Scan blindness phenomenon in conformal finite phased arrays of printed dipoles

Scan blindness phenomenon for finite phased arrays of printed dipoles on material coated, electrically large circular cylinders is investigated. Effects on the scan blindness mechanism of several array and supporting structure parameters, including curvature effects, are observed and discussed. A full-wave solution, based on a hybrid method of moments/Green's function technique in the spatial domain, is used to achieve the aforementioned goals. Numerical results show that the curvature affects the surface waves and hence the mutual coupling between array elements. As a result, the array current distribution of arrays mounted on coated cylinders are considerably different compared to similar arrays on planar platforms. Therefore, finite phased arrays of printed dipoles on coated cylinders show different behavior in terms of scan blindness phenomenon compared to their planar counterparts. Furthermore, this phenomenon is completely different for axially and circumferentially oriented printed dipoles on coated cylinders suggesting that particular element types might be important for cylindrical arrays.     

General relations for a phased array of printed antennas derived from infinite current sheets

Simple and general relations characterizing the behavior of infinite phased arrays of printed antenna elements are derived from a model based on infinite current sheets. The Green's function of an electric current source on a grounded dielectric slab is used in various limiting forms to treat arrays in free space, arrays above a ground plane, arrays on a semi-infinite substrate, and arrays on a grounded dielectric slab. Current sheets are selected, using the orthogonality properties of the Floquet modes of the infinite array Green's function, to excite only a few specific low-order Floquet modes. Results from this idealized model, in the form of reflection coefficient magnitudes and input resistance, are compared with rigorous moment method solutions for specific elements (dipoles and microstrip patches). It is shown how the dominant scanning characteristics of a printed phased array, such as reflection coefficient and input resistance trends, scan blindnesses, and grating lobe effects, are dictated more by factors such as element spacing and substrate parameters than by the particular element type itself.     

Efficient analysis of input impedance and mutual coupling of microstrip antennas mounted on large coated cylinders

An efficient and accurate hybrid method, based on the combination of the method of moments (MoM) with a special Green's function in the space domain is presented to analyze antennas and array elements conformal to electrically large material coated circular cylinders. The efficiency and accuracy of the method depend strongly on the computation of the Green's function, which is the kernel of the integral equation that is solved via MoM for the unknown equivalent currents representing only the antenna elements. Three types of space-domain Green's function representations are used, each accurate and computationally efficient in a given region of space. Consequently, a computationally optimized analysis tool for conformal microstrip antennas is obtained. Input impedance of various microstrip antennas and mutual coupling between two identical antennas are calculated and compared with published results to assess the accuracy of this hybrid method.     

Analysis of finite phased arrays of circular microstrip patches

A method is presented for analyzing a finite planar array of circular microstrip patches fed by coaxial probes. The self- and mutual impedances between array elements are calculated using the method of moments with the dyadic Green's function for a dielectric layer on a ground plane. The patch circuits are determined by using the reaction integral equation. The active input impedance as well as the active element pattern of the array are computed from a knowledge of the resultant patch currents. The calculated results for two-element and eight-element linear arrays are in good agreement with experimental data. The active reflection coefficient and element pattern for the center and edge elements of a two-dimensional array as a function of scan angle are also presented     

Analysis of finite-phased arrays of aperture-coupled stackedmicrostrip antennas

Analytical results for finite-phased arrays of aperture-coupled stacked microstrip antennas are presented. In order to evaluate the characteristics of aperture-coupled microstrip antennas in a finite array and derive the moment-method solutions for the unknown current distributions on the patches and slots, the reciprocity theorem and the spectral domain Green's functions for a dielectric slab are used. Various sized arrays are considered and compared with solutions for an infinite array. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the input impedance, mutual coupling, active reflection coefficient versus scan angle, radiation efficiency, and active-element gain patterns     

The RCS of a cylindrical array antenna coated with a dielectric layer

The scattering properties of dielectric coated waveguide aperture antennas mounted on circular cylinders are investigated. Both the single element antenna and the array case are treated. The array antenna consists of 4 /spl times/ 32 rectangular apertures placed in a rectangular grid on the surface of an infinitely long circular cylinder. The problem is formulated in terms of an integral equation for the aperture fields which is solved with the method of moments using rectangular waveguide modes as basis and test functions. An efficient uniform asymptotic technique is used to calculate the excitation vector and the backscattered far-field. The asymptotic solution is valid for large cylinders coated with thin dielectric layers away from the paraxial (i.e. near axial) region. A similar asymptotic solution is used to calculate the mutual coupling in the nonparaxial region. For the self coupling terms and for the mutual coupling in the paraxial region a planar approximation is used with a corresponding spectral domain technique. Numerical results are presented as a function of frequency, angle of incidence, cylinder radius, and electrical thickness of the coating.     

Analysis of circular waveguide arrays on cylinders

An analysis is given of the mutual coupling effects in a finite array antenna of circular waveguide elements on a conducting cylinder. The array is described in terms of a scattering matrix and the multimode aperture fields of the elements are solved for by moment methods. Mutual coupling through wave propagation along the surface is treated according to GTD, since for most cases of interest the surface curvature is small in terms of wavelength. Appropriate asymptotic expansions for the magnetic field Green's function are derived for the two basic cases of an axial and a circumferential magnetic current element on the cylinder, the latter being a new case. The method, which allows the array elements to be nonuniformly spaced, applies to cylinders with radii>2lambdaand thus also includes planar arrays. Illustrative numerical examples and comparisons with infinite cylindrical and planar arrays are included.     

An asymptotic closed-form microstrip surface Green's function forthe efficient moment method analysis of mutual coupling in microstripantennas

A relatively simple closed-form asymptotic representation for the single-layer microstrip dyadic surface Green's function is developed. The large parameter in this asymptotic development is proportional to the lateral separation between the source and field points along the air-dielectric interface. This asymptotic solution remains surprisingly accurate even for very small (a few tenths of a free-space wavelength) lateral separation of the source and field points. Thus, using the present asymptotic approximation of the Green's function can lead to a very efficient moment method (MM) solution for the currents on an array of microstrip antenna patches and feed lines. Numerical results based on the efficient MM analysis using the present closed-form asymptotic approximation to the microstrip surface Green's function are given for the mutual coupling between a pair of printed dipoles on a single-layer grounded dielectric slab. The accuracy of the latter calculation is confirmed by comparison with numerical results based on a MM analysis which employs an exact integral representation for the microstrip Green's function     

Mutual coupling and element efficiency for infinite linear arrays

A formulation is presented of the interrelationship among mutual coupling element efficiency, active impedance, and element radiation patterns for infinite linear (uniformly spaced) arrays. Numerical results are obtained for element efficiency and mutual coupling when the array elements are elementary dipoles. A new lower upper bonnd is obtained on element efficiency. This upper bound is expressed directly in terms of the element patterns in the open-circuit array environment.     

A theoretical and experimental study of mutual coupling inmicrostrip antenna arrays

Each microstrip antenna element in the array is replaced by an equivalent magnetic current source distribution over a grounded dielectric slab derived from the electric field on the walls of the element as given by the cavity model. A dyadic Green's function is developed for a grounded dielectric slab, using the rectangular vector wave functions. The function is used to calculate the magnetic field due to the magnetic current distributions. The formula for mutual impedance based on the reaction concept is used to calculate the mutual coupling in arrays of antenna elements. Some measurements have been conducted for mutual coupling between two rectangular patches in the C-band. Calculated results are in excellent agreement with measurements, including those of other authors     

Efficient Analysis of Phased Arrays of Microstrip Patches Using a Hybrid Generalized Forward Backward Method/Green's Function Technique With a DFT Based Acceleration Algorithm

A hybrid method based on the combination of generalized forward backward method (GFBM) and Green's function for the grounded dielectric slab together with the acceleration of the combination via a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) based algorithm is developed for the efficient and accurate analysis of electromagnetic radiation/scattering from electrically large, irregularly contoured two-dimensional arrays consisting of finite number of probe-fed microstrip patches. In this method, unknown current coefficients corresponding to a single patch are first solved by a conventional Galerkin type hybrid method of moments (MoM)/Green's function technique that uses the grounded dielectric slab's Green's function. Because the current distribution on the microstrip patch can be expanded using an arbitrary number of subsectional basis functions, the patch can have any shape. The solution for the array currents is then found through GFBM, where it sweeps the current computation element by element. The computational complexity of this method, which is originally ( being the total number of unknowns) for each iteration, is reduced to using a DFT based acceleration algorithm making use of the fact that array elements are identical and the array is periodic. Numerical results in the form of array current distribution are given for various sized arrays of probe-fed microstrip patches with elliptical and/or circular boundaries, and are compared with the conventional MoM results to illustrate the efficiency and accuracy of the method.     

Dielectric cover effect on rectangular microstrip antenna array

A theoretical model to analyze a covered rectangular antenna with an arbitrary dielectric constant superstrate is developed. The antenna is simulated by the radiation of two magnetic dipoles located at the radiating edges of the patch. The Green's function of an elementary magnetic dipole in a superstrate-substrate structure, utilizing spectral-domain analysis, is formulated, and the surface-wave and radiation field are computed. An improved transmission line model, which considers the stored energy near the radiating edges and the external mutual coupling, is used to compute the input impedances and radiation efficiency. Design considerations on the superstrate thickness and its dielectric constant are discussed. Experimental data for a single element and a 4×4 microstrip array is presented to validate the theory     

曲面阵列结构散射与辐射特性的迭代分析

建立了一种适用于曲面有限阵列结构辐射与散射特性分析的迭代方法。首先根据阵列结构相同单元电流分布的相似性,对曲面有限阵列单元几何形状和表面电流分布作了两个假定,将有阵阵格林函数法推广应用于曲面有限阵列结构的分析;然后给出曲面有限阵列结构迭代分析的一般公式,通过迭代运算来消除两个假定近似的影响;最后迭代运算来消除两个假定近似的影响;最后以有两曲面带栅的散射和线源激励曲面带栅结构的辐射分析为例,验证了方法的有效性,并同逐元法作了比较,给出了有关的数值计算结果。结果表明：这种迭代法不受阵面曲率变化、单元数量和分布情况的限制,对有限周期和非周期阵列的分析都有着较高的计算效率和稳定性。     

Scanning characteristics of infinite arrays of printed antennasubarrays

The analysis and scanning characteristics of several different types of infinite arrays composed of subarrayed printed dipole and microstrip patch elements are presented. The analysis is based on full-wave moment method theory, and includes mutual coupling between elements in the subarray as well as between subarrays. The effect of subarraying on scan blindness is demonstrated for arrays using two-element subarrays of printed dipoles and microstrip patches. Results are also given for the amount of power radiated in grating lobes. The effect of a subarray composed of one driven element and one parasitic element, and the use of a four-element synchronous subarray of microstrip patches to generate circular polarization are also considered. Data are given for impedance mismatch, power radiated into grating lobes, and the axial ratio; both square and rectangular patches area considered. Results are also shown for an infinite array of seven-element hexagonal subarrays of printed dipoles, and it is found that the large spacing between subarrays leads to a limited scan range     

Radiation and scattering from infinite periodic printed antennaswith inhomogeneous media

The hybrid method of moments (MoM)/Green's function method technique is applied to infinite periodic printed antenna arrays containing dielectric inhomogeneities. The solution uses an integral equation for an infinite periodic printed array on or over a homogeneous dielectric substrate, coupled with equivalent volume polarization currents for dielectric inhomogeneities on top of the homogeneous substrate. Volume pulse-basis functions were used to expand the volume polarization currents. A hybrid MoM/Green's function method solution was then obtained through the matrix form of the problem. The two-dimensional (2-D) solution of plane wave scattering from a grounded dielectric slab was used to validate the reaction impedance of the dielectric inhomogeneity. Several infinite periodic printed dipole arrays with dielectric supports and overlays were studied with this solution and good agreement was observed between the hybrid MoM/Green's function method and waveguide simulator experiments     

Computation of mutual coupling between slot-coupled microstrippatches in a finite array

An analytical method is presented for the evaluation of mutual coupling between slot-coupled microstrip patches in a finite array. The approach is a combination of the equivalence principle and the reciprocity theorem and uses the spectral domain Green's functions for a dielectric slab in a moment method solution for the unknown patch and slot current distribution. The excitation mechanism of the patches is taken into account by introducing an N-port equivalent network, and the impedance matrix of an array of N-element slot-coupled patches is evaluated directly from its network voltage and current matrices of order N². As examples, the mutual impedances and scattering coefficients for two-, four-, and eight-element arrays are evaluated. Results are compared with measured data     

Analysis and design of series-fed arrays of printed-dipolesproximity-coupled to a perpendicular microstripline

An analysis of a printed dipole element and a generalized configuration of a series-fed array of such elements, electromagnetically coupled to a covered microstripline running perpendicularly under it in a substrate-superstrate configuration, is presented. The solution is based on the principle of reciprocity and is formulated using a rigorous method of moments and full-wave spectral-domain Green's functions for multilayer dielectric substrates. The dipole excitation is characterized by an equivalent impedance, and can be controlled by suitably selecting the offset of the dipole from the feed line. Mutual coupling between dipoles is included. Using the results of the element analysis, a series-fed array prototype has been successfully designed, built, and tested in a standing-wave configuration; the design details are described, and measured performances are evaluated using the results of the array analysis. Mutual coupling effects are found to be not detrimental for this configuration, but can be severe for other nonstanding-wave configurations     

A hybrid moment method solution for TEz scattering fromlarge planar slot arrays

This paper develops a hybrid moment method (MM) based numerical model for electromagnetic scattering from large finite-by-infinite planar slot arrays. The model incorporates the novel concept of a physical basis function (PBF) to reduce dramatically the number of required unknowns. The model can represent a finite number of slot columns with slots oriented along the infinite axis, surrounded by an arbitrary number of coplanar dielectric slabs. Each slot column can be loaded with a complex impedance to tailor the array's edge currents. An individual slot column is represented by equivalent magnetic scattering currents on an unbroken perfectly conducting plane. Floquet theory reduces the currents to a single reference element. In the array's central portion, where the edge perturbations are negligible, the slot column reference elements are combined into a single basis function. Thus, one PBF can represent an arbitrarily large number of slot columns. A newly developed one-sided Poisson sum formula is used to calculate the mutual coupling between the PBF and the slot columns in the presence of a stratified dielectric media. The array scanning method (ASM) gives the mutual coupling between the individual slot columns. The hybrid method is validated using both numerical and experimental reference data. The results demonstrate the method's accuracy as well as its ability to handle array problems too large for traditional MM solutions     

Analysis of finite phased arrays of printed dipoles

The problem of a finite array of printed dipoles is treated, and results are presented in the form of reflection coefficient magnitudes, element patterns, and efficiency (based on power lost to surface waves). Various sized arrays are considered, and are compared with infinite array solutions. The excitation of surface waves is discussed in relation to the scan blindness phenomenon and the transition to an infinite array. Techniques for computational efficiency are also presented.     

Theoretical and experimental study of monopole phased array antennas

A theoretical and experimental investigation of the mutual coupling in large two-dimensional periodic planar phased arrays of thin cylindrical monopoles is addressed. A plane wave representation of the active input impedance is used to analyze an infinite array of monopoles. A finite array analysis is used to compute the center element gain pattern and input impedance as a function of the array size and element position. The center element gain pattern is shown to have omnidirectional vertical polarization with a null on-axis and peak gain in the vicinity of50degfrom broadside. Measurements of the element gain pattern and mutual coupling for a 121-element passively terminated monopole square lattice array are shown to be in good agreement with the theory. The results of the infinite array analysis are compared to theoretical and experimental data in the literature for hexagonal lattice arrays.