spiral scanning

spiral scanning

[′spī·rəl ′skan·iŋ] (engineering) Scanning in which the direction of maximum radiation describes a portion of a spiral; the rotation is always in one direction; used with some types of radar antennas.

helical scan

In radar scanning, varying the azimuth and elevation of the antenna continuously to generate a spiral pattern of the beam. This scan pattern is used in fire-control and GCI (ground-controlled interception) radars. Also called spiral scanning.