Antenna arrays

Patch antenna array
PBC analysis of large finite array

Antennas often consist of arrays of contributing elements, either with direct feeds for each element or via indirect coupling. Designers are then forced to consider not only the characteristics of the individual elements, but also for the entire array. Depending on the complexity of the array such analyses can become computationally expensive or too large to solve.

The Method of Moments (MoM) based formulation of FEKO does not mesh or discretise the free-space region between array elements, resulting in a highly optimal use of computational resources.  FEKO also provides the Multilevel Fast Multipole Method (MLFMM) as an accurate and highly efficient solution to very large problems.

Planar microstrip antenna arrays can be solved with free space Green's functions, eliminating the need to discretise the dieletric layers and the space between antenna elements. Finite dielectric structures can be modelled with the surface equivalence principle. When the dielectric constants are high the hybrid FEM/MoM technique can be used as alternative. 

Large arrays may still require large amounts of computational resources.  In these cases the MoM with periodic boundary conditions (PBC) may be used with great effect to analyse the radiation patterns of such arrays.