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