Basics of Antenna Arrays

Developed and curated by the Ansys Education Team

Based on the Ansys Innovation Course: Basics of Antenna Arrays

Original Developer: Kathryn Smith

Updated and curated by Dimitrios Tzagkas and Celia Gomez Molina

[email protected]

©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

Learning Objectives for this Lecture Presentation

Intended Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding Understanding fundamental concepts of Array Theory

Skills and Abilities Ability to create an antenna array and estimate the array factor on Ansys Electronics Desktop - HFSS

Values and Attitudes Awareness of wavelength and frequency of a signal, directivity of an antenna

Resources
▪ “Engineering Electromagnetics,” by Nathan Ida, 3rd ed. (2015)
▪ “Antenna Theory”, by Constantine A. Balanis, 4th ed. (2016)
▪ Software: Ansys Electronics Desktop v23R2 (please note that all project files are available in the downloaded folder)

Further reading/information Built-in Assessment

◼ Ansys Academic ▪ Simulation instructions
◼ Ansys Innovation Courses
◼ Ansys Education Resources ▪ Exercise

2 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

Introduction

When two or more radiating elements are operated in close proximity to one another, the interference of their
radiated fields can become a major factor in determining their collective radiation pattern. Antenna engineers
leverage this fact to their advantage by creating antenna arrays – collections of proximate antennas that are
designed to operate cohesively to produce a desired pattern of radiation.
In this module we will focus on uniform arrays – arrays consisting of a collection of identical elements, all driven
with the same signal amplitude, having equal spacing between neighboring elements and a progressively-stepped
phase shift along the length of the array.
Our focus will be primarily on linear arrays – where the elements are arranged along a single dimension and analyze
the effects of
• Antenna element spacing
• Number of antenna elements
• Phase shift between the antenna elements
• Brief look at planar arrays, which consist of a 2D grid of radiating elements

And finally, we will have a quick overview of the antenna array tool in HFSS

3 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

What is an Antenna Array?

An antenna array is a collection of antennas which are operated in close proximity to one another, and designed to
work in tandem. It leverages the interference pattern of the fields radiating from the various elements to achieve a
desired radiation pattern. Antenna arrays are often used to enable tighter directivity than could be achieved with a
single-element design.

4 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 The Array Factor (AF)
Antenna arrays consisting of a collection of identical elements are usually characterized in terms of their “Array
Factor.” The Array Factor of any given array of identical antenna elements is a product of the number of elements,
the relative input signals (magnitude and phase) of the various elements, and the geometric arrangement of the
elements.
The total electric field, 𝐸𝑡𝑜𝑡, radiated from an antenna array is equal to the product of the array factor, 𝐴𝐹, and the
electric radiation pattern of a single antenna element, located at the origin, 𝐸𝑒 .
Electric Field of 2-element
Electric Field of Patch Antenna 𝐸 𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝐸 𝑒 ∗ 𝐴𝐹
Antenna Array
Array Factor of 2 element array [Array in Y dimension]

𝑑𝐵 2-Element 𝑑𝐵
Antenna Array

𝐸𝑒 𝐸𝑡𝑜𝑡

𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑
𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑

5 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Radiation examples
The interference pattern of the total radiated field constitutes the array factor for each array.
Below there are examples of normalized total radiated electric field for the cases of single radiator and 2-element array.

A Single Isotropic Radiator Array of Two Isotropic Radiators,

horizontal separation of λ/2

6 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

Uniform Antenna Arrays

A uniform antenna array is an array of identical elements, all driven with the same signal amplitude, having equal
spacing between neighboring elements and a progressively-stepped phase shift along the length of the array. This
electronic phase shift augments the phase shift effected by the physical separation of the elements, and allows
dynamic adjustment of the array factor without physical rearrangement of the antenna elements.

In a uniform array, each antenna is driven

with the same magnitude signal, but with a
progressively-stepped phase shift

7 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor for Uniform Antenna Arrays
The array factor of an N-element uniform antenna array, arranged in a line along the z-axis, centered at
z the origin, and viewed from the far field, is given by:
𝑁

𝐴𝐹 = ෍ 𝑒 𝑗 𝑛−1 𝑘𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃+𝜓

𝑛=1
𝜃
𝑑
where 𝑘 is the wavenumber and is equal to 2𝜋/𝜆, 𝑑 is the separation between elements and 𝜓 is the
phase difference between neighboring elements.

This may also be written as:

𝑁 𝑘𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝜑
𝑠𝑖𝑛
2
𝐴𝐹 =
𝑘𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝜑
𝑠𝑖𝑛
2

Or, in the special case of N=2,

1
𝐴𝐹2 = 2 cos 𝑘𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 + 𝜑
2

8 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays

From the equation of the Array Factor, we can understand that the array factor is a function of the array setup as:
• The number of elements that form the antenna array (𝑁) 𝑁

• The spacing between the antenna elements with relation to the wavelength (𝑑/𝜆) 𝐴𝐹 = ෍ 𝑒 𝑗 𝑛−1 𝑘𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃+𝜓

• The phase difference between neighboring elements (𝜓) 𝑛=1

The array factor can be plotted in cartesian or polar plots as below (AF for N=4 and d=λ/4):

9 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays – Key notes (A)

• For an array where each element is driven with the same current magnitude, the strength of the
radiation will naturally increase as the number of radiating elements increases. However, this
does not necessarily reflect a system improvement, since the higher power output is
proportional to a higher power input. In order to avoid conflating this effect with an actual gain
improvement, the array factor is often reported as a normalized value.
• A linear uniform array (developed along an axis) can steer the radiation in the direction of the
array. For instance, an array of isotropic radiators arranged along the z-axis may be used to steer
the beam in the 𝜃 direction, angled from the z-axis.

𝑁
1
𝐴𝐹𝑛 = ෍ 𝑒 𝑗 𝑛−1 𝑘𝑑𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃+𝜓
𝑁
𝑛=1
Linear Uniform
Array

10 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays – Key notes (A)

• A planar array, in which elements are arranged along two dimensions, may be used to enable steering around a
second axis. Here, the y-directed spacing between elements is 𝑑𝑦, and each column of elements arranged in the
y-direction has a relative phase difference between neighbors of 𝜓𝑦. Similarly, the z-directed spacing between
elements is 𝑑𝑧 , and each row of elements arranged in the z-direction has a relative phase difference between
neighbors of 𝜓𝑧 .
For the case of a uniform planar array with [M x N] elements distributed in the y-z plane (as shown) the
normalized array factor becomes:

Planar Array

𝑀 𝑁
1
𝐴𝐹𝑛 = ∙ ෍ 𝑒 𝑗 𝑚−1 𝑘𝑑𝑦∙𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜑∙𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃+𝜓𝑦
∙ ෍ 𝑒 𝑗 𝑛−1 𝑘𝑑𝑧 ∙𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜑∙𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃+𝜓𝑧
𝑀𝑁
𝑚=1 𝑛=1

11 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays
Effect of Element Spacing
The spatial separation between elements in an antenna array increases the apparent electrical size of the effective
radiator. This increase in electrical size enables a compression of the radiation pattern in the dimension of the array.
For a fixed number of elements, increasing the separation 𝑑 between elements increases the observed compression
of the primary lobes of the radiation pattern.
With:
• As shown below, a two-element array has progressively more compressed radiation as
Ν = 2, 𝑑 the two elements move further apart.
𝜓 = 0 𝑑𝑒𝑔
• However, as 𝑑 increases beyond 0.5𝜆, a secondary set of lobes appears, pointing in
the dimension of the array (see next slide).

AF for 𝑑 = 0.2𝜆 AF for 𝑑 = 0.3𝜆 AF for 𝑑 = 0.4𝜆 AF for 𝑑 = 0.5𝜆

12 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays
Effect of Element Spacing
As shown below, the secondary lobes of a two-element array increase in strength, and the primary lobes narrow, as
𝑑 increases from 0.5𝜆 and approaches 𝜆.

Electric Field [in dB]

With:
of 2 element antenna
Ν = 2, 𝑑
array with 𝑑 = 0.7𝜆
𝜓 = 0 𝑑𝑒𝑔

AF for 𝑑 = 0.6𝜆 AF for 𝑑 = 0.7𝜆 AF for 𝑑 = 0.85𝜆 AF for 𝑑 = 1𝜆

Primary lobes

Secondary lobes

13 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays
Effect of Number of Antenna Elements

For an array with a fixed spatial separation between elements, increasing the number of elements similarly results in
compression of the radiation pattern. The array factor patterns shown below have a fixed element spacing of 𝑑 = 0.25𝜆,
but a progressively increasing number of elements 𝑁.
𝑁=2 𝑁=3 𝑁=4 𝑁=5

𝑑
𝑛=1 𝑛=2 … 𝑛= 𝑁

With:
𝑁=7 𝑁=8 𝑁 = 10 𝑁 = 15
𝑑 = 0.25𝜆
𝜓 = 0 𝑑𝑒𝑔

14 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

 Array Factor of Uniform Antenna Arrays
Effect of linearly-stepped Phase difference between Elements

Another valuable control variable at our disposal is the linearly-stepped phase difference 𝜓 between neighboring
elements in the array. An array that utilizes such a variation in the phase of the driven signal is called a “phased array”
and can be used to dynamically steer the beam without physically rearranging the elements.
𝜓 = −2 ∗ 𝜓0 𝜓 = 2 ∗ 𝜓0
𝜓=0 With:
𝑑
𝑁=5
𝑑 = 0.25𝜆
𝜓 = −𝜓0 𝜓 = 𝜓0

𝜓0 = 0 𝑑𝑒𝑔 𝜓 = 30 𝑑𝑒𝑔 𝜓 = 60 𝑑𝑒𝑔 𝜓 = 90 𝑑𝑒𝑔

15 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

Antenna Array - Exercise

Case: A uniform antenna array is used to steer the antenna beam and it is steered to an
angle of 20 deg off boresight.

• Question 1 – Critical thinking:

Does this mean that each antenna element transmits energy mainly to that direction?

• Question 2 - Analysis:
The directivity of an antenna OR antenna array is measured by the angular opening of
the 3dB beamwidth of the primary lobe.
If the beam is steered, is the directivity affected?

16 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

HFSS Antenna Array tool - Intro

• An antenna array consists of multiple instances of a single antenna element.

• HFSS provides the ability to study the performance of an array having the single antenna performance. The
radiation and the performance of the antenna array can be analyzed using the Antenna Array tool.

The Antenna Array Setup can estimate the

radiation of an antenna array by using as
single element radiation of the existing
radiation of the antenna generated already.
In a parametric setup, the array parameters
can be defined, and the results will be
updated without analyzing again the design
and setup of the single antenna.

17 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

Array configuration

Array Axis

Array dimensions and shape

Reference frequency/wavelength

Total antenna dimension - length

Antenna element spacing

Linearly-stepped phase shift

between antenna array elements

18 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

How to plot Array Factor (A)
When using the array tool, the array factor can be plotted on Far Field plots (ArrayFactor vs Angle) using the below
method.
1. Create Far Field plot
If the “Far Field report”
option does not exist, a
Radiation Surface needs
to be defined

2. Create Variable

19 ©2024 ANSYS, Inc.

How to plot Array Factor (B)

B
A

1 5 D
C

2
3

E
4
6 F

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Document Information
This lecture unit is part of a set of teaching resources to help introduce students to designing and simulating high-frequency structures.

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