Near Field Models of Spatially-Fed Planar Arrays and Their Application to Multi-Frequency Direct Layout Optimization...

Area of Science:

• Electromagnetics and Antenna Theory
• Wireless Communications
• Computational Physics

Background:

• Accurate near field analysis of spatially fed planar array antennas is crucial for designing efficient wireless communication systems.
• Existing models may have limitations in computational speed or accuracy for wideband applications.
• Optimization of electromagnetic near field is essential for uniform power delivery in indoor 5G New Radio (NR) networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present and compare two distinct near field models for planar array antennas.
• To apply these models to optimize the direct layout for multi-frequency, wideband indoor 5G NR coverage.
• To achieve a uniform electromagnetic near field for consistent power delivery in indoor environments.

Main Methods:

• Development of two near field models: one using vector potentials (A and F) and another based on superposition of far-field contributions from rectangular apertures.
• Comparison of the two models to assess their agreement in near field computation.
• Utilization of the faster model in a direct layout optimization procedure for indoor femtocell coverage.

Main Results:

• Both models demonstrated high agreement in near field computation, with relative errors ≤3.2% at 13λ from the array.
• The faster model was successfully employed for direct layout optimization.
• Achieved a magnitude ripple better than 1.5 dB over an enlarged coverage area within the 5G NR n257 band (10.7% relative bandwidth).

Conclusions:

• The presented near field models are accurate and reliable for analyzing planar array antennas.
• The direct layout optimization procedure effectively shapes the electromagnetic near field for indoor 5G NR coverage.
• The study successfully demonstrates the feasibility of achieving uniform power distribution for wideband indoor wireless networks.