Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) is an advanced manufacturing process by which parts are "grown"
layer by layer out of raw material, so that complex and challenging shapes can be produced in a rugged and lightweight manner. Selective Laser Sintering has traditionally been used in a number of industries, but the use of SLS in manufacturing antennas, particularly ultra wideband antennas, is new.
Military SLS antennas are an increasingly important part of military tactical communications and information warfare applications, including signals intelligence (SIGINT), direction-finding (DF) and electronic attack (EA). High performance military SLS antennas can provide transmit and receive capabilities in challenging operational environments.
SLS Military Antenna Selection
Military SLS antennas can include directional military antennas, omnidirectional military antennas and military antenna arrays. They can be designed around the available space (a cylinder’s diameter and height) and maximum weight. A military SLS antenna’s low end frequency range can be increased by increasing the available height for the antenna. A military SLS antenna’s high end frequency range can be adjusted by selecting different connector types. For example, a military SLS antenna with an SMA connector can have an upper end frequency of approximately 18 GHz.
A military SLS antenna can be narrowband or ultrawideband. An ultrawideband military SLS antenna can transmit or receive in all narrowband frequencies (narrowband signals are signals which are not localized in time and thus which have long duration but narrow frequency) throughout a broad frequency range.
Military SLS Antenna Performance Metrics
An example of a key performance metric for a military SLS antenna is voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR). VSWR describes the power transfer from the cable to the antenna, for example, a VSWR level of 3 means that 75% of the power is accepted and re-radiated by the antenna, rather than being reflected back to the transmitter. Thus when asked "what frequency range does the military SLS antenna cover", the answer is typically based on the frequency range for which the antenna has a VSWR < 3.
Military SLS Antenna Applications
Military SLS antenna applications include surface ships, subsurface ships such as submarines, UUVs, ground vehicles such as Humvees or Jeeps, aircraft including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), team-transportable and man-portable. The antenna requirements are frequently driven by the application. For example, weight-sensitive platforms such as UAVs require military antennas which are extremely lightweight.
Platforms such as surface ships or aircraft often require military SLS antennas which have low radar cross section (RCS), while RCS is much less of a factor for military antennas on platforms such as ground vehicles. An ultrawideband frequency range is advantageous for any military SLS antenna application, as it enables minimizing the number of antennas required, for minimal visual profile, reduced space/weight usage, minimal system complexity/greater ease of integration and upgrade.
