Mutual coupling compensation in small planar array antennas

Far-field pattern synthesis of small antenna arrays is a nontrivial problem. Typically radiation patterns are required to exhibit low sidelobe levels, whilst maintaining the ability to scan the main beam in space. Mutual coupling is a pertinent problem when the number of antenna elements is small, often precluding the use of conventional tapering algorithms. In this paper a technique previously employed to compensate for mutual coupling in linear arrays is extended to include small planar antenna arrays. The method consists of the calculation of the coupling coefficients between the array elements, which are then formed into a matrix and used to compensate for the effects of mutual coupling. It is then shown that this method is not suitable for all planar array configurations and a new technique is developed which allows the calculation of coupling matrices for these element configurations. Measured data from a small planar antenna array is presented, with the outlined methods employed to produce low sidelobe sum and difference beams.