Microstrip Radiating Element with High Polarization Purity for Weather Observations

Next-generation weather radars are expected to be implemented with electronically-scanning planar phased arrays. Their scan agility could enable higher update rates and improved forecasts. However, application requirements on the polarization purity are hard to satisfy with a planar structure. Previous works in the literature have indicated a requirement of -22 [dB] on the Cross-Polarization Level (CPL) on scan under Ludwig's 2 nd definition. This work presents a novel radiating element that approximates a magneto-electric dipole and has a printable planar structure. Preliminary numerical results show that the radiating element satisfies the CPL requirement in more than 98% of the scan directions of interest.