| This dissertation explores a microstrip array antenna design where standing waves in the transmission-line network feed radiating patch elements. Unlike corporate-fed traveling-wave array antennas, microstrip discontinuities such as quarter-wave transformers or power dividers are avoided. Therefore, spurious coupling and spurious radiations can be minimized. An edge-fed three-patch standing-wave array antenna is presented to illustrate the concept. A multiple-port cavity model is proposed to analyze antenna performance parameters such as resonant frequency, input impedance, and radiation patterns. The model treats the array as an arbitrarily-shaped microstrip antenna with a combination of radiating and non-radiating edges. The accuracy of the model is verified by simulation using a full-wave numerical software, as well as by experiment in an anechoic chamber. Procedural steps for the analysis of a generic standing-wave microstrip array antenna are developed. |
