Fast Analysis of Large Antenna Arrays Using the Characteristic Basis Function Method and the Adaptive Cross Approximation Algorithm

Abstract

The characteristic basis function method (CBFM) has been hybridized with the adaptive cross approximation (ACA) algorithm to construct a reduced matrix equation in a time-efficient manner and to solve electrically large antenna array problems in-core, with a solve time orders of magnitude less than those in the conventional methods. Various numerical examples are presented that demonstrate that the proposed method has a very good accuracy, computational efficiency and reduced memory storage requirement. Specifically, we analyze large 1-D and 2-D arrays of electrically interconnected tapered slot antennas (TSAs). The entire computational domain is subdivided into many smaller subdomains, each of which supports a set of characteristic basis functions (CBFs). We also present a novel scheme for generating the CBFs that do not conform to the edge condition at the truncated edge of each subdomain, and provide a minor overlap between the CBFs in adjacent subdomains. As a result, the CBFs preserve the continuity of the surface current across the subdomain interfaces, thereby circumventing the need to use separate ldquoconnectionrdquo basis functions.