mm-Wave Circular Patch Arrays with Radial Feed Networks

Abstract

Feed network loss and reactive loading are major sources of inefficiency in mm-wave patch array antennas. To address this, the application of non-resonant radial combiners to antenna feed networks is investigated for a 16-element E-band uniform circular microstrip patch antenna array. The radial feed network is compared in full-wave simulation to a corporate feed network with identical array and element structure. It is found that the feed network with a radial combiner based feed achieved 15% better radiation efficiency and 72% reduced shift in $f_{c}$, at the expense of 89% reduction in −15 dB port impedance bandwidth.