Radar cross section analysis and control of microstrip patch antennas

Abstract

The ability of a novel hybrid finite element method to compute the RCS (radar cross section) of conformal patch antennas and arrays is demonstrated. Using this approach the RCS of a variety of microstrip patch antenna configurations is examined. Antenna arrays with rectangular and circular patches, and slot and broadband planar antennas are considered, and the effect of lumped loads, feeding lines, and dielectric covers on the RCS is examined. Also, resistive cards are employed to suppress scattering from substructure terminations, and distributed (resistive sheet) loading is employed to control the resonant frequency and RCS of the individual patches. Results are presented at frequencies outside and in the operating band of the patch antenna, and for the latter the effect of some RCS control schemes on the antenna's gain is also examined. >