner 40 that combines pairs of ₁ and a first level RF power divider/combiner 40 ₁ A second level 1×2 RF power divider/combiner 40 that combines the outputs of the pair of ₂ to adopt. This is only an illustrative approach and a 1x3 (combining 3 lines), 1x4 (combining 4 lines) or higher combining RF power splitter/combiner, or various thereof. Other configurations are also contemplated, such as using combinations of The illustrative RF network further includes each unbalanced port P of chip balun 30. _U and a first level 1×2 power divider 40 ₁ and a signal conditioning circuit 42 interposed between. A signal conditioning circuit 42 connected to each unbalanced port includes an RF transmit amplifier T, an RF receive amplifier R, a transmission mode operably connecting the RF transmit amplifier T and the unbalanced port, an RF receive amplifier R and the unbalanced port. RF switching circuitry including a switch RFS configured to switch between receive modes operably connecting the balanced ports.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1-3 and further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a compact design (e.g., , a depth of 3 inches in the non-limiting illustrative example of FIG. 3) is achieved. In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 3, chip balun 30 is mounted on backside 14 of i-PCB 10 . Optionally, other electronic components may also be mounted on the back side of the i-PCB 10, with an array of conductive tapered protrusions 20 disposed on the front side 12 thereof. However, there may be insufficient footprint on the i-PCB 10 to mount all the electronics of the RF network. In the illustrative embodiment, this is addressed by providing a second printed circuit board 50 that is placed parallel to the i-PCB 10 and faces the backside 14 of the i-PCB 10 . In other words, the second printed circuit board 50 is placed on the (back) side 14 of the i-PCB 10 opposite the (front) side 12 of the i-PCB 10 on which the conductive tapered protrusions 20 are placed. The RF circuitry comprises electronic components mounted on a second printed circuit board 50, which may also be referred to herein as a signal conditioning PCB or SC-PCB 50; (typically on the back side 14 of the i-PCB, but RF circuitry on the front side of the i-PCB in the field space between the conductive tapered protrusions 20). (not shown)). When SC-PCB 50 is provided, it is suitably secured parallel to i-PCB 10 by standoffs 54, and single-ended feedthroughs 52 connect i-PCB 10 and SC-PCB 10, as shown in FIG. Provided for electrically interconnecting PCB 50 (see FIG. 3). If it is not possible for the RF network to fit onto the footprint of the two PCBs 10, 50, then a third (fourth and further if desired) PCB may be a component of the RF network. (not shown).

FIG. 4 shows a front view of i-PCB 10, including vias and mounting holes, and diagrammatically indicated the locations of baluns 30 and resistor pads, as indicated in the legend shown in FIG. (A resistor is used to terminate the unused side of the pyramid to help reduce the radar cross-section.)

With reference to FIG. 2 and further reference to FIG. 5, the illustrative RF aperture is an enclosure, in an illustrative embodiment, affixed to the perimeter of the i-PCB 10 such that the perimeter encloses the RF circuitry. 58. This is just one illustrative arrangement, other designs are also possible, for example, both PCBs 10, 50 may be placed inside an enclosure (although such an enclosure may not have RF apertures). There should be no RF shield extending forward to occlude the area). FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of an RF connector (or port) 60 (also shown or displayed in FIGS. 2 and 3), control electronics 62 (shown, for example, as a non-limiting illustration). phased array beam steering electronics 63, which may be mounted external to the enclosure 58 and/or located inside the enclosure 58 to provide beneficial RF shielding. ), and power to operate active components of the RF network (e.g., active RF transmit amplifier T and active RF receive amplifier R, and operating power for switch RFS). 5 schematically illustrates a rear view of RF aperture enclosure 58 showing power connector 64 for providing. The specific arrangement of the various components 60, 62, 63, 64 across the area behind the enclosure may vary widely from that shown in FIG. 5, and these components may be located elsewhere. For example, the RF connector 60 could alternatively be located at the edge of the RF aperture, and so on. The RF aperture may be built integrally with some other component or system, for example the RF aperture may be used as an RF transmitting and/or receiving element in mobile ground stations, maritime radios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), etc. It should also be understood that enclosure 58 may be replaced by having an RF aperture contained within the enclosure of a mobile ground station, marine radio, UAV airframe, etc., where provided. In such cases, RF connector 60 may also be replaced by a wired connection to mobile ground stations, maritime radios, UAV electronics, and the like.

Referring specifically to FIG. 3, an exemplary electrical configuration for an exemplary RF network is shown. In this non-limiting illustrative example, the array of conductive tapered protrusions 20 is assumed to be a 5×5 array of conductive tapered protrusions 20, as shown in FIGS. . Balance port P of chip balun 30 _B. between two adjacent conductive tapered protrusions 20 (to apply a differential RF signal between two adjacent conductive tapered protrusions 20 in receive mode, or alternatively in transmit mode). Adjacent (ie, neighboring) pairs of conductive tapered protrusions 20 of the array are connected to receive differential RF signals. As detailed in Steinbrecher, U.S. Pat. No. 7,420,522, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, the tapering of the conductive tapered protrusions 20 is defined by the "height" It presents a separation between the two conductive tapered protrusions 20 that varies with , ie, with the distance “above” the base 22 of the conductive tapered protrusions 20 . This provides broadband RF capture as a range of RF wavelengths can be captured corresponding to the range of separation between adjacent conductive tapered protrusions 20 introduced by the tapering. The RF aperture is therefore a differential compartmentalized aperture (DSA), having differential RF receiving (or RF transmitting) elements corresponding to adjacent pairs of conductive tapered protrusions 20 . These differential RF receive (or transmit) elements are referred to herein as aperture pixels. For the exemplary linear 5x5 array of adjacent conductive tapered protrusions 20, this means that there are four aperture pixels along each row (or column) of five conductive tapered protrusions 20. means that More generally, for a linear array of protrusions having a row (or column) of N conductive tapered protrusions 20, the corresponding N-1 pixels along the row (or column) are , would exist. FIG. 3 shows a QUAD subassembly, which is the interconnection of rows (or columns) of four pixels. Since there are 4 rows and 4 columns, this leads to 4×4 or 16 such QUAD subassemblies. Resistor pads are used as terminations for the unused edges of the surrounding pyramids to prevent unwanted reflections. Without resistors mounted via resistor pads, those surfaces could remain floating and re-radiate the incident RF energy, causing an enhanced radar cross-section.

In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a second level 1×2 RF power divider/combiner 40 in each QUAD subassembly ₂ connects with RF connector 60 on the back side of enclosure 58 . 4 and 5, such as row QUAD subassemblies N1, N2, N3, N4 and column QUAD subassemblies M1, M2, M3, M4, as seen in FIG. There are eight RF connectors for The Gnd(N) rows and Gnd(M) columns are circuit grounds to allow a common path for current flow from the trapped RF energy along the peripheral side of the pyramid. The use of QUAD subassemblies allows for a high level of flexibility in RF coupling to RF apertures. For example, the illustrative phased array beamsteering electronics 63 determine the appropriate phase shifts for the row QUAD subassemblies N1, N2, N3, N4.

and the phase shift for the column QUAD subassemblies M1, M2, M3, M4

and steer the transmit RF signal beam in the desired direction, or orient the RF aperture to receive the RF signal beam from the desired direction (transmission or reception may be implemented by controlled by the setting of switch RFS in signal conditioning circuit 42). Other applications that may be implemented by the RF aperture are the simultaneous "transmit/receive dual circular polarization mode" and the combination of physically placing multiple DSAs in close physical proximity to increase the aperture size. and "scalability" by giving a specified effect. In an alternative embodiment shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3, RF connector 60 may be replaced by an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter 66 and a digital connector 68 through which the digitized signal is output. More generally, the A/D conversion may be inserted anywhere in the RF chain, for example an A/D converter placed at the output of the signal conditioning circuit 42 and analog first and first Two Level RF Power Divider/Combiner 40 ₁ , 40 ₂ can therefore be replaced by digital signal processing (DSP) circuitry.

The described electronics employing PCBs 10, 50, chip balun 30, and active signal conditioning components (e.g., active transmit amplifier T and receive amplifier R) advantageously allow RF apertures to be made small and lightweight. allow to be Embodiments of the conductive tapered protrusion 20 further facilitate providing a compact and lightweight broadband RF aperture, as described next.

FIG. 6 shows one illustrative example in which each conductive tapered protrusion 20 is fabricated as a dielectric tapered protrusion 70 with a conductive layer 72 disposed on the surface of the dielectric tapered protrusion 70 . 1 shows a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment; FIG. The dielectric tapered protrusion may be made of, for example, an electrically insulating plastic or ceramic material such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate, etc., and may be formed by injection molding, three-dimensional (3D) printing, or other suitable technique. may be manufactured. Conductive layer 72 may be any suitable conductive material such as copper, copper alloys, silver, silver alloys, gold, gold alloys, aluminum, aluminum alloys, or may include a layered stack of different conductive materials. It may be coated on the dielectric tapered protrusion 70 by vacuum evaporation, RF sputtering, or any other vacuum deposition technique. FIG. 6 illustrates one implementation in which solder points 74 are used to electrically connect the conductive layer 72 of each dielectric tapered protrusion 20 and its corresponding electrical feedthrough 32 passing through the i-PCB 10. Give an example. FIG. 6 also shows the balanced port P of one chip balun 30 between two adjacent conductive tapered protrusions 20 via soldering points 76. _B. An illustrative connection of is also shown.

7 and 8 show exploded side cross-sectional and perspective views, respectively, of an embodiment in which a dielectric tapered protrusion 70 is integrally contained within a dielectric plate 80. FIG. A conductive layer 72 coats each dielectric tapered protrusion 70 but has an insulating gap 82 that provides galvanic isolation between adjacent dielectric tapered protrusions 20 . The insulating gaps 82 are formed after coating by etching the coating away from the plate 80 between the conductive tapered protrusions 20 and galvanically isolating the conductive tapered protrusions from each other. 72 can be formed after coating. Alternatively, the insulating gaps 82 may, prior to coating, be such that the coating does not coat the plates within the conductive taper-to-tapered protrusions insulating gaps 82, thereby galvanically isolating the conductive tapered protrusions from each other. , can be defined prior to coating by depositing a masking material (not shown) on the plate 80 between the conductive tapered protrusions 20. As shown in FIG. As seen in the perspective view of FIG. 8, the resulting dielectric plate 80 covers the surface of the i-PCB 10 with the conductive tapered protrusions 20 extending away from the dielectric plate 80 . Cover (thus occlude it).

Referring specifically to FIG. 7, in one approach for electrical interconnection, through-holes 82 pass through illustrative plate 80 and underlying i-PCB 10 to secure rivets, screws, or other conductive fasteners 32'. passes through through-hole 82 (note that FIG. 7 is an exploded view), thus forming electrical feed-through 32 ′ that passes through i-PCB 10 when disposed. (Note that the perspective view of FIG. 8 is simplified and does not depict fastener 32'.) Integral dielectric tapered protrusion 70 and combined fastener/feed. The use of dielectric plate 80 with through 32' advantageously allows conductive tapered protrusion 20 to be disposed with precision positioning and without soldering.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6-8, a conductive coating 72 is disposed on the outer surface of dielectric tapered protrusion 70. In the embodiment of FIGS. In this case, dielectric tapered protrusion 70 may be either hollow or solid.

9 and 10, since the dielectric material is substantially transparent to RF radiation, the conductive coating 72 is instead deposited on the inner surface of the (hollow) dielectric tapered protrusion 70. may be coated with FIG. 9 shows a side cross-sectional view of such an embodiment, while FIG. 10 shows a perspective view. The embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 again employs a dielectric plate 80 that includes dielectric tapered protrusions 70 . As seen in FIG. 10, by coating the conductive coating 72 on the inner surface of the hollow dielectric tapered protrusion 70, this applies the conductive coating 72 to the integral dielectric tapered protrusion 70. is protected from external contact by a dielectric plate 80 containing This can be useful in environments where weather can be an issue.

It is to be understood that the various disclosed aspects are illustrative examples, and that the disclosed features may be variously combined or omitted in particular embodiments. For example, one of the illustrative embodiments of conductive tapered protrusion 20 or variations thereof may be employed without the QUAD subassembly circuitry configuration of FIGS. 2-5. Conversely, the QUAD subassembly network configurations of FIGS. 2-5 or variations thereof may be employed without the dielectric/coating configuration for the conductive tapered protrusions 20. FIG. Similarly, chip balun 30 may or may not be used in particular embodiments and the like.

Preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims (24)

A radio frequency (RF) aperture,
an interface printed circuit board having a front side and a back side;
an array of conductive tapered protrusions having a base located on the front side of the interface printed circuit board and extending away from the front side of the interface printed circuit board;
A balun mounted on the back side of the interface printed circuit board, each balun connecting two adjacent conductive strips of the array of conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board. a balun having a balanced port electrically connected to the tapered protrusion, each balun further having an unbalanced port;
RF circuitry located on the backside of the interface printed circuit board and electrically connected to the unbalanced port of the balun;
an RF aperture. The RF aperture of claim 1, wherein said balun comprises a chip balun and said RF circuitry comprises electronic components mounted on the back side of said interface printed circuit board. further comprising a second printed circuit board arranged parallel to the interface printed circuit board and facing the back side of the interface printed circuit board;
The RF aperture of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the RF circuitry comprises electronic components mounted on the second printed circuit board. 4. The RF network of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the RF network comprises an RF power divider/combiner connecting one or more combinations of unbalanced ports of the balun with one or more RF connectors. RF aperture as described. The RF power splitters/combiners are interconnected as multiple RF subassemblies, each RF subassembly connecting four or more subsets of the unbalanced ports of the balun with a single RF connector. 5. The RF aperture of claim 4. the RF circuitry further comprising a plurality of analog-to-digital (A/D) converters;
The RF power dividers/combiners are interconnected as a plurality of RF subassemblies, each RF subassembly connecting four or more subsets of the unbalanced ports of the balun to a single analog/digital (A /D) The RF aperture of claim 4 in connection with a converter. The RF network comprises a signal conditioning circuit connected with each unbalanced port of the balun, the signal conditioning circuit connected with each unbalanced port comprising:
an RF transmission amplifier;
an RF receiving amplifier;
RF switching circuitry configured to switch between a transmit mode operably connecting the RF transmit amplifier with the unbalanced port and a receive mode operably connecting the RF receive amplifier with the unbalanced port. When
The RF aperture of any one of claims 1-6, comprising: 1- wherein said RF circuitry comprises beam steering circuitry configured to operate said RF aperture as a phased array directional RF transmitter and/or a phased array directional RF receiver; 8. The RF aperture of any one of 7. The array of conductive tapered protrusions comprises:
a dielectric tapered protrusion;
a conductive layer disposed on the surface of the dielectric tapered protrusion;
The RF aperture of any one of claims 1-8, comprising: 10. The RF aperture of Claim 9, comprising a dielectric plate including the dielectric tapered protrusion. 11. Any one of claims 9-10, wherein the dielectric tapered protrusion is hollow and the conductive layer is disposed on an outer surface or an inner surface of the hollow dielectric tapered protrusion. RF aperture as described in . A method of manufacturing a radio frequency (RF) aperture, comprising:
coating a surface of the dielectric tapered protrusion with a conductive layer to form a conductive tapered protrusion;
mounting the conductive tapered protrusion to the front side of an interface printed circuit board;
mounting RF circuitry on said interface printed circuit board and/or on a second printed circuit board mounted parallel to said interface printed circuit;
electrically connecting the RF network with the conductive tapered protrusion;
A method, including The dielectric tapered protrusion is integral with a surface of the dielectric plate and extends away from the surface of the dielectric plate, and the coating comprises at least the integral dielectric tapered protrusion. The method further comprises coating the dielectric plate comprising
after the coating, etching the coating away from the plate between the conductive tapered protrusions to galvanically isolate the conductive tapered protrusions from one another; or
prior to said coating such that said coating does not coat said plate between said conductive tapered protrusions, thereby galvanically isolating said conductive tapered protrusions from each other; depositing a masking material on the plate between the conductive tapered protrusions;
13. The method of claim 12, comprising one of: mounting the RF network includes mounting a balun to the back side of the interface printed circuit board;
The electrically connecting electrically connects each balanced port of the balun with two of the conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board. The method of any one of claims 12-13, comprising A radio frequency (RF) aperture,
an interface printed circuit board having a front side and a back side;
An array of conductive tapered protrusions having a base located on the front side of the interface printed circuit board and extending away from the front side of the interface printed circuit board, the conductive tapered protrusions an array of conductive tapered protrusions comprising dielectric tapered protrusions and a conductive layer disposed on a surface of said dielectric tapered protrusions;
RF circuitry disposed on the back side of the interface printed circuit board and electrically connected to the array of conductive tapered protrusions via electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board;
an RF aperture. A dielectric plate comprising said dielectric tapered protrusions, said conductive layer being disposed between said dielectric tapered protrusions such that said dielectric tapered protrusions are galvanically isolated from each other. 16. The RF aperture of claim 15, which is not part of the plate to be coated. The RF aperture of any one of claims 15-16, wherein the dielectric tapered protrusion is hollow. The RF aperture of any one of claims 15-17, wherein the RF circuitry comprises electronic components mounted on the back side of the interface printed circuit board. further comprising a second printed circuit board arranged parallel to the interface printed circuit board and facing the back side of the interface printed circuit board;
The RF aperture of any one of claims 15-18, wherein the RF circuitry comprises electronic components mounted on the second printed circuit board. The RF network comprises balanced ports connecting pairs of adjacent conductive tapered protrusions within the array of conductive tapered protrusions via the electrical feedthroughs passing through the interface printed circuit board. The RF aperture of any one of claims 15-19, comprising an associated balun. 21. The RF aperture of claim 20, wherein said RF network further comprises first level RF power dividers/combiners each connecting said unbalanced ports of two baluns. 22. The RF aperture of claim 21, wherein the RF network further includes second level RF power dividers/combiners each connecting two first level RF power dividers/combiners. The RF circuitry further includes signal conditioning circuitry coupled to the unbalanced port of each balun, the signal conditioning circuitry comprising:
an RF transmission amplifier;
an RF receiving amplifier;
RF switching circuitry configured to switch between a transmit mode operably connecting the RF transmit amplifier with the unbalanced port and a receive mode operably connecting the RF receive amplifier with the unbalanced port. When
The RF aperture of any one of claims 20-22, comprising: 15- wherein said RF circuitry comprises beam steering circuitry configured to operate said RF aperture as a phased array directional RF transmitter and/or a phased array directional RF receiver 24. The RF aperture of any one of clauses 23.

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