An equivalent network for square and rectangular shaped microstrip radiating elements is derived. In order to simplify the problem the radiating element is considered as two slots separated by a transmission line of low characteristic impedance. The slots are characterized by their radiation pattern, directivity, and equivalent admittance. A design procedure for open circuit halfwave resonators and for arrays of such resonators is given. Finally, some antennas in the X band are designed and measured.

Linearly polarized microstrip antennas

An alternative method is presented for computing far-field antenna patterns from near-field measurements. The method utilizes the near-field data to determine equivalent magnetic current sources over a fictitious planar surface that encompasses the antenna, and these currents are used to ascertain the far fields. Under certain approximations, the currents should produce the correct far fields in all regions in front of the antenna regardless of the geometry over which the near-field measurements are made. An electric field integral equation (EFIE) is developed to relate the near fields to the equivalent magnetic currents. The method of moments is used to transform the integral equation into a matrix one. The matrix equation is solved with the conjugate gradient method, and in the case of a rectangular matrix, a least-squares solution for the currents is found without explicitly computing the normal form of the equation. Near-field to far-field transformation for planar scanning may be efficiently performed under certain conditions. Numerical results are presented for several antenna configurations. >

Planar near-field to far-field transformation using an equivalent magnetic current approach

Presented here is a method for computing near- and far-field patterns of an antenna from its near-field measurements taken over an arbitrarily shaped geometry. This method utilizes near-field data to determine an equivalent electric current source over a fictitious surface which encompasses the antenna. This electric current, once determined, can be used to ascertain the near and the far field. This method demonstrates the concept of analytic continuity, i.e., once the value of the electric field is known for one region in space, from a theoretical perspective, its value for any other region can be extrapolated. It is shown that the equivalent electric current produces the correct fields in the regions in front of the antenna regardless of the geometry over which the near-field measurements are made. In this approach, the measured data need not satisfy the Nyquist sampling criteria. An electric field integral equation is developed to relate the near field to the equivalent electric current. A moment method procedure is employed to solve the integral equation by transforming it into a matrix equation. A least-squares solution via singular value decomposition is used to solve the matrix equation. Computations with both synthetic and experimental data, where the near field of several antenna configurations are measured over various geometrical surfaces, illustrate the accuracy of this method.

Near-field to near/far-field transformation for arbitrary near-field geometry utilizing an equivalent electric current and MoM

Approximate boundary conditions are a means for simulating material and surface effects in scattering and propagation. A number of conditions are discussed, and criteria are given for their validity.

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Approximate boundary conditions

A millimeter-wave dual frequency circularly polarized feed for an offset reflector antenna is being developed for a portable satellite ground terminal. The two frequency bands are Q - and K -bands for transmit and receive, respectively. A compact feed design consisting of a single corrugated horn with two circular waveguide concentric openings at the horn throat is described. Good aperture efficiency and low sidelobes in both of the frequency bands are achieved.

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A compact Q-K-band dual frequency feed horn

A technique of analyzing the principal plane radiation patterns of a subreflector shaped using the method enunciated by Collins [1] has been presented. The analysis is based on the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UGTD) [2], and a simplified procedure has been adopted in the determination of the principal plane radii of curvature of the subreflector. The numerical results obtained based on UGTD correlate well with those obtained using the method of physical optics (PO).

GTD analysis of the radiation patterns of a shaped subreflector

The uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UGTD) is employed to analyze the far-field radiation patterns of a prime focus paraboloid with a cylindrical shroud. The blockage of the aperture illumination of the dish by the gooseneck and the primary feed is also taken into account in the analysis. Far-field radiation patterns (for 0\deg\leq\Theta \leq 180\deg ), calculated for a typical prime focus paraboloid with 2 m aperture diameter, designed and fabricated, are compared with the experimentally derived patterns at 8.8 GHz in the E - and H -planes. There is a satisfactory agreement between the two results.

GTD analysis of the radiation patterns of a prime focus paraboloid with shroud

A new technique of transforming the probe uncompensated near-field data to the near or far field is presented, which is useful in nearfield antenna measurements, when the probe antenna scans over an arbitrary surface enclosing the test antenna. The technique presented is analytically simple and sufficiently accurate.

Probe uncompensated near-field to far-field transformation for scanning over an arbitrary surface

An analytically simple and numerically efficient technique for calculating the pattern distortion of aperture antennas radiating in the presence of conducting platforms located in the near or far field of the antenna is presented. The technique presented, based on uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UGTD), is also applicable for large aperture antennas (aperture area > 15 \lambda^{2} ). An excellent agreement between the calculated and measured results obtained for a typical aperture antenna mounted on a conducting platform confirms the validity of the analytical technique developed.

Pattern distortion of aperture antennas radiating in the presence of conducting platforms

An error in the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) near-field analysis of a conical horn published earlier is pointed out. This error is corrected, and the correct expression for the near-field patterns for the conical horn is presented. Computations based on the corrected formulas correlate better with results based on measurement as well as aperture integration technique [4].

M. Narasimhan

Papers

GTD analysis of the radiation patterns of a shaped subreflector

GTD analysis of the radiation patterns of a prime focus paraboloid with shroud

Probe uncompensated near-field to far-field transformation for scanning over an arbitrary surface

Pattern distortion of aperture antennas radiating in the presence of conducting platforms

A correction to the available formula for the GTD near-field patterns of conical horns