Surface and leaky wave propagation on planar finite dipole antenna arrays.

Abstract

Abstract:The active impedances and the currents of the elements in planar finite phased arrays ofdipoles show the presence of scan dependent interference pattern between more thanone wave. The first wave is the forced scanned space wave excited by the generators (orthe wave corresponding to an incident plane wave) and the other waves are travelingwaves on the planar dipole antenna array surface. The phenomenon of traveling waveson the array surface is investigated by searching for natural waves that can propagate onan infinite dipole array, where the natural waves are obtained as the source-free solutionof the infinite array problem. The study reveals the presence of surface and leaky wavesof different types. The effects of the array parameters on these traveling waves areinvestigated. These traveling waves are found to interpret many of the interferencephenomena encountered.