RADIO PHYSICS AND RADIO ASTRONOMY

PACS number: 07.57.-c 

Purpose: Theoretical investigation of directive gains of linear
and planar antenna arrays depending on the distance between
radiators and wavelength.

Design/methodology/approach: Computing methods in applied mathematics in MathCad were used to calculate the twofold integrals of the radiation pattern over power throughout the whole space observed, defining the directivity in the most general terms. Patterns of radiators, i. e. elements of antenna arrays, are specified by mathematical models. The calculation accounts for the subintegral fast oscillating function.

Findings: Calculations and analysis of a directive gain according to the number of radiators and distances between them in fractions of wavelength are made. It is shown that at the ratio of distance between radiators to wave-length being d/λ =0.5 the directivity of array of isotropic radiators is 1.5N², N – number of radiators. When increasing the d/λ to 0.65÷0.97 the directivity increases according to the law close to the linear one up to the maximum possible value for the specified number of radiators. With the increase of  d/λ  to the values greater than one, the directivity is significantly reduced (the “blinding” effect of non-phased antenna arrays) and its dependence with the growth of d/λ is decaying and oscillating in character. By that, the transfer function of antenna arrays has some vital difference from the transfer function of continuous antennas.

Conclusions: Antenna arrays distort the waveform and spectrum of radiated and received signals as a result of irregular changes of their directivity depending on wavelength. The detected “blinding” effect of non-phased antenna arrays of large electrical dimensions must be taken into account in wideband and superwideband radio-electronics systems, especially in radio astronomy, telecommunications systems and superwideband radar.

Keywords: antenna arrays, directivity, pattern, weakly directed
radiators, numerical analysis

Radio phys. radio astron. 2016, 21(4): 285-297

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