Theoretical and experimental investigations on microstrip active array antennas and power combiners

In this paper, microstrip active array antennas and power combiners are investigated. The mutual impedance of a rectangular microstrip patch array is analyzed based on the Richmond's reaction integral equation and Galerkin technique in spectral-domain. The computer-aided analysis and design of the active array are then carried out by coupling the mutual impedances to the large-signal characteristics of Gunn diodes with a harmonic balance technique. Based on the theoretical study, microstrip active patch array antennas are investigated experimentally.