Hindawi

International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

Volume 2022, Article ID 5051710, 9 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5051710

Research Article
A Wideband Tightly Coupled Array for Omnidirectional
Pattern Synthesis

Manuel Luciarini ,1 Domenico Gaetano ,2 Christian Canestri ,2 Cosmo Mitrano ,2

Walter Fuscaldo ,3 and Alessandro Galli 1
1
Department of Information Engineering Electronics and Telecommunications, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
2
Elettronica S.p.A, Via Tiburtina, Rome 13700, Italy
3
Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome, Italy

Correspondence should be addressed to Manuel Luciarini; [email protected]

Received 23 December 2021; Revised 13 March 2022; Accepted 26 March 2022; Published 22 April 2022

Academic Editor: Stefano Selleri

Copyright © 2022 Manuel Luciarini et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.

This work presents the design of a wideband circular tightly coupled array for omnidirectional pattern generation. The proposed
array works over an 8:1 bandwidth, providing very high performance in terms of active reflection coefficient, realized gain, and
omnidirectional patterns with reduced ripples. The array is composed of 32 low-profile, self-complementary, bow-tie elements
displaced around a metallic mast. The capacitive coupling between neighbouring elements and the implementation of a properly
designed frequency selective surface allow for increasing the electrical length of each antenna while compensating for the in-
ductive effect of the metallic mast, according to the tightly coupled and connected arrays theory. A cover layer is then inserted to
improve the average gain on the azimuthal plane. Time-domain simulation results confirm the validity of the proposed approach
and implementation.

1. Introduction additional elements (substrates, superstrates, and coupling

structures) to improve TCAs in terms of scan performance,
During the last years, tightly coupled arrays (TCAs) costs, low cross-polarization, and easiness of fabrication.
attracted a lot of interest owing to their advantages, such as Numerous designs [3–5] have proven successful in
wide bandwidth and good radiative performance [1, 2]. providing all the above-mentioned features whilst ensuring
Devices based on TCAs are expected to find applications in proper matching (VSWR less than 2–3.5) in a rather wide
various contexts such as radar systems, 5G mobile com- bandwidth (from 1.6:1 to 21:1). In this regard, Table 1 shows
munications, and the Internet of Things (IoT) [3]. The a summary of the state of the art of TCAs (2018) in terms of
concept of TCAs was originated from Wheeler’s (and then achieved bandwidth (BW), voltage standing-wave ratio
Munk’s) idea of the current sheet [3], which consists in (VSWR), radiation efficiency (ηrad), and specific features.
placing the adjacent radiating elements close enough to They have been sorted in ascending order by their band-
deliberately generate a strong capacitive coupling. The latter width. Further details about the referred designs can be
effect is able to counteract the inductive effect of the ground found in [6–20]. All of them incorporate specific structures
plane (which is supposed to be close to the radiating ele- to enhance the array bandwidth. The recently published
ments) and increase their electrical length, resulting in a papers [12, 15, 20] are an interesting reference for the work
higher radiation resistance at low frequencies. Munk’s array proposed in this manuscript, as they proposed similar
achieved 9:1 bandwidth and has been regarded as a bandwidths (from 5:1 to 9:1) achieved with similar coupling
benchmark since 2009. Since that time, TCAs have been techniques. But, on the whole, [18] has been the most im-
used in numerous applications in UHF and SHF bands with portant reference because its extremely promising results
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
2 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

Table 1: State of the art of TCAs.

BW VSWR ηrad Features Ref
1.6:1 <2 93% (B.S.) Shorted edge terminations [6]
2.5:1 <2 N.M. Parasitic ring loading [7]
3:1 <2.1 (B.S.) N.M. PUMA [8]
3.3:1 <3 N.M. Octagonal ring element [9]
5:1 <2.1 (B.S.) N.M. PUMA [10]
5:1 <2 (B.S.) N.M. [11]
5:1 >60% Metasurface
6:1 <3 85% Capacitive overlaps [12]
6.1:1 <3.2 65%–80% Maximum scan angle; FSS superstrate [13]
7.35:1 <2.65 N.M. [14]
9:1 <3.4 N.M. Resistive FSS [15]
10:1 <2 (B.S.) N.M. Spiral element [16]
13.5:1 <2.5 (B.S.) 60%–70% Substrate loading [17]
21:1 <3 (B.S.) 73% Resistive FSS substrate [18]
∗ ∗∗ ∗∗∗
B.S.: broadside scan. N.M.: not mentioned. PUMA: planar ultrawideband modular antenna.

showed a very large bandwidth achieved through an array of polarized bow-tie antennas has been chosen to comply
bow-tie elements located between an FSS (frequency se- with the above-mentioned requirements.
lective surface) and a superstrate. 'e same techniques have 'e paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes the
been applied to this work too. circular array design. Section 3 illustrates the design of a
All the above-mentioned works describe the design of proper frequency selective surface (FSS) to compensate for
planar arrays with a ground plane, and their results have not mast inductive effects and a superstrate to improve the
been extended to more specific structures such as circular average realized gain in the azimuthal plane. Section 4 shows
TCAs around a metallic mast. Here, the aim is to obtain the most relevant full-wave results. Concluding remarks are
similar results with these kinds of structures while satisfying finally drawn in Section 5.
further requirements, such as omnidirectional patterns with
controlled gain ripples on the elevation plane over the 2. Array Design
operating bandwidth.
'e proposed work presents the design of an original 'e proposed array is composed of 32 self-complementary
architecture consisting of a circular tightly coupled array horizontally polarized bow-tie antennas placed on a TG24/
that works over an 8:1 bandwidth (from 1.1f0 to 9f0), 2000 Trelleborg Eccofloat [21] (εr � 1.45 and tan δ � 0.002)
defined as the frequency range where the average realized circular substrate around a metal mast. 'e array is expected
gain is greater than −5 dBi. 'is definition has been chosen to be used at frequencies lower than 9f0 and has a bandwidth
because the realized gain (which includes the loss due to (average realized gain greater than –5 dBi on the azimuthal
the impedance matching) was the relevant figure of merit plane) ranging from 1.1f0 to 9f0 (8:1). Figure 1 shows the
for such an antenna. According to this definition, the array structure with the relevant reference system.
actual bandwidth is presumably wider, as the average 'e mast has a radius RM � 0.58λmax (where λmax � c/f0,
realized gain is still higher than 4 dBi at the upper edge with c speed of light in vacuum) and a length of 4λmax (these
frequency 9f0. However, the array performance for fre- are typical values for masts used in, e.g., naval platforms).
quencies higher than 9f0 is beyond the scope of this work 'e device can be adapted to masts with different radii by
and thus has not been analyzed. It is worth stressing here varying the number of elements in order to guarantee an
that f0 can be any frequency in the microwave range omnidirectional pattern (low realized gain ripple in the
subject to the availability of the thicknesses of the com- elevation plane).
mercial laminates used in the antenna design. 'e di- Figure 2 shows the realized gain ripple on the azimuth
mensions of the array design are thus reported in terms of plane for 16 and 32 elements of the array. 'e ripple is
the operating wavelength and will scale accordingly. Still, evaluated as the difference between the maximum and the
the presented results have been obtained by choosing f0 in minimum realized gain for each fixed frequency and ele-
the licensed NATO E-Band, that is, within the 2–3 GHz vation plane. Considering 32 radiating elements of length
frequency range. 0.112λmax, a realized gain ripple lower than 8 dB for elevation
'e device is expected to be mounted around a me- 0° plane is obtained. It is seen that if, with the same mast
tallic mast, providing a modular solution that can be radius, 16 bow-tie elements of double-length (0.224λmax) are
implemented on several platforms (naval or terrestrial). used, the realized gain ripple in the azimuthal plane turns
Omnidirectional patterns with controlled ripples are unacceptable for f > 3.5f0.
required to provide a 360° analysis of all incident signals A self-complementary bow-tie antenna has been chosen as
in the azimuthal plane with half-power beamwidth the radiating element. It consists of a pair of metal triangles
(HPBW) higher than 20° on the elevation plane. A cir- printed on a dielectric substrate and achieves a good wideband
cular array consisting of 32 wideband horizontally performance while exhibiting lightweight and a simple planar
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 3

Figure 3 shows how the input reflection coefficient

magnitude of a single bow-tie antenna gradually increases
as its length L is reduced. If a bow-tie antenna with
L � 0.56λmax ensures |S11| < −10 dB throughout the
bandwidth, the same does not apply for the case with
L � 0.11λmax, where |S11| < −5 dB occurs from 3f0 (and
from 4f0 if a metallic mast close to the antenna is placed).
'is problem has been solved thanks to capacitive cou-
pling between adjacent antennas aimed at increasing the
z
Elevation
single antenna electrical length and compensating for the
mast loading effect. Each antenna has been supplied by a
Y discrete port of 200 Ω that is equal to the average radiation
resistance of a bow-tie antenna in free-space with a 77.3°
X Azimuth flare angle. A 0.0136λmax thickness TG24/2000 substrate
Superstrate has been chosen to achieve an average input impedance of
Substrate 200 Ω for each bow-tie element.
Figure 1: Tightly coupled array under analysis: 3-D model. An approximate transmission line model has been used
to design an FSS able to compensate for the mast inductance.
Assuming the metal mast to be in the antenna far-field
region in the receiving mode (which is verified until 4.25f0)
Realized Gain Ripple (dB) in the Azimuthal Plane
and focusing only on the wave propagation along the normal
30
direction to each bow-tie antenna, the equivalent circuit
25 shown in Figure 4 has been considered.
In this approximate model, each antenna sees an
Ripple (dB)

20
equivalent load equal to the parallel connection between the
15 free-space impedance representing the upper space and the
10 input impedance of the lower space transmission line loaded
on the mast. In the considered device, through the previous
5 transmission-line model, the mast can be shown to be an
0 equivalent inductor of 13.6 nH. Its effect is to “short” the
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0 antenna output port in 1.1f0–3.5f0 approximately, causing an
f abrupt drop in radiation resistance at the antenna input port.
In order to obtain a controlled omnidirectional pattern
16 Elements
exploiting the TCA theory, the distance between the phase
32 Elements
centres of the chosen bow-tie antennas should be less than
Figure 2: Realized gain ripple in the azimuthal plane at different 0.11λmax, according to circular array theory [24]. 'erefore,
frequencies for 16 and 32 elements arrays. 'e array radius has the radiation resistance of the single bow-tie element is
been kept fixed to 0.58λmax. further reduced.
Tight coupling is provided between adjacent elements in
order to compensate for the mast inductive effect and in-
conformable structure [22]. Each bow-tie antenna is λmax/9 long crease the radiation resistance, according to Munk’s and
in order not to increase the realized gain ripple at high fre- Wheeler’s current sheet concept [25].
quencies. A bow-tie flare angle equal to 77.3° has been chosen to In Section 4, it is described how the low-frequency
guarantee, together with a low-permittivity substrate, a 200 Ω behaviour of the input active reflection coefficient can in-
input impedance [23]. 'e distance between each bow-tie deed be strongly improved through this technique [26]. 'e
antenna and the mast has been optimized through various array is able to take advantage of the extra inductance from
accurate simulations (time-domain simulation throughout the the metal mast to resonate with the capacitive impedance of
whole bandwidth f0−9f0 to analyze the behaviour of the overall the coupled radiating elements, resulting in a wider
structure and frequency-domain simulation at 3.215f0 to analyze bandwidth.
the parallel LC resonance between the metal mast and the
designed FSS) in order to provide a reduced inductive loading 3. FSS and Superstrate Design
effect on each radiating element, which limits the bandwidth by
lowering the radiation resistance, particularly in the low-fre- A capacitive FSS [27] can be introduced to further
quency band (approximately from 1.1f0 to 3.5f0). compensate for the mast inductive effect in the low-
Unfortunately, whilst long bow-tie antennas show frequency band. 'e FSS has been realized with properly
wideband performance, the same does not occur if the displaced capacitive metal squares providing a good
antenna length is not much greater than the operating matching compensation in 1.1f0−3f0 at the expense of
wavelength. Hence, in the case of our interest, only in the mitigating the higher frequency performances. An active
higher frequency band (3f0−9f0), good matching is achieved. VSWR <3.57 is achieved in 1.6f0−9f0 owing to TCA and
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
4 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

Isolated Bow-Tie Antenna |S11| (dB)

0

-5

-10

|S11| (dB)
-15

-20

-25

-30
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0
f
~ 0.56λ
L= max
~ 0.33λ
L= max
~ 0.11λ
L= max

Figure 3: Input reflection coefficient magnitude |S11| (dB) for an isolated bow-tie antenna with 77.3° flare angle supplied with a 200 Ω
discrete source. 'ree different antenna lengths have been considered.

Reflected Wave

k0, η0
Upper Space

Incident Wave A
B
Vs Antenna
λmin/2
. nH
~ 13.6
Lower Space k0, η0

Mast
(a) (b)

Figure 4: (a) CAD model of a single bow-tie antenna with metal mast and (b) transmission-line equivalent model.

􏽰����
FSS (see Section 4). Such a result has been obtained k0 εeff 1
through time-domain simulation (from f0 to 9f0) of the α� D · ln􏼢 􏼣. (2)
π sin(πw/2 D)
entire structure. Moreover, the FSS allows us to control
the destructive interference between the radiated waves Such a capacitance has been designed to compensate for
and the reflected waves from the metal mast, especially the inductive behaviour of the metal mast until 4f0. Parallel
around its central frequency. LC resonance occurs at about 3.215f0.
An FSS made of an array of square patches has been In order to increase the array average realized gain on the
chosen (see Figure 5). 'ey have been designed with unit cell azimuthal plane, a superstrate has been inserted in front of
subwavelength period D � 0.03λmax and spacing the radiating elements at a distance of 0.059λmax. 'is well-
w � 0.0033λmax to achieve an equivalent input capacitance known issue has been investigated in [29, 30] and shows how
of 0.045 pF for TEM incidence according to the following a properly designed high-permittivity superstrate can in-
equations [28]: crease the antenna directivity at the expense of a reduction in
η bandwidth. More recently, the same phenomena have been
ZTEM
s � −j √0���, (1)
2α εeff analyzed for wideband applications [5, 18, 31, 32]. 'erefore,
the antenna directivity can be approximated as a function of
where εeff is the relative effective permittivity of the uniform the ratio between the dielectric permittivity of the superstate
host medium and α is the grid parameter and can be and that of the substrate (see, e.g., [24]). Moreover, it has
expressed as follows: recently been shown [33, 34] that when the FSS is lossy, the
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 5

w D w

D G

E Wsub
r R
g

E
k

H
L
Figure 5: A capacitive FSS made with square metal patches.
Figure 6: Array front view with single bow-tie elements, FSS, and
mast. 'e array’s main dimensions are shown.
position that maximizes the gain at the broadside is no
longer the substrate-superstrate interface but shifts towards
the middle plane of the substrate. A higher permittivity hsup Superstrate
superstrate (ROGERS TC350; εr � 3.5 and tan δ � 0.002 [35])
has been chosen, and by means of parametric time-domain
Bow-Tie
simulations on CST MWS, it has been shown able to
guarantee an improvement of 2 dBi of the average realized v hsub Substrate
gain over the azimuthal plane.
FSS
4. Array Performance u
Mast
'e single element structure with the FSS designed in Figure 7: Array view with single bow-tie element, substrate,
Section 3 is depicted in Figure 6 in an array configuration. As superstrate, FSS, and mast. 'e array’s main dimensions are shown.
described, each bow-tie antenna has been designed with a
77.3° flare angle to show an average input radiation resis-
tance of 200 Ω throughout the bandwidth [23]. 'e bow-tie Table 2: Array parameters.
antenna length L has been fixed to 0.11λmax to guarantee a Size (fraction of λmax) Description
circular spacing between adjacent radiating elements small
d � 0.1150 Bow-tie centres spacing
enough to keep the realized gain ripple below 8 dB (the g � 0.0017 Feed gap
overall spacing between array elements is d). A coupling L � 0.1120 Bow-tie length
distance G � 0.0027λmax has been shown to be the optimal R � 0.090 Bow-tie width
trade-off for such a device between the increase of the G � 0.0027 Bow-tie edges spacing
electrical length and the increase of the transmission coef- D � 0.03 FSS side
ficients Sij, i ≠ j. w � 0.0033 FSS spacing
As shown in Figure 7, the low-density synthetic foam TG24/ hsup � 0.0133 Superstrate thickness
2000 has been chosen as a substrate to provide a low effective hsub � 0.0136 Substrate thickness
permittivity and minimize unwanted coupling whilst guaran- RM � 0.5801 Mast radius
teeing the desired radiation resistance with the bow-tie di- Wsub � 0.1067 Substrate width
v � 0.1063 Superstrate-mast distance
mensions previously chosen. 'e array main dimensions are
u � 0.0053 FSS-Mast distance
indicated in Table 2. 'e distance u � 0.053λmax � 0.48λmin
between each bow-tie antenna and the metal mast is slightly less
than λmin/2 to avoid destructive interference at 9f0 whilst elements. 'en an FSS has been added, and the final
minimizing the inductive effect of the metal mast by keeping it structure with both FSS and superstrate has been con-
far enough. Finally, the higher permittivity superstrate ROGERS sidered. All the following simulation performances refer
TC3502 has been inserted to increase the antenna realized gain to those three configurations.
in addition to the array factor enhancement. Simulations have 'e final array design achieves an active input reflection
shown that a 2 dBi average increase of the realized gain in the coefficient of |Γin| < −5 dB (i.e., active VSWR < 3.57) from
azimuthal plane may be reached without compromising the 1.55f0 to 9f0, as illustrated in Figure 9 (see the yellow curve).
bandwidth. 'is result is achieved through the reduction of 'e frequency response of the input reflection coefficient of a
the elevation beamwidth due to the added superstrate. single bow-tie antenna close to the metallic mast (see the
Figure 8 depicts the three main array configurations blue curve) presents a considerable mismatch around
that have been considered in the simulations. 'e initial 1.1f0−3f0. Placing such an antenna in a TCA configuration
model consists of a simple TCA without additional increases its electrical length providing a good matching
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
6 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

TCA with FSS and

TCA (initial model) TCA with FSS Superstrate (final model)

Figure 8: Main array configurations compared in terms of simulated performances.

Input Reflection Coefficient (dB) Average Realized Gain (dBi) in the Azimuthal Plane
0 10

-5 5

Average Gr (dB)
0
-10
|in| (dB)

-5
-15
-10
-20
-20
-25 -25
-30 -30
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0
f f
TCA
Element Isolated with Mast TCA with FSS
Active Element in Array
TCA with FSS and Superstrate
Active Element in Array with FSS and Superstrate
Figure 10: Frequency response of the average realized gain (in dBi)
Figure 9: Frequency responses of the absolute value of the input in the azimuthal plane for different TCA solutions. Only the
reflection coefficient (dB). horizontal (azimuth) polarization has been considered.

from 2.4f0 (see the red curve). 'e low-frequency perfor- frequency band, it would destructively interfere with the
mance is further improved by inserting the designed FSS for wave radiated by each antenna as the distance from the
a greater compensation of the parasitic inductance of the mast approaches λ/2. In brief, the FSS suppresses the λ/2
metal mast (see the yellow curve). resonance induced by the metal mast. Finally, the in-
Figure 10 illustrates the frequency response of the av- sertion of the aforementioned superstrate allows for in-
erage realized gain over the azimuthal plane for the hori- creasing the mean realized gain up to 2 dBi (see the yellow
zontal polarization (HP). 'e realized gain over the curve). 'e resulting device provides an average realized
azimuthal plane Gr (Az, El � 0°) is defined as the realized gain gain in the azimuth plane between −4.1 dBi and +5.8 dBi
pattern (function of the azimuth and elevation angles) over the whole band 1.2f0−9f0.
evaluated at 0° elevation (azimuthal plane). Such a function 'e frequency behaviour of the realized gain ripple in the
of the azimuth angle is of great interest as our purpose was azimuthal plane is shown in Figure 11. 'e realized gain
to design an omnidirectional antenna in the azimuthal ripple in the azimuthal plane is defined as the deviation in dB
plane (Gr (Az, El � 0°) � constant). Its average value, an- between the maximum and minimum value of the realized
alyzed for each frequency of interest, is a good figure of gain in the azimuthal plane Gr (Az, El � 0°). 'e initial model
merit for the design of such an antenna. 'e blue curve of the TCA has a ripple peak higher than that of the final
shows the performances achieved by the TCA made of 32 versions with the same (0.115λmax) circular spacing between
bow-tie elements. If a proper FSS is added, a significant adjacent bow-tie antennas. 'ose peaks are significantly
increase in the mean realized gain is observed in 6.5f0−9f0 lowered by the insertion of the FSS (red curve), which re-
(see the orange curve). It is possible to explain this duces the destructive interference, thus mitigating the
phenomenon from a theoretical viewpoint. 'e partial minimum points in the radiation pattern. A small increase of
shielding of the wave reflected from the mast is a possible the ripple (less than 3 dB) is observed for 4f0 < f < 6f0 and
cause of this behaviour. In particular, in the upper- f > 8f0 when the superstrate is added. Nevertheless, the final
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 7

Realized Gain Ripple (dB) in the Azimuthal Plane polarization is shown in Figure 12. 'e proposed final
10
array achieves HPBW >20° over the desired bandwidth.
9
All previous results have been obtained by choosing
8
7
an 18 μm-thick copper layer as the metal conductor for
each bow-tie antenna, the metal mast, and the FSS. 'ese
Ripple (dB)

6
5 results perfectly overlap with those obtained with PEC
4 materials. 'e insertion of low-loss materials to coun-
3 teract parasitic effects results in a very high radiation
2 efficiency compared to that achieved in several designs
1 shown in Table 1 including RFSS (resistive FSS) [3].
0 Figure 13 shows the frequency response of the radiation
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0
efficiency for the proposed array. It is higher than 93%
f
throughout the entire bandwidth.
TCA
TCA with FSS 5. Conclusion
TCA with FSS and Superstrate
In this paper, an original architecture consisting of 32
Figure 11: Frequency response of the realized gain ripple in the
bow-tie elements arranged in a circular array configu-
Azimuth plane.
ration surrounding a metallic mast has been proposed,
providing a modular solution that can be implemented on
HPBW (deg) in the Elevation Plane several platforms (naval or terrestrial). We exploited the
200 concepts of tightly coupled antenna theory to achieve
180 satisfactory performance in terms of realized gain ripple
160 and radiation efficiency over an 8:1 bandwidth. 'e
140
novelty of this work consists in the application of the
HPBW (deg)

120
100
current sheet concept originated from Munk’s and
80 Wheeler’s works to a circular array used for the synthesis
60 of an omnidirectional radiation pattern around a metallic
40 mast.
20 'e insertion of an FSS and a proper dielectric
0 superstrate, together with an optimal degree of capacitive
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0 coupling, resulted in a good performance in the whole
f bandwidth of interest. Nonresistive compensations have
TCA
TCA with FSS been used to counteract the mast parasitic inductance and
TCA with FSS and Superstrate increase the radiation resistance, resulting in a very high
radiation resistance throughout the bandwidth. 'e final
Figure 12: Frequency response of the HPBW in the elevation antenna has provided an average realized gain in the
plane.
azimuth plane between −5 dBi and +5.8 dBi, with ripple
lower than 8 dB, an HPBW > 20°, and a radiation efficiency
Radiation Efficiency higher than 93% over the whole band 1.1f0−9f0, with f0 in
1 E-Band. Future works include the design of a tapered
0.99 wide-band microstrip BALUN with the purpose of
Radiation Efficiency

0.98 matching the 200 Ω bow-tie input impedance to a 50 Ω

0.97 microstrip line. In the final structure, 32 BALUNs, passing
0.96 through 32 pre-drilled holes inside the mast, would supply
0.95
the single elements of the array. Such a feed network
0.94
would be contained almost entirely inside the metal mast
already taken into account in the array design, hence with
0.93
minimal effect on the overall radiation pattern and array
0.92
f0 2f0 3f0 4f0 5f0 6f0 7f0 8f0 9f0
performances.
f
Data Availability
Figure 13: Frequency response of the radiation efficiency of the
proposed array. All data used to support the findings of this study are
available from the corresponding author upon request.
device presents a realized gain ripple lower than 8 dB over
the entire frequency band. Conflicts of Interest
'e frequency response of the half-power beamwidth
(HPBW) in the elevation plane for the horizontal 'e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
8 International Journal of Antennas and Propagation

References Microwave and Millimeter Wave Technology (ICMMT),

pp. 1–3, IEEE, Shanghai, China, September 2020.
[1] Y. Sui, Y. Li, and L. Zhao, “A 7:1 bandwidth tightly coupled [16] I. Tzanidis, K. Sertel, and J. L. Volakis, “Interwoven Spiral
antenna array with large angle scanning,” in Proceedings of the Array (ISPA) With a 10:1 Bandwidth on a Ground Plane,”
2018 International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation IEEE Antennas Wirel. Propag. Lett.vol. 10, pp. 115–118, 2011.
(ISAP), pp. 1-2, IEEE, Busan, Korea, October 2018. [17] D. K. Papantonis and J. L. Volakis, “Dual-polarized tightly
[2] C. Canestri, D. Gaetano, P. Bia, A. Manna, and C. Mitrano, coupled array with substrate loading,” IEEE Antennas and
“An innovative UWB connected array for multifunctional Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 15, pp. 325–328, 2016.
applications,” in Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International [18] W. F. Moulder, K. Sertel, and J. L. Volakis, “Superstrate-
Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and USNC-URSI enhanced Ultrawideband tightly coupled array with resistive
Radio Science Meeting, pp. 517-518, IEEE, Atlanta, GA, USA, FSS,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 60,
July 2019. no. 9, pp. 4166–4172, 2012.
[3] Y. Zhou, F. Zhu, S. Gao et al., “Tightly coupled array antennas [19] T. R. Vogler, “Analysis of the Radiation Mechanisms in and
for ultra-wideband wireless systems,” IEEE Access, vol. 6, Design of Tightly-Coupled Antenna Arrays,” 2010, https://
pp. 61851–61866, 2018. vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/29282.
[4] X. Liang, W. Yin, A. Chen et al., “Ultrawideband, wide [20] Y. Ye, Z. Huang, Y. Jiang et al., “A wideband and wide
scanning stripline-fed tightly coupled array antenna based on scanning tightly coupled dipole array with meta-surface wide-
parallel-dipole elements,” Sensors, vol. 20, no. 18, p. 5065, angle impedance matching,” Applied Computational Elec-
2020. tromagnetics Society, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 872–878, 2021.
[5] I. Tzanidis, K. Sertel, and J. L. Volakis, “UWB low-profile [21] Eccofloat, 2021, http://www.trelleborg.com/en/offshore/products-
tightly coupled dipole array with integrated balun and edge and-applications/subsea-operations-protected-by-njord/njord-
terminations,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propa- buoyancy/eccofloat.
gation, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 3017–3025, 2013. [22] B. Saidaiah, A. Sudhakar, and K. P. Raju, “Modeling and
[6] J. A. Kasemodel, C.-C. Chen, and J. L. Volakis, “Wideband analysis of an efficient bow-tie antenna for UWB applica-
planar array with integrated feed and matching network for tions,” in Proceedings of the 2009 International Conference on
wide-angle scanning,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Advances in Computing, Control, and Telecommunication
Propagation, vol. 61, no. 9, pp. 4528–4537, 2013. Technologies, pp. 376–379, IEEE, Bangalore, India, December
[7] H. H. Vo, C.-C. Chen, P. Hagan, and Y. Bayram, “A very low- 2009.
profile UWB phased array antenna design for supporting wide [23] D. A. A. El-Aziz, T. G. Abouelnaga, E. A. Abdallah, M. El-Said,
angle beam steering,” in Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE In- and Y. S. E. Abdo, “Analysis and design of UHF bow-tie RFID
ternational Symposium on Phased Array Systems and Tech- tag antenna input impedance,” Open Journal of Antennas and
nology (PAST), pp. 1–8, IEEE, Waltham, MA, USA, October Propagation, vol. 04, no. 02, pp. 85–107, 2016.
2016. [24] L. Joseffsson and P. Persson, Conformal Array Antenna @eory
[8] S. S. Holland, D. H. Schaubert, and M. N. Vouvakis, “A 7-21 and Design, Wiley-IEEE Press, New Jersey, United States,
GHz dual-polarized planar Ultrawideband modular antenna 2005.
(PUMA) array,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Prop- [25] E. Irci, Low-Profile Wideband Antennas Based on Tightly
agation, vol. 60, no. 10, pp. 4589–4600, 2012. Coupled Dipole and Patch Elements'e Ohio State University,
[9] Y. Zhang and A. K. Brown, “Octagonal ring antenna for a Coloumbus, United States, 2011, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/
compact dual-polarized aperture array,” IEEE Transactions on apexprod/rws_olink/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_
Antennas and Propagation, vol. 59, no. 10, pp. 3927–3932, num=osu1316456337.
2011. [26] R. N. Pack, A. S. Brannon, and D. S. Filipovic, “Tightly
[10] S. S. Holland and M. N. Vouvakis, “'e planar Ultrawideband coupled array of horizontal dipoles over a ground plane,”
modular antenna (PUMA) array,” IEEE Transactions on IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 68,
Antennas and Propagation, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 130–140, 2012. no. 3, pp. 2097–2107, 2020.
[11] H. Huang, K. Xiao, L. Ding, S. Wang, and S. Chai, “Ultra- [27] M. Fallah, A. H. Nazeri, M. R. Azadkhah, M. Fallah,
wideband tightly coupled array for multiband communica- A. H. Nazeri, and M. R. Azadkhah, “A novel fractal multi-
tions at S-X frequencies,” in Proceedings of the 2016 IEEE band frequency selective surface,” Journal of Microwaves,
International Workshop on Electromagnetics: Applications and Optoelectronics and Electromagnetic Applications, vol. 18,
Student Innovation Competition (iWEM), pp. 1–3, IEEE, no. 2, pp. 276–285, 2019.
Nanjing, China, May 2016. [28] O. Luukkonen, C. Simovski, G. Granet et al., “Simple and
[12] M. Carvalho and J. L. Volakis, “Deployable rigid-flexible accurate analytical model of planar grids and high-impedance
tightly coupled dipole array (RF-TCDA),” IEEE Open Journal surfaces comprising metal strips or patches,” IEEE Transac-
of Antennas and Propagation, vol. 2, pp. 1184–1193, 2021. tions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 1624–
[13] E. Yetisir, N. Ghalichechian, and J. L. Volakis, “Ultrawideband 1632, 2008.
Array with 70° scanning using FSS superstrate,” IEEE [29] D. Jackson and N. Alexopoulos, “Gain enhancement methods
Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 64, no. 10, for printed circuit antennas,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas
pp. 4256–4265, 2016. and Propagation, vol. 33, no. 9, pp. 976–987, 1985.
[14] J. P. Doane, K. Sertel, J. L. Volakis, and ‘A. Wideband, “A [30] D. R. Jackson and A. A. Oliner, “A leaky-wave analysis of the
wideband, wide scanning tightly coupled dipole array with high-gain printed antenna configuration,” IEEE Transactions
integrated balun (TCDA-IB),” IEEE Transactions on Antennas on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 905–910,
and Propagation, vol. 61, no. 9, pp. 4538–4548, 2013. 1988.
[15] J. Shen, C. Zhang, S. Duan, and N. Shao, “Design of a tightly [31] J. Zhong, A. Johnson, E. Alwan, and J. Volakis, “Dual-linear
coupled ultra-wideband dual polarization phased array an- polarized phased array with 9:1 bandwidth and 60° scanning
tenna,” in Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on off broadside | IEEE journals & magazine | IEEE xplore,” IEEE
 8039, 2022, 1, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2022/5051710 by Cochrane France, Wiley Online Library on [26/03/2025]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
International Journal of Antennas and Propagation 9

Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 67, no. 3,

2021, https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8606988.
[32] D. K. Papantonis, E. Yetisir, and J. L. Volakis, “Tightly-
coupled array with tunable BW using reconfigurable FFS/
superstrate,” in Proceedings of the 2016 USNC-URSI Radio
Science Meeting, pp. 13-14, IEEE, Fajardo, PR, USA, June
2016.
[33] W. Fuscaldo, P. Burghignoli, P. Baccarelli, and A. Galli, “A
reconfigurable substrate-superstrate graphene-based leaky-
wave THz antenna,” IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation
Letters, vol. 15, pp. 1545–1548, 2016.
[34] W. Fuscaldo, P. Burghignoli, P. Baccarelli, and A. Galli,
“Graphene fabry-perot cavity leaky-wave antennas: plasmonic
versus nonplasmonic solutions,” IEEE Transactions on An-
tennas and Propagation, vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 1651–1660, 2017.
[35] 404 - rogers corporation, 2021, https://www.rogerscorp.
com/404.