Installed Antenna and Large Structures

Antennas on platforms, infinite arrays, and infinite ground planes

Installed antenna analysis involves electrically large structures called platforms. These platforms can be a plane, ship, car etc. Antennas or arrays are installed on these platforms. You can use Antenna Toolbox™ to understand the effects of platform on antenna performance.

Use antenna elements to create infinite arrays, analyze the arrays over the desired range of scan angles, and calculate scan element patterns.

Objects

`platform`	Create platform object for installed antenna setup
`installedAntenna`	Installed antenna setup
`infiniteArray`	Create infinite array of 2-D custom antenna in xy-plane

Functions

`rcs`	Calculate and plot monostatic and bistatic radar cross section (RCS) of platform, antenna, or array
`patternSystem`	Visualize radiation patterns of multiple antennas installed on platform (Since R2024a)

Topics

Infinite Arrays
Infinite arrays are rectangular arrays of infinite extent.
Infinite Ground Plane
Antenna Toolbox catalog elements use the image theory technique to model an infinite ground plane.
Hybrid MoM-PO Method for Metal Antennas with Large Scatterers
Hybrid method of moments (MoM) and physical optics (PO) computational technique in Antenna Toolbox allows you to model antennas near large scatterers such as parabolic reflectors.
Model Infinite Ground Plane for Balanced Antennas
This example shows how to model an infinite ground plane and calculate fundamental antenna parameters for balanced antennas.
Model Infinite Ground Plane for Unbalanced Antennas
This example shows how to model an infinite ground plane and calculate fundamental antenna parameters for unbalanced antennas.
Fast Multipole Method for Large Structures
Fast Multipole Method (FMM) for analysis of large structures.

Featured Examples

Electromagnetic Analysis of Intelligent Reflecting Surface

Model the response of an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) using full-wave electromagnetic simulation. The IRS, also known as the reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), large intelligent surface (LIS), or metasurface, has garnered significant interest in the wireless communication community. The IRS consists of a large array of subwavelength unit cell elements which can manipulate the phase, amplitude, polarization, or frequency of the incident signal. If an obstacle blocks the direct path between the base station (BS) and the user equipment (UE), the parasitic reflection of the IRS can provide an alternative path for signal transmission, as this figure shows. An external phase control mechanism can be integrated to control the reflection characteristics of the IRS.

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Metasurface Antenna Modeling

Design, model, and analyze a metasurface antenna based on reference [1]. Metasurface antennas take advantage of the periodic boundary of each radiation unit cell to group the radiation unit in a more compact space.

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Analysis of Electrically Large Structures Using Hybrid MoM and FMM

Analyze electrically large antennas using two solvers in Antenna Toolbox™: the hybrid method of moments (MOM) and the fast multipole method (FMM). The overall size of an antenna can be expressed in electrical terms, as a function of the frequency of operation or wavelength λ. Doing so can enable you to choose the electromagnetic solver to deploy for analysis.

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Radar Cross Section Benchmarking

Radar cross section benchmarking example.

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Infinite Array Analysis

The use of infinite array analysis to model the behavior of a single element - the unit cell embedded in the array[1] - [3]. The array is assumed to be of infinite extent in two dimensions, and located in the XY-plane.

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Infinite Array of Microstrip Patch Antenna on Teflon Substrate

Model a probe-fed microstrip patch element used as a unit cell in an infinite array.

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Pattern Analysis of the Symmetric Parabolic Reflector

Investigates the effect of feed position and reflector surface geometry on the far-field radiation pattern of a half-wavelength dipole-fed symmetric parabolic reflector.

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Modeling Infinite Ground Plane in Antennas and Arrays

Illustrates modeling of antennas and arrays with infinite ground plane. The main advantage of modeling the ground plane as infinite is that the ground plane is not meshed. This helps in speeding up the solution. The structure is modelled using the method of images. Several antenna elements in Antenna Toolbox™ have a ground plane as part of the structure. For other elements, the ground plane can be introduced by placing them in front of a reflector.

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Installed Antenna Analysis - Modelling Antennas with Platforms

The example models an antenna element in presence of a large platform. The antenna is modelled accurately using the Method of Moments (MoM) while the effect of the electrically large platform is considered using physical optics (PO).

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