Patent ID: 8872719

Claim:
An apparatus for phased array antenna communications, the apparatus comprising: a phased array antenna tile comprising a plurality of antenna elements, each phased array antenna tile having a plurality of edges; a beamformer module integrated into the phased array antenna tile, and comprising a plurality of phase shifters and one or more of a combiner and a splitter, the beamformer module electrically coupled to each antenna element to process directional signals for the plurality of antenna elements in the analog domain, wherein each phase shifter is configured to adjust a phase of a signal of and antenna element and wherein the combiner is configured to combine a signal from each of the plurality of antenna elements of the phased array antenna tile configured to receive a signal and wherein the splitter is configured to split a signal to provide a signal to each of the plurality of antenna elements of the phased array antenna tile configured to send a signal; and a plurality of cascadable connection points disposed along a perimeter of the phased array antenna tile for connecting the phased array antenna tile to one or more additional phased array antenna tiles, wherein the cascadable connection points provide structural support between the phased array antenna tile and the connected one or more additional phased array antenna tiles and maintain relative positioning between antenna elements on adjacent phased array antenna tiles, wherein the cascadable connection points comprise attachment fixtures that mechanically connect the phased array antenna tile to the one or more additional phased array antenna tiles along an edge of the phased array antenna tile, wherein the cascadable connection points provide structural support between the phased array antenna tile and the connected one or more additional phased array antenna tile independent of additional structure, wherein the cascadable connection points comprise a high-frequency connector along each edge of the phased array antenna tile that provides radio-frequency (“RF”) inputs, RF outputs, and signal grounds, and a low-frequency connector along each edge of the phased array antenna tile that provides direct current (“DC”) power supply connections, digital control lines, and power grounds.