Homogeneous microwave near-field power focusing using a cylindrical antenna array

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of a microwave near-field power focusing (NFPF) analytical approach utilizing a cylindrical array of electric line sources along the z-axis, applicable to any arbitrary homogeneous linear medium. A novel parameter, termed the “focus ability” (FA), is introduced to quantitatively assess a method's capabilities in achieving power focusing. In the following, the phases and amplitudes of the excitation signals of the array elements are obtained with optimization to maximize FA over a certain studied area. Each stage of the theoretical analysis is supported through COMSOL full-wave simulations, ensuring the validity of the results. Theoretical results relevant to focused power are then compared to outcomes obtained from CST full-wave simulations with the same array configuration while employing half-wave dipole antenna elements with excitations obtained via optimization. These comparisons indicate that the excitation signals obtained by theoretical analysis can be used for power focusing when the array of half-wave dipole antenna sources is utilized. Furthermore, the proposed method leads to a significant reduction in the optimization time. Also, in the provided examples, the FA parameter and NFPF are investigated for the different conditions consisting of the type of the homogeneous medium and the number of antennas.