Square Van Atta reflector with conducting mounting flame

A theoretical and numerical analysis of square Van Atta reflectors has been carried out with or without a conducting plate, used for mounting of the antenna elements. The Van Atta reflector investigated has antenna elements which are parallel half-wave dipoles interconnected in pairs by transmission lines of equal electrical length. The dipoles are placed in a plane which is parallel to the conducting plate when this is present. In the theory, each pair of antenna elements with the interconnecting transmission line is represented by an equivalent circuit. The mutual impedance between the antenna elements and the reradiation from the elements as well as from the conducting plate have been taken into account. The influence of the conducting plate on the induced dipole currents has been treated using the theory of images. The scattering cross section of Van Atta reflectors with or without a conducting plate has been examined numerically using an electronic computer, and some of the results have been compared with experimental results obtained by others.     

Reflector arrays

A method for the theoretical investigation of an arbitrary reflector array of the Van Atta type is described. The analysis is carried out for a reflector consisting of dipoles. Each pair of antenna elements is represented by an equivalent circuit. Mutual impedances and scattering by the dipoles are taken into account. The theory is illustrated by a numerical example of a linear reflector consisting of four half-wave dipoles. The result shows that the simple explanation of the action of a Van Atta reflector is not sufficient.     

A retrodirective microstrip antenna array

A Van Atta retrodirective reflector was designed and developed, using an aperture-coupled microstrip antenna array. This reflector possesses the advantage of reflecting high fields to the source point over a wide range of incidence angles and, owing to the low cost and conformability of the structure, is suitable for applications in intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS). An approximate theory associated with the reradiation and scattering principles of the reflector is presented for the purpose of understanding and designing the reflector. The utility of the retrodirective reflector was demonstrated by comparison with a plate reflector and a microstrip antenna array without a feed structure. Finally, a reflector with switches in the middle of the microstrip feed lines was investigated for possible applications in communications and remote identification     

A planar Van Atta array reflector with retrodirectivity in bothE-plane and H-plane

A planar antenna array reflector with retrodirectivity in both the E-plane and the H-plane is analyzed and demonstrated at X band. The reflector consists of six pairs of slot-coupled patch antennas arranged using the Van Atta approach. The total reflected field from the reflector is separated into three primary components; that is, the reradiation field from the patch antennas (RFPA), the scattering field from the patch antennas (SPPA), and the scattering field from the ground plane (SFGP). The first two components are calculated by using the method of moments together with a mixed potential integral equation and the last one is by the physical optics (PO) method combined with the method of equivalent currents (MEC). By tuning the microstrip-line lengths, the total reflected field contributed by the three components is designed to possess a broad-beamed pattern in both the E-plane and the H-plane. The measured patterns show good agreement with the designed ones     

Planar retrodirective array reflector using dual-slot antennas

An X-band planar reflector with a broad responding beam was developed using the Van Atta retrodirective antenna array. The reflector contained four antenna sub-arrays, each with six dual-slot antennas appropriately fed and paired by microstrip lines on the backside of the substrate. Good agreement has been achieved between theoretical and measured results     

Pattern of an active van atta array employing mismatched bilateral amplifiers

The bistatic pattern of an active Van Atta array using mismatched bilateral amplifiers is derived for various amplifier reflection and transmission gains. Specific cases as the specular array or negative resistance interconnection are discussed, and in the latter case a "blind angle" phenomena is shown by an alternate derivation.     

Reflector effects on the performance of a retrodirective antennaarray

This paper presents modeling strategies to determine the operating characteristics of a heterodyne phase-conjugate retrodirective Van Atta (1959) array in the presence of a plane reflector. The models used are based on physical and geometrical optics principles. Predictions of the operating characteristics of the array due to the close proximity of a plane metallic reflector are compared with experimental measurements. It is shown that provided the reflector is positioned at a distance greater than 1.25 times the separation distance between the transmitter and the retrodirective array its effect on the performance of the retrodirective array appears to be negligible     

A reflection array of loaded microstrip radiators

A planar reflection array consisting of a primary radiator and an array of secondary microstrip radiators such that the phases of the fields generated by these radiators are identical in the direction of radiation is considered. This identity is attained by means of a forced phase step of the reradiated field. An approximate method for calculating the phase step of the reflected field relative to the phase of the incident field that arises during reradiation of the incident signal by an element of the reflection array is proposed. The method is based on the theory of dipoles and the reciprocity theorem. Dependences of the phase step on the dimensions of the antenna and the reactive stub, as well as the capacitance of the capacitor formed by the slot cut in the antenna, are studied. The calculation method is extended to the case of a two-stack microstrip antenna. A method is proposed for setting the maximum of the radiation pattern of this reflection array in a specified direction via the use of an electric signal to control the capacitances of the capacitors in the array elements.     

A low-blockage dipole array reflector antenna feed for the lower microwave frequencies

An antenna is described which was devised as a feed for a small axisymmetrical paraboloid reflector at an operational frequency of just over 1 GHz. The antenna consists of a broadside array of two dipoles on a printed circuit board (PCB), joined by a common transmission line. Each dipole is backed by a small strip reflector. With this simple array, which has one central feed point, theH-plane radiation pattern can be varied independently of theE-plane pattern. In addition, the aperture blockage of the feed is small.     

Mutual coupling between microstrip dipoles in multielement arrays

An analytical method for evaluating mutual coupling in multielement microstrip arrays is discussed. The elements of the array are strip dipoles covered by an overlayer and excited by microstrip lines embedded in the substrate. In addition, two different ways of excitation are considered to evaluate the effect of the feeding lines on the coupling between the dipoles. Throughout the analysis, the transmission line and dipole widths are taken to be a fraction of the free-space wavelength, so that the longitudinal current component is the dominant contributor to the characteristics of the array. Under this assumption, the transverse component of the current is neglected without introducing appreciable error. The current distribution along the longitudinal direction is evaluated by solving an appropriate integral equation using Galerkin's method with piecewise continuous sinusoidal functions. All possible interactions between the currents on the feeding transmission lines and dipoles are included. Using the computed current distribution, transmission-line theory is applied on the feeding microstrip lines to evaluate self- and mutual impedances as well as scattering coefficients at chosen reference planes     

Coupled dipoles in a dissipative medium

In Part I the admittance and impedance of a two-element array when immersed in an arbitrary dissipative medium are determined from a generalization of the King-Sandier theory of arrays. Numerical results are given for half-wave and quarter-wave dipoles with two different thicknesses. The distance between the elements is the independent variable. In Part II, experiments carried out in a tank filled with a conducting solution to determine the self and mutual admittances of coupled dipoles are described. The agreement between the measured values and the theory reported in Part I is quite good.     

Analysis of mutual coupling between a finite phased array ofdipoles and its feed network

The mutual coupling effects between a finite phased array of dipoles and its feed network are analyzed. The feed network is typically a corporate feed consisting of split-tee power dividers cascading to form a certain power distribution over the aperture. A simple iterative approach is used to solve the interaction between elements and feed. The radiation of a finite dipole array are first found for a given voltage excitation. These radiation impedances are then used as loads for the feed network, and the n+1 port network problem is analyzed. Due to the interaction between the feed network and dipoles, the antenna parameters such as mismatch, antenna pattern, and gain are all affected. These effects can be determined from the analysis of the network representation. Numerical results for a typical phased array with a corporate feed show that the resultant VSWR of the feed pattern degradation is due to the mutual coupling effects     

Reflector Antenna Analysis Using the Complex Equivalent Length Concept: Reciprocity and Coupling Between Feeds

This work presents a procedure for analyzing multiply fed reflector antennas in both transmission and reception modes, by using the Reflector Antenna Complex Equivalent Length (RA-CEL) concept. The RA-CEL is derived by combining the Feed Element Complex Equivalent Length (FE-CEL) Method with an Equivalent Current (EC) model on the reflector surface. This formulation, in terms of both electric and magnetic equivalent currents, is consistent with the reciprocity theorem. Its application to reflector antenna far-field pattern analysis, in both the transmission and reception modes, is presented. The proposed method accurately considers the mutual coupling among feeding array elements through the reflector surface, and its computational cost is substantially lower than required by a full-wave analysis. Some applications investigating the mutual coupling among feeding elements of reflector antennas are presented, and are compared with a reference solution given by the Method of Moments - Physical Optics hybrid method, and a numerical evaluation of the integral equation.     

Emission characteristics from dipoles with fixed positions inFabry-Perot cavities

Spectral characteristics of emission from Fabry-Perot cavities containing dipoles with fixed positions are calculated. It is shown that the emission characteristics can have a sensitive dependence on the precise location of the dipoles. When the dipoles have a fixed position the usual analysis of the emission in terms of the cavity transmission characteristics becomes invalid. Interference effects which lead to the spectral characteristics are then determined by the details of the interaction between the cavity reflectors and the spontaneous wavepackets emitted from the excited dipoles. Typical measured emission which resembles cavity transmission spectra actually results from averaging over many dipole positions. For dipole locations close to a cavity reflector, that is within the first-order coherence length of the spontaneous emission, total emission into all cavity modes can be either increased or decreased depending on the precise dipole location. An example of the dipole localization effects is given in the experimental emission characteristics from a semiconductor Fabry-Perot cavity     

E-plane scan performance of infinite arrays of dipolesprinted on protruding dielectric substrates: coplanar feed line andE-plane metallic wall effects

The effects of coplanar feed lines and of E-plane cavity walls on the performance of infinite arrays of dipoles printed on protruding dielectric substrates are investigated. In order to do so, two unit cell configurations are studied: (1) the dipole element fed by coplanar transmission lines and (2) the dipole element fed by coplanar transmission lines with finite-height metallic walls added parallel to the H-plane of the array. The element active impedances are calculated for these configurations, and they are compared with those obtained from arrays of dipoles without coplanar feed lines. Effects of the dielectric substrate permittivity and of its thickness on the array element active impedance are included. The results show that the arrays of dipoles with the coplanar feed lines exhibit feed-line-induced blindnesses which reduce considerably the scan volume of the array. It is also shown that these feed line effects are reduced for thicker or higher permittivity substrates, and that the insertion of electric walls is one possible avenue for eliminating these anomalies     

Radiation Characteristics and Mutual Coupling of a Dual: Band Antenna Array Structure

In this paper, an antenna array structure consisting of a reflector plate and a number of printed dipole radiation elements is investigated. This antenna array implementation is suitable for the globally available 2.4 and 5?GHz ISM frequency band facilitating a variety of wireless applications. S-parameters and radiation characteristics are simulated and measured in details. The impact of the plane reflector on radiation patterns and the reflection coefficient are also investigated. Furthermore, mutual coupling effects between adjacent elements and the corresponding radiation patterns are studied for different antenna array configurations. Both simulated and measurement results are useful in antenna array design and antenna applications in wireless communications.     

Retrodirective array using the heterodyne technique

A retrodirective array using a single microwave mixer to accomplish conjugate phase shift in each element is described. Reradiated patterns were measured for a four-element array to substantiate the predicted performance. This array has an advantage over the Van Atta array in that the elements are not restricted to being located on a plane surface. It is more efficient than the previously used method of employing two mixers to provide conjugate phase shift because of the reduction in converison loss and LO (local oscillator) power.     

A moment-method design procedure for an array of EMC dipoles

A design procedure based on a moment-method analysis is given for an array of microstrip dipoles electromagnetically coupled (EMC) to microstrip transmission lines. One of the key features of the design procedure is that only one pair of EMC dipoles needs to be analyzed at a time in order to develop the necessary coupling coefficients. These coupling coefficients allow for the complete analysis or design of the array, accounting for interactions between all of the EMC line-dipole pairs. One of the useful properties of the present formulation is that EMC dipole arrays can easily be designed for which the length and offset of each dipole are the same, which simplifies the array construction     

Use of a spreadsheet program in an antenna design application

A method of using a spreadsheet program in antenna design is presented. The method is applied to the design of a vertical array of two radiating elements where each element is a circular arrangement of four half-wave dipoles, each of which is tilted with respect to the horizontal. Results are presented.     

Frequency offset retrodirective antenna array

A new architecture for the Van Atta self-steering array is presented. Active antenna techniques are used to realise a compact self-steering array with enhanced retrodirective properties. The experimental performance of the array is demonstrated and a technique is described which compensates for the beam pointing error induced by antenna array element directivity