A Compensation Method for Deformed Array Antennas Considering Mutual Coupling Effect

The structural deformation of an array antenna could lead to degradation of its radiation performance, thus not meeting the engineering design requirements. There are many methods to compensate for the radiation pattern of deformed array antennas, but seldom do they take the mutual coupling (MC) effect into account. However, the MC effect is one of the important factors that cannot be neglected in practical application. In this letter, the MC effect of an array antenna is analyzed by network theory. In addition, a compensation method is proposed for deformed array antennas based on the electromechanical coupling analysis method and the least squares error approach. This method could be applied for the arrays with single-mode radiating elements. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.