Study of Antenna Position on Vehicle by Using a Characteristic Modes Theory

In this letter, the position of an antenna on a metallic vehicle is studied by using the theory of characteristic modes. Based on the characteristic currents on the surface of the vehicle, the placement position of the monopole antenna on a metallic vehicle is optimized to reach highest gain in the horizontal plane. A size-scaled (40:1) metallic vehicle and a monopole antenna are fabricated to verify the design. Simulated and experimented results agree with each other well, which are presented in the letter.