Investigating the Impact of Diverging Spacing Factors on Array Antennas

Abstract

This paper analyzed the antenna patterns for dipole array antennas of diverging spacing factor. In order to minimize the complexity of the task required in the computation, we assumed a negligible width for the dipole elements. Thus, the current flowing through the wire is assumedly constant. The Array Factor for dipole array antennas of diverging spacing factor was derived via Magnetic Vector Potential model. The required radiation patterns for the antennas were generated using the MatLab simulation tools. The generated results showed a trade-off between directivity and power loss as expected. While the diverging spacing factor results to a swift increase in the directivity of the radiation pattern, it produces many ripples for an increase in the array antenna element. Keywords: dipole, array antennas, array factor, electromagnetic fields, diverging spacing factor, Magnetic Vector Potential.