Patent ID: 7508338

Claim:
An array antenna, comprising: a first cold plate defining first and second broad sides, said first cold plate being generally planar and extending in first and second dimensions; a second cold plate defining first and second broad sides, said second cold plate being generally planar and extending in said first and second dimensions, said first broad side of said second cold plate lying generally parallel with said second broad side of said first cold plate and spaced therefrom to define a generally planar first volume; a plurality of cold plate wall pairs, each of said wall pairs including first and second walls, each of said walls of each of said wall pairs being generally planar and extending in said first dimension and in a third dimension, an edge of each of said first and second walls being affixed to said second broad side of said second cold plate at spaced-apart locations, to thereby define a plurality of third volumes lying between mutually adjacent walls of adjacent ones of said wall pairs, each of said third volumes being generally three-dimensional, with the largest dimension of each of said third volumes extending parallel with said first dimension, and each of said third volumes extending in said third dimension by the same distance from said second broad side of said second cold plate; a plurality of apertures provided in each of the first and second walls of the plurality of cold plate wall pairs, the apertures being open along edges of the first and second walls and extending into the interior of each of the first and second walls along the third dimension, wherein the apertures defining second volumes adapted for receiving additional electronic components; a generally planar array of antenna elements supported on said first broad side of said first cold plate, and in thermal communication therewith; a controllable transmit/receive arrangement physically juxtaposed with said second side of said second cold plate within each of said third volumes, said transmit/receive arrangement being in thermal communication with said second side of said second cold plate; and a beamformer arrangement physically located in said first volume, and electrically connected through said first cold plate with said array of antenna elements and through said second cold plate with said transmit/receive arrangement, for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals by way of said antenna elements and said controllable transmit/receive arrangement.