Abstract
Conformal antennas and antenna arrays (arrays) have become necessary for vehicular communications where a high degree of aerodynamic drag reduction is needed, like in avionics and ships. However, the necessity to conform to a predefined shape (e.g., of an aircraft’s nose) directly affects antenna performance since it imposes strict constraints to the antenna array’s shape, element spacing, relative signal phase, and so forth. Thereupon, it is necessary to investigate counterintuitive and arbitrary antenna shapes in order to compensate for these constraints. Since there does not exist any available theoretical frame for designing and developing arbitrary-shape antennas in a straightforward manner, we have developed a platform combining a genetic algorithm-based design, optimization suite, and an electromagnetic simulator for designing patch antennas with a shape that is not a priori known (the genetic algorithm optimizes the shape of the patch antenna). The proposed platform is further enhanced by the ability to design and optimize antenna arrays and is intended to be used for the design of a series of antennas including conformal antennas for shipping applications. The flexibility and performance of the proposed platform are demonstrated herein via the design of a high-performance GPS patch antenna.
Highlights
Conformal antennas and antenna arrays inherit their name from the fact that they “conform” to the shape of a 2D yet not planar surface
Since there does not exist any available theoretical frame for designing and developing arbitrary-shape antennas in a straightforward manner, we have developed a combination of a genetic algorithm- (GA-) based design and an electromagnetic (EM) solver for designing patch antennas with a shape that is not a priori known
The patch antenna should be fed via standardized SMA cables and connectors that are integrated in the simulation, design, and optimization of the patch
Summary
Conformal antennas and antenna arrays (arrays) inherit their name from the fact that they “conform” to the shape of a 2D yet not planar surface. Conformal antennas and antenna arrays (arrays) have become necessary for vehicular communications (where a high degree of aerodynamic drag reduction is needed) due to their so-called “conformity” to arbitrary surface shape, like in avionics and high-performance ships or submarines. Deployment that could in turn yield to increased performance with limited overall antenna profile (volume, visually intrusiveness) Such an example of a GPS-receiving patch antenna is presented in this paper that demonstrates the abilities and performance of a proposed platform for arbitrary-shape flat antennas design and optimization. On top of the high related costs of integration, conformal antennas suffer from severe constraints imposed on their design that arise due to the predefined and often counterproductive shape of the flat area that they need to conform with This affects the performance of the antenna array, its shape, the elements spacing, the relative signal phase, and so forth.
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