A fast MoM calculation technique using sinusoidal basis and testing functions for a wire on a dielectric substrate and its application to meander loop and grid array antennas

The input impedance matrix element of the method of moments (MoM) for an arbitrarily shaped wire antenna printed on a dielectric material Z/sub m,n/ is formulated to be composed of three terms Z/sup /spl psi/s//sub m,n/, Z/sup /spl psi///sub m,n/, and /spl Delta/Z/sub m,n/ involving single-, double-, and triple-integral calculations, respectively. The MoM based on the Z/sub m,n/ formulated in this paper (new MoM) is applied to two antennas-a meander loop antenna and a grid array antenna-as well as a simple loop used as a reference antenna. The computation time to obtain the current distribution of each antenna by the new MoM technique is compared with the time required for the conventional MoM, which has an impedance matrix element composed of four terms, all involving triple-integral calculations. It is revealed that the new MoM drastically reduces the computation time: for example, by a factor of 937 for the grid array antenna. In addition, the radiation characteristics of these two antennas are discussed. It is found that a reduced-size meander loop (62% smaller than the simple loop reference) has a radiation pattern similar to the simple loop reference. It is also found that the grid array has an axial beam radiation pattern without side lobes in the principal planes.