Multi-layered graded porous radome design for dual-band airborne radar applications

A multi-layered graded porous airborne nose-cone radome design for radar antenna system with surveillance and tracking capabilities at X and K bands, respectively, is presented. The radome wall structure has five layers and is symmetrically constructed with the dielectric constant increasing gradually from the outer layer to the middle layer on either side. The inner layers are made up of silicon nitride with varying porosity for attaining variable dielectric parameters, whereas the outermost layers are composed of quartz lamination for better impedance matching. The analysis shows that the proposed radome design gives excellent EM performance characteristics in the EM window regions at both X and K bands. The novel dual-band radome design presented has potential application in airborne radar antenna system incorporating both surveillance and tracking capabilities.