Zi-Jun Zheng;Chang Ding;Fan-Yi Meng;Rong Liu;Xin-Yi Liu;Cong Wang;Yong-Le Wu;Yuan-Shan Jiang;Yun-Fu Wang
{"title":"Rapid Optimization of Circularly Polarized Multibeam Holographic Leaky Wave Antennas Based on Discrete Dipole Approximation and Physics-Aware Polarization-Coupled Hybrid Network","authors":"Zi-Jun Zheng;Chang Ding;Fan-Yi Meng;Rong Liu;Xin-Yi Liu;Cong Wang;Yong-Le Wu;Yuan-Shan Jiang;Yun-Fu Wang","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3709600","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3709600","url":null,"abstract":"The inverse design of circularly polarized (CP) multibeam holographic leaky wave antennas (HLWAs) is hindered by time-consuming, repetitive full-wave simulations, and the stagnation often encountered in iterative optimization. In response to these limitations, a rapid design framework is developed by combining the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) with a physics-aware polarization-coupled hybrid network (PA-PCHN). A dedicated DDA-based solver is constructed and systematically validated through comparison with full-wave electromagnetic simulations. As a result, the per-evaluation computational time is reduced from 15 to 20 min to approximately 2–3 s, which enables efficient generation of large-scale training datasets. The proposed PA-PCHN integrates Transformer-based global feature extraction with angular-domain convolutional decoding, complemented by a bidirectional cross-attention mechanism, enabling rapid and accurate prediction of full-angular complex CP far-field electric fields. Building on the surrogate model, a hybrid simulated annealing–genetic algorithm (SA–GA) is employed to jointly optimize multibeam formation, sidelobe suppression, and axial ratio performance. Several antenna prototypes operating at 5.8 GHz are fabricated and experimentally characterized. The measured results exhibit good agreement with simulations, confirming that the proposed approach substantially enhances design efficiency without compromising accuracy and is well-suited for large-scale antenna array optimization.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9326-9338"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149131700","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nick van Rooijen;Alexandros Bechrakis Triantafyllos;Maria Alonso-delPino;Nuria Llombart
{"title":"On the Optimization of Spherically Conformal Fly's-Eye Lens Antenna Arrays Using Goldberg Topologies and Field Matching Techniques","authors":"Nick van Rooijen;Alexandros Bechrakis Triantafyllos;Maria Alonso-delPino;Nuria Llombart","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3711200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3711200","url":null,"abstract":"This work introduces a method for the optimization of spherically conformal lens antenna arrays with multiple beams and omnidirectional coverage. The proposed approach employs Goldberg polyhedron topologies for the array and field matching techniques for the lens elements. Initially, a system-level optimization is performed for directivity, beam overlap, and interference using cost functions based on analytically computed antenna radiation patterns. This provides the optimal Goldberg spherical topology for a number of unique antenna elements in the array and their required aperture current distribution. Two antenna system examples are introduced in this process. The first achieves a −3 dB uniform beam overlap for full-hemispherical coverage. The second includes interference analysis for a full multibeam communication scenario. The optimal current distributions of the array’s unique elements obtained by the optimization of the Goldberg topology can, in turn, be synthesized via a core-shell lens antenna whose geometry is derived using a field matching technique. Three lens antenna designs are presented. These employ different lens shaping techniques and reach highly suppressed far-field side lobe level (SLL). The element design process and array topology are validated using full-wave simulations of the unique antennas. The proposed methodology allows for the optimization of antenna systems consisting of hundreds of elements and could be further extended to a variety of mathematically defined omnidirectional antenna systems.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9461-9474"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149131939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rong Niu;Yang Zhang;Zhiyuan Zhang;Lihua Pang;Yizhuo Wang;Xiao Zhang;Jiandong Li
{"title":"Channel Measurement and Statistical Modeling for Wideband Ionospheric Scattering Communication in the High-Frequency Band","authors":"Rong Niu;Yang Zhang;Zhiyuan Zhang;Lihua Pang;Yizhuo Wang;Xiao Zhang;Jiandong Li","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3705045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3705045","url":null,"abstract":"Accurate characterization of wideband high-frequency (HF) ionospheric channels is essential for the design and optimization of reliable communication systems. However, the dynamic statistical properties of wideband ionospheric channel parameters are not yet adequately characterized, limiting further channel modeling and in-depth analysis. This article presents an in-depth study of the mid-latitude wideband HF ionospheric channel from measurement and modeling to characterization and application. First, a measurement system based on a universal software radio peripheral (USRP) with an ionospheric channel-adapted data processing scheme is utilized to achieve high-precision extraction and clustering of the multipath components in the channel impulse response (CIR). Second, a comprehensive dynamic channel model is constructed, consisting of a time–frequency-correlated dynamic large-scale fading model and a dual-propagation-mode small-scale fading model based on the statistical distribution properties of the parameters. Finally, wideband HF ionospheric channel characteristics such as fading characteristics, level crossing rate with average fading duration (AFD), and time-varying signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are analyzed in depth. The research results not only enrich and improve the channel model of wideband HF ionosphere but also provide guidance for the design and optimization of reliable communication systems in this scenario.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9815-9830"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149131884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Han Zhou;Ao Zhang;Junping Geng;Guolin Tong;Jingfeng Chen;Xianling Liang;Ronghong Jin
{"title":"A Circularly Polarized Endfire Helical Leaky Wave Antenna Based on Multipole Elements","authors":"Han Zhou;Ao Zhang;Junping Geng;Guolin Tong;Jingfeng Chen;Xianling Liang;Ronghong Jin","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3711188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3711188","url":null,"abstract":"This article proposes a circularly polarized (CP) endfire helical leaky wave antenna (LWA) based on multipole elements. The antenna employs helical double-sided parallel stripline (DSPSL) to form a compact dense helix structure. By exploiting the inherent differential current characteristics of helical DSPSL and implementing a phase-reversal crossed helix structure, the multipole element is constructed, featuring unidirectional radiation for directivity enhancement. Another crossed structure with minor phase perturbance is further introduced to form the modified multiple element for improved axial ratio (AR) performance. Subsequently, a CP endfire helical LWA is constructed by periodically arranging such modified multipole elements. An antenna prototype is fabricated with stainless steel through 3-D print technology and tested for validation. Measurement results demonstrate that the antenna achieves a high directivity of 16.78 dB with dimensions of <inline-formula> <tex-math>$4.97 lambda _{0} {~times ~}0.30 lambda _{0} times 0.30 lambda _{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. The measured peak gain is 13.02 dBiC with a front-to-back ratio (F/R) of 16.1 dB. The measured −10-dB impedance bandwidth and 3-dB AR bandwidth both cover 1.75–1.9 GHz. Error analysis indicates that higher gain results could be acquired if materials of higher conductivity can be applied in fabrication with smaller deformation errors. The proposed design can find applications in high-resolution radars and long-distance communications.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9475-9483"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149133740","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiangbao Zhu;Yunpeng Zhang;Shengzhe Li;Yuxin Wang;Zheyuan Fan;Chengyong Yu;Chong Gao;Yong Gao;En Li
{"title":"Measurement Method for Complex Permittivity of Materials Under Ultrahigh Temperature Environment","authors":"Xiangbao Zhu;Yunpeng Zhang;Shengzhe Li;Yuxin Wang;Zheyuan Fan;Chengyong Yu;Chong Gao;Yong Gao;En Li","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3711138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3711138","url":null,"abstract":"The high-temperature complex permittivity of dielectric materials is a key parameter for thermoelectric models and component design, and is crucial for their application. Currently, the main challenges focus on achieving testing under complex atmospheric environments (closer to actual working conditions), higher sensor stability at extreme temperatures, and more precise testing models and algorithms. Based on the free-space short-circuit method, this article proposes a measurement method and system for the complex permittivity of materials at ultrahigh temperatures, suitable for complex atmospheric environments. By applying the theory of material layering, it can optimize the impact of uneven temperature distribution on test results. A short-open-match-temperature (SOMT) calibration technique suitable for high temperatures is proposed to address the effects of incident/reflected wave phase transitions at high temperatures. This article achieves precise measurement of the complex permittivity of materials in the 14–16 GHz range from room temperature to <inline-formula> <tex-math>$1900~^{circ }$ </tex-math></inline-formula>C under complex atmospheric conditions, and analyzes the uncertainty. The maximum uncertainties in the relative permittivity and loss tangent of the three typical samples are 0.615 and <inline-formula> <tex-math>$2.128 times 10^{-3}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively. This study provides technical support for accurately extracting the complex permittivity of materials and component model design in ultrahigh temperature environments.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9871-9885"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149133667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"K-/Ka-Band Shared-Aperture Circularly Polarized Antenna Array With Cross-Band Decoupling Function for UAV Satellite Communication","authors":"Yukun Pei;Yunfei Cao;Jin Tian;Wenjie Feng;Wenquan Che;Quan Xue","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3719854","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3719854","url":null,"abstract":"This communication presents a novel K-/Ka-band shared-aperture circularly polarized (CP) antenna array for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) satellite communication. It is innovative that the electromagnetically transparent patch is designed to address cross-band coupling and maintain stable dual-band CP radiation performance. The proposed electromagnetically transparent patches above the Ka-band array exhibit Ka-band passband performance and simultaneously act as K-band radiators. Four K-band patches are rotationally symmetric. Four rotationally symmetric CP square slots form the Ka-band array and are fed by L-shaped microstrip lines. Furthermore, sequential-phase feeding networks are implemented to optimize CP radiation characteristics. Filtering stubs are integrated with the feeding networks to enhance the cross-band isolation. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed array operates with right-handed circular polarization (RHCP) at 17.6–22.4 GHz (24%) and left-handed CP (LHCP) at 25.0–34.0 GHz (30.5%). The proposed antenna achieves stable CP radiation characteristics, high cross-band coupling, and compact size, making it particularly suitable for advanced UAV satellite communication.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"10061-10066"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149133888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"AI- and Digital-Twin-Enabled Reconfigurable Metasurfaces for Sensing, Communications nd Radar Imaging","authors":"","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3737347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3737347","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"10117-10118"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=11732240","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149133738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Unifying Role of Pattern Multiplication and Multistage Decomposition in Butler Matrix Design","authors":"Piero Angeletti","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3712103","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3712103","url":null,"abstract":"The Butler matrix is a foundational beamforming network (BFN) for generating multiple orthogonal beams from uniform linear arrays. While its topological analogy with the fast Fourier transform (FFT) is well known, the physical meaning of its multistage decomposition has not been fully clarified. This article establishes a unified framework in which the mixed-radix decomposition of a centered Butler matrix and the classical pattern multiplication principle are shown to be two manifestations of the same underlying structure. For arrays with <inline-formula> <tex-math>$N = PQ$ </tex-math></inline-formula> elements, the Butler matrix factorization is shown to correspond exactly to the factorization of the array factor (AF) into a fine contribution from sparsely populated subarrays and a coarse contribution from their phase centers. Within this framework, the twiddle-factor phase shift layer emerges as a physical alias-suppression mechanism that aligns the nulls of the coarse factor with the grating-lobe replicas of the fine factor. The analysis also identifies parity-dependent solvability conditions and introduces a generalized phase-correction scheme that resolves previously overlooked pointing ambiguities. The resulting interpretation provides an intuitive, analytically rigorous, and scalable methodology for multibeam array and Butler matrix design. This perspective unifies array signal processing and network synthesis, offering an intuitive, analytically tractable, and scalable methodology for multibeam architecture design.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9620-9635"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149131139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Star-Shaped Decoupling Network With No Crossovers for Broadband Monopole Arrays","authors":"Wenqi Fan;Qi Wu","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3711761","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3711761","url":null,"abstract":"A star-shaped decoupling network (DN) is proposed to reduce mutual coupling between broadband array elements. The novel architecture avoids meandering or jumper wiring in crossover DN and reduces the number of lumped components. Moreover, the proposed DN can be applied to both square and triangular manifolds. Taking a rectangular 3×3 monopole array as an example, it achieves an operating bandwidth of 3.3–4.1 GHz, which covers major 5G mid-bands. Within this frequency range, the isolation between the array elements is improved by 14 dB on average, and the average total efficiency of the array is also increased by ~12%. This architecture is readily expanded to larger arrays, such as <inline-formula> <tex-math>$8 times 8$ </tex-math></inline-formula> or larger layouts. Taking compact 4×4 and 8×8 triangular monopole arrays as examples, an operating bandwidth of 3.4–4.1 GHz was achieved, which is almost the same as the <inline-formula> <tex-math>$3 times 3$ </tex-math></inline-formula> one with identical array elements. Within this band, the isolation between adjacent elements improved by an average of 7 dB, while the average efficiency increased by ~6%. Those results validate the effectiveness of the proposed star-shaped DN, which supports various potential applications in 5G massive multiple-input–multiple-output (mMIMO) systems.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"9661-9674"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149131412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"2–18 GHz Ultrawideband Estimation for Direction of Arrival With Polarization Insensitivity by Programmable Tightly Coupled Dipole Array","authors":"Shi Yu Wang;Xian Kun Zeng;Yong Han Liu;Yun Bo Li","doi":"10.1109/TAP.2026.3720209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2026.3720209","url":null,"abstract":"We propose a new method for realizing 2–18 GHz ultrawideband Direction-of-arrival (DoA) estimation with polarization insensitivity by using active dual-polarized tightly coupled dipole array (TCDA) with programmable amplitude control. The unit cell of the proposed TCDA integrates p-i-n diodes to realize independent 1-bit transmission amplitude control under dual polarizations. The whole array, composed of 16 active elements, is manipulated randomly according to the requirement of pattern diversity for generating a spatial sensing matrix utilized to solve the issue of DoA estimation under the method of compressive sensing. In order to realize a low-profile system with in-plane feed without using a horn, dual 16-to-1 power combiners are applied to receive the spatial signals for dual polarizations, respectively. A prototype is fabricated, and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system achieves accurate polarization-insensitive DoA estimation across the entire 2–18 GHz frequency band, offering a robust and compact solution for ultrawideband sensing applications.","PeriodicalId":13102,"journal":{"name":"IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation","volume":"74 10","pages":"10103-10108"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149131495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}